Chapter 8: Stranded/Convince Me
Vegeta watched the palm tree haired Saiyan until he was nothing but a speck in the sky, then looked over to the woman to see her struggling to sit up a little more and trying to rummage through her pockets with her bad hand.
"Stupid woman." He muttered while still watching her movements.
Bulma heard him though, and looked up to lock eyes with him. "Excuse me?"
Vegeta uncrossed his arms and walked over to her, stopping right in front of her. It felt good to tower over someone. "You heard me. Whatever it is you are doing is only making your injury worse. That, and what you have to say to me...I'm not interested." He pointed to her wrist that she was now cradling against her chest protectively.
She glared at him, snorting in response and went back to looking in the pockets of her pants with the other hand. 'what a stubborn woman' He thought to himself.
Bulma finally found what she was looking for and pulled a small box from the cargo pocket of her pants. "Aha!" she cried as enthusiastically as one could when they were in a lot of pain.
Vegeta looked on in mild curiosity as she opened the lid to the box and rifled through it until she found what she was looking for. It was a small capsule of some kind with a plunger on the top. She pushed the plunger in and threw it down next to her. A poof of smoke swirled around her and when it was gone a bigger grey box sat to her right.
His eyes widened as he was taken back to the night he first saw her. Then, she had taken a similar looking capsule out of her dress. It had the same effect but had the lethal gas within. It could store other items too? What was this technology?
She opened the larger box and pulled out what appeared to be medical supplies. As she felt around her forehead for what she figured must be the reason for her killer headache she brought her attention back to him for a moment.
"You know, you can say you're not interested in joining us to destroy Frieza...but you and I both know that's not the truth." She pulled out a jar and began applying some kind of salve to her head wound.
Vegeta stilled at her words. How could she be so perceptive? He was once again taken aback by this woman, how she seemed to surprise him at every turn. She drove him crazy with her stubbornness and loud mouth but if he was being honest with himself, and he didn't really want to be at that moment, he also found those traits...interesting, and very Saiyan like.
"How dare you presume to know what I'm thinking! What I think of Frieza is none of your business." He snarled back. He had to stick to his mission here. He had his own plans for Frieza.
"I'm not presuming anything. Just reading your facial expressions and body language. It's a helpful skill to have in my line of work. Also, you just told me all I needed to know without really saying it. Join the club bud!" She chuckled a bit as she put the salve away and rummaged through the first aid kit again. Taking out a tongue depressor and some bandaging.
Vegeta practically growled at her. The nerve of this woman! He watched as she struggled to wrap her left wrist.
"Think you could lend me a hand?" She mumbled with some bandage in her mouth as she tried to tighten her wrap job.
His answer was a silent glare. If this woman was so intelligent she could figure out a way to do it herself.
"Come on! it'll only take a second. Please?"
But he didn't budge from his spot. He just stared at her and Bulma was starting to feel slightly uncomfortable. "There's no one around to witness this act of kindness, so it won't ruin your reputation, plus I won't tell if you don't." She let the bandage fall and it started unwrapping itself from around her wrist.
He continued to stare at her for what seemed like forever, then gave the smallest nod in agreement. It was so small Bulma didn't understand what it meant until he took the two steps to reach her and sat back on his haunches, grabbing the bandages and tongue depressor with more force than was needed.
It only took him a few minutes, he worked quickly and silently. Having him this close to her, Bulma got a better look at the supposed leader. His eyes were black as coal and rimmed by thick lashes. His hair defied gravity and stood proud atop his head in a flame like shape. She wondered if he used any kind of products to achieve that look or if it was purely natural.
He paid no mind to her obvious gawking of him. This wasn't the first time a female had paid him this kind of attention.
"Thank you." Bulma said as he finished knotting up the wrap. He nodded once more then sat down next to her, leaning his head against the rock wall behind him.
"Long day huh?" she asked as she inspected his work. It looked good and felt tight enough that she had the right amount of support.
Vegeta snorted in response. "No thanks to you." His eyes remained glued to the opposite wall of the gorge. He bent his left leg up and rested his arm over it. Bulma noticed the sculpted muscles of his limbs through his skin tight amour.
She smirked at his response. "Well, it wouldn't be much fun if I didn't put up a fight now would it?"
He still wasn't looking at her, but she noticed a slight crinkle in the corner of his right eye and could've sworn she saw the smallest of smirks. "Fair point...if I was doing this to have fun."
Now he turned his head to meet the blue haired woman's bright inquisitive looking eyes. "You don't have a choice though, you will be coming with us, one way or another."
Bulma smiled at him. "I could say the same about you. The three of you have the opportunity to change your lives and thousands, maybe millions of others. You can join us in the fight against Frieza. I'm sure with the three of you on our side we have a decent shot of actually taking him down."
Vegeta raised his eyebrow at her in suspicion. "So you've been saying, but I've yet to hear any details on how you plan to go about it."
"Does that mean you're interested?" Bulma's eyes lit up with hope. She decided to ignore his comment about a plan, since she honestly didn't have one yet. Though she knew she should get to work on something soon.
The expression on her face made him pause in his response. He wasn't used to seeing people look at him with hope in their eyes, or in this woman's case, he felt he could literally see into her soul through those cerulean pools. He was used to seeing pleading eyes, eyes filled with fear or dread in their depths while in his presence. But here, this weakling woman was smiling at him with her whole being. He didn't know what to do about it.
He composed himself enough to form a response. "It doesn't mean anything. I'm just stating a fact."
Her smile dropped a bit, but he could tell that she hadn't given up on him yet. Why she hadn't, he wasn't sure.
"I see. Well, just think about it. We have some time since all our ships are pretty banged up and at this point I don't know how long repairs are going to take. So seriously, just think about it, please? You've seen some of what we're capable of, but we need more man, rather, Saiyan power. We really could use your help."
Bulma then moved her right hand across her body and held it out to him. "I'm Bulma by the way. What's your name?"
Vegeta looked at her hand, then up to her face. He didn't reciprocate the gesture. "It doesn't matter what my name is."
"I beg to differ! Who knows how long we're going to be stranded here. I'd like to at least know your name."
Vegeta remained silent while debating whether or not to divulge such information. Normally he wouldn't give it a second thought, but here he was actually thinking about it. What was it about this woman that turned everything he knew upside down? Against his better judgement he relented.
"Vegeta." He still hadn't moved to accept her gesture of introduction. The woman's hand remained outstretched towards him.
"Well, Vegeta, it's nice to meet another person that detests Frieza. You sure you and your comrades don't want to join us?"
Again, he remained silent. Bulma figured he would be a tough nut to crack, however it only made her resolution to convince him stronger.
She brought her hand back to her side and made to stand up. "Well, I better make myself useful and take a look at the ship, see what needs to be done." Though with only one good hand it was difficult to get to her feet.
Vegeta watched as she took a while to stand and thought the woman was out of her mind if she thought she could repair a ship in her condition! She was just unconscious less than an hour ago!
She was unsteady on her feet as she began to walk. "Which way is my ship?" She turned and asked over her shoulder, her braided hair swaying slightly with the movement.
He had never been put in this position before, making sure someone under his watch stayed alive. It made him uneasy, he actually had to care in a way, something he never had to bother with before. His whole life it was just kill or be killed. Keeping a stranger alive was foreign to him, but since this was the situation he found himself in, he might as well just do his damn job. He couldn't have the woman die on him while trying to repair a ship.
Vegeta rose from his position and dusted himself off as he walked towards her. "It's that way." He pointed in the direction of the crash sites. "Although I don't think you'll be able to begin repairs with part of your ship submerged in the bedrock." He replied smugly.
Bulma's determined face fell somewhat, and she turned to face him. "Well, can't you move it so it's right side up?"
"I could. But I won't."
Her mouth morphed into a frown. "Why not?"
"I simply don't feel like exerting myself right now."
"Are you serious!?" Bulma yelled, her hands balling into tight fists at her sides. The nerve of this guy! "The sooner we get moving on repairs the sooner we can get out of here!"
"I'm well aware." Vegeta replied, almost sounding bored.
"Then why won't you help me?" Her arms shot up in question and frustration.
Vegeta was reminded again of the night he first laid eyes on her. The way she used her limbs to emphasize her words, though this time she wasn't calm, cool and collected. Quite the opposite in fact, she looked like she was about to explode. The porcelain skin on her face became red, her body was nearly shaking she seemed so mad. The image suited her somehow.
His silence was only fueling her fire. If he was in command, which she believed him to be based on his interaction with the other two Saiyans, then he had to realize the gravity of the situation. Why wouldn't he want to do everything he could to get a ship working and move on with his mission he was clearly obsessed with. She was about to break the heavy silence when he beat her to it.
"You didn't ask me nicely." His face remained serious with no hint of humor.
Bulma was done. She was just done with this guy! "You've got to be kidding me! Nicely? I doubt you've asked for anything nicely in your entire life, and you want ME to ask YOU nicely?!" All this yelling was doing a number on her headache. She tried not to let it show, but Vegeta noticed her eyes squinting in pain.
"Yes."
She yelled to the skies in frustration. All she wanted was to get her ship fixed, convince these three Saiyans to join their fight, and head back to base. Kami, was that too much to ask?
Swallowing her pride, she took a deep breath, calmed herself and looked him straight in the eye. "Vegeta. Will you...help...me...move my ship...so I can...start repairs. Please?" Every word felt thick and heavy in her mouth.
Oh, was he loving every moment of this. The corner of his mouth turned up ever so slightly. She was a stubborn one that was for sure, but he found a weakness. Her ship. It seemed she would do anything for her beloved ship. That and her own self interests, which this situation clearly fell under. Getting under her skin like this, watching her squirm, it was a delight to him. He hadn't been this entertained in quite some time.
He lifted a gloved hand and looked it over, as if inspecting it for dirt. "I think not. We'll wait until the others return."
The look she gave him. Were he any lesser of a man, he would have been frightened by it. As it was, it only made her more appealing to him. She stomped past him and went back to her spot against the rock wall, and resumed her digging around in her medical supplies box, completely silent. He was sure that any sudden movement or word to the woman would make her quite literally explode.
She pulled out a small bottle containing some pills, set them on the ground and got the little black box out of her pocket again. Finding another capsule inside she threw it a good distance away from both of them and once the smoke cleared, a dome shaped yellow house stood where nothing had been a moment before.
He would definitely have to ask her about this technology. He was sure this was why Frieza wanted the woman alive. With that tech he could revolutionize the planet purging business. He almost shuddered to think about the amount of power the lizard would have if he got his hands on it.
He watched as she put the pills back in the box, snatched it up, glared fiercely at him and walked over to the house, slamming the door once she was inside. With nothing else to do at the moment and the woman safe in her weird shaped house, he decided to head to his ship and inspect the damage more thoroughly.
Inside her capsule house Bulma slammed the first aid kit onto the kitchen table and went to grab a glass from the cabinet for some water. She honestly never thought she'd see the day that she would meet someone as stubborn and quick witted as herself, but today, she met that person in Vegeta. As she brought the glass back to the table and grabbed the pill bottle out of the first aid kit, popping the top and pouring a few into her hand, she couldn't help but be slightly concerned for their mission.
Would she be able to convince him to join them? She knew that if Vegeta agreed, then the other two would follow, but getting Vegeta to agree looked like it could be a monumental task.
Everything hung on this one mission. The weight of that fact started to sink in for her and she slumped down into her kitchen chair. As she looked around the familiar capsule house it brought her back to before Frieza had taken Earth. Back when her most pressing problems had been what invention to work on next, or what to wear for her date with Yamcha. At the time those issues seemed large and looming, but now she wished with all her heart that those were the only things plaguing her mind again.
Now she was stuck on a strange planet with Goku, and three other Saiyans. One of which was looking to be a big pain in her ass. Were they even going to be able to get off of this rock? Would she be able to contact the base? Would Frieza come looking for his lackeys, or worse, send more soldiers? It made her head hurt even worse thinking about it all if that was even possible.
Deciding she needed something to take her mind off of it all, she walked over to the bookshelf in the living room and perused the shelves, her fingers brushing over every spine until she found one that looked somewhat appealing to her. It was a rather large tome on quantum mechanics and Bulma knew it would do just the trick. She then went to the closet by the door and grabbed a folding chair, putting the book under her arm as to not hurt her wrist any more than it already did, and made her way outside. It was hot out but the air was dry, so it was perfect for some outdoor reading...
It didn't take long for Vegeta to reach his pod and begin dissecting it. He was somewhat skilled at repairs, especially since Frieza loved to fuck with him and have inept pod techs do shotty work on his pod. He had to make sure the damn thing actually worked half the time before he ever took off.
Today unfortunately had been an exception since he didn't have time to inspect it before they left. Now he was regretting that as he looked over the wiring and parts strewn on the ground. He knew that Frieza always had tracking devices on his pods to monitor his soldiers and make sure his equipment came back. And Vegeta usually found them and destroyed them before he left on missions. He didn't need to be babysat. So as he was looking things over he found the usual tracker, pulled it from it's hiding place behind the control panel and vaporized it with ki. Luckily it was already turned off, so that meant that Frieza didn't know their current location...hopefully.
He continued surveying the damage and with each passing minute it became clearer to him that his pod was useless. The ignition system was fried and so it seemed, was the engine. As he removed a panel to take a closer look he immediately froze.
There, nestled in some wiring was another tracking device...and it was still active.
"Shit." He quickly threw it to the ground and crushed it with his boot, then fished out his scouter from his suit and immediately called Nappa. "Nappa! Nappa answer me!" After a short pause he heard the gruff voice of his older comrade.
"Nappa here."
"Have you found a water source?" Vegeta asked hurriedly.
"Yes, there are several rivers that lead to a large body of water north east of the gorge. They're fresh water and also clean."
"Ok, then get your ass back here. NOW! They put two trackers on my pod and one of them is still active."
"Got it, be there soon." Nappa disconnected and changed direction to hightail it back to the gorge. Vegeta did the same.
Bulma was enjoying the peace and quiet, reading her book, pretending she wasn't stranded on an unknown planet when she heard the familiar sound of someone in flight, followed by footfalls. She sighed, realizing someone must be back from their tasks. She put the book down and looked up to see the long haired Saiyan walking towards her with some kind of large animal thrown over his shoulders. His eyes widened in awe and surprise as he took in the dome shaped building before him.
"Okay, so I'm pretty sure this wasn't here" he gestured to the house. "And you were still unconscious when I left. What'd I miss?"
Bulma smiled softly at the large man's surprisingly pleasant attitude. Despite their circumstances, he still had a smile on his face. "You're right on both counts."
He shrugged the large mammal off his shoulders letting it hit the ground with a thud. Bulma grimaced when she glanced at it, the thing looked like it took a pretty good beating from the Saiyan.
"So are you going to tell me how a building just magically appeared out of nowhere?"
"I can tell you it wasn't magic. I brought it with me in a capsule, like this one." Bulma reached into her pocket and pulled out the small black box and opened it to reveal one of her capsules.
"Huh, no kiddin'?" Raditz remarked.
"Nope! You can store practically anything in these babies! You just push down the plunger, throw it to the ground and viola! My father invented them." Bulma said proudly, though she saddened a bit when thinking about how worried her parents probably were right now since they hadn't made contact with them in a while.
"Well I'll be damned. That's pretty advanced tech."
The compliment drew Bulma's attention once again and she smiled back. "Yea, my father's quite the genius."
Just then, Vegeta landed nearby and practically ran over to them, giving the giant yellow dome a once over but for the most part ignoring it.
"We have some problems."
"Hey Vegeta, what's going on?" Raditz greeted.
"One, my pod is useless. And two I found this near the engine." He held up the remains of the tracking device.
"And? Isn't that the tracker that you usually find?" Raditz asked.
"No, this is an additional one. And it was still activated when I found it."
"Oh. That is a problem."
"Let me see that." Bulma spoke as she walked up to the duo and grabbed the small chunk of metal right out of Vegeta's grasp. She turned it over in her own palm, studying it closely.
Vegeta scoffed at her rudeness in not only taking something without asking, but also having the audacity to actually touch his hand in the process! He was about to complain when she filled the silence herself.
"Hm, pretty high tech stuff. From what I can tell, this is a long range tracker, possibly transmitting via delta waves, though don't quote me on that. I can't be sure since someone pretty much destroyed it before I could investigate." She frowned at Vegeta who only gave a scowl in return.
"What did you expect me to do? Let it keep running and display our location while we're stranded here?!"
"Well, for one, this thing was still running when you found it? If so then they probably already know our location so what was the point of destroying it? Second, why would you care? You want still want to bring me back to Frieza right? If they show up, then that's more help for you."
Vegeta shook his head. "There is no helping in the PTO. If a job is not done right, or not completed in time, there are consequences."
"Yea, but we're still well within the timeline for this mission. So what's the worry?" Raditz chimed in.
Vegeta snapped his head over to his comrade, his scowl still firmly in place. "I'm not. Worried. The issue is, we had a credible lead..."
"Which turned out to be faked by our target." Raditz interrupted.
Vegeta's eyes narrowed at Raditz but he said nothing. "Nevertheless, we received a 'credible' lead, left to investigate and our last known position to the PTO is not where we are supposed to be. They will realize something happened and they will send others."
"He has a point. Ok, so that just means we're on borrowed time now. I should get started on those repairs." Bulma started walking in the direction Vegeta had just come from but didn't get far. She was halted by a strong grip around her upper arm. She knew he was strong, being a Saiyan, but feeling even a small bit of that strength was both alarming and exciting.
"YOU, are not going anywhere. You think you can repair your ship with one good hand? I'd rather not travel in a ship with shotty repairs."
She looked over her shoulder to see Vegeta's stern face looking back. "Excuse me? Shotty repairs? How about you wait and see my work before you criticize it bud."
Raditz just watched as the two glared daggers at one another and decided to intervene before things went south. He was quite familiar with Vegeta's temper.
"Ok, ok, let's all stay calm here. Lady, you..."
"The name's Bulma." She quickly shot back.
"Ok, Bulma. You have to admit that Vegeta has a point. You're pretty banged up and you were unconscious not too long ago. Maybe rest a bit more before you get started?" He placated.
Her face softened somewhat at hearing the man's attempt at diffusing the situation. Out of the three of them, she felt the most comfortable around this one. Something about his demeanor and personality set her at ease. He reminded her somewhat of Goku, though a more rough around the edges Goku to be sure.
Vegeta still had his hand tightly gripped around her arm, though he didn't seem to notice. It was Bulma that looked down and then back up at him, making him realize he was still holding on. He abruptly let go and took a step back, trying to hide his slight embarrassment about the prolonged physical contact.
She knew Vegeta was right, though not about the shotty repairs jab. That was a low blow. She didn't feel a hundred percent just yet and that could effect her decisions during repairs. She wanted to get going on them right away since she now knew the stakes, but she didn't want to risk hurting herself more either.
"you're right. Both of you." She hesitantly admitted. "I'll rest for the remainder of the day and get started first thing tomorrow. But for the record, I don't do shotty work! My ship should be evidence of that herself, damage not withstanding." She looked right to Vegeta as she said this.
He looked away and huffed. "I have no way of knowing that. You'll have to prove it me." He replied bluntly.
"You won't have to worry about that."
And just in the nick of time, Nappa touched down and walked towards the group. "So, how much time do you think we have?" He asked Vegeta, nodding to Raditz and only giving Bulma a cursory once over.
Having the opportunity to change the subject, Vegeta took full advantage. "Not sure, several days, maybe a week at most. It depends on how often the tracking signal is being monitored."
Nappa nodded his head. "That doesn't give us much time."
The group looked around at each other in understanding. No matter what was decided, whether they would somehow force Bulma to go back with them, or Bulma and Goku convinced the trio to join them, they would all need to leave this planet as soon as possible.
"Nappa, how far are the water sources you found?" Vegeta asked.
"A good distance. It would make sense to set up camp closer to one of the rivers before nightfall."
Vegeta nodded in agreement.
In the silence that sprang up between all of them, Bulma noticed Goku hadn't returned yet. "Either of you see Goku while you were out?"
Nappa and Raditz looked to each other and shook their heads. "I didn't see him."
"Me either."
Vegeta decided now was a good time to try out his heightened senses he required after his last zenkai boost. He reached out around him and felt the ki of the three standing next to him. He reached further and further until he sensed another power level, one that couldn't be a native animal.
"He's not far."
"How can you tell? You don't have your scouter on?" Raditz asked.
"I don't need it anymore, not really. I'm able to sense the power levels of those around me."
Nappa's eyes bugged out when he heard this. "And when did this happen?"
Vegeta didn't reply verbally, not wanting to divulge his experience in front of the woman. He merely glared at Nappa and it took a moment, but the older Saiyan realized what he was trying to say.
"Oooh, I see." Was his response.
"Did I miss something?" Bulma asked, her curiosity piqued. She knew that Saiyans had that capability, that was old news to her since Goku could utilize it so easily, but to hear that Vegeta had recently discovered this ability for himself and that some kind of event was the catalyst, now she just had to know.
"No." Was all Nappa would say. She looked to Vegeta who turned away from her, obviously not wanting to talk about it.
"He's heading back this way." Vegeta added to try and divert everyone's attention from him.
"Oh good!" Bulma cheered. "Hopefully we can start a fire soon, the sun's going down and it's a little chilly."
"Before we do that, we'll follow Nappa to a more suitable site to set up camp." Vegeta announced.
Bulma moaned. "Fiinnne. I'll pack up the capsule house." She went over to the building and quickly capsulized it back and placed the capsule in her pocket. For Nappa this was the first time he had witnessed this technology and was understandably stunned.
"What the fuck was that?" Nappa practically shouted.
"What was what?" Bulma replied, looking confused at the big Saiyan's statement.
"That building just disappeared!" Nappa said, pointing to wear the domed house once stood.
"Oh, that. I know, I stored it in it's capsule for now since we're travelling."
"Capsule?" Nappa was dumbfounded, he had never heard or seen of anything like this.
Raditz came up to him, slapping him in the back. "Don't worry big guy, I'll explain it to ya."
Nappa merely scowled at the younger Saiyan before removing the man's hand off of his back.
Bulma was just standing there, waiting for Goku when she saw him come over the horizon. Well all she saw at first were a ton of logs, but eventually Goku could be seen, carrying the egregiously large bundle of kindling.
"He's here!" Bulma announced, waving to her friend.
Before he could get any closer Vegeta spoke up. "Good, now everyone follow Nappa, he'll lead us to a new campsite." He unceremoniously picked up Bulma and put her over his shoulder, ignoring the kicking and pounding of her good hand on his back, he took to the sky followed by Nappa and Raditz. They met Goku in the air and relayed the message, letting Nappa take the lead, they all flew north east, towards the setting sun. Goku kept relatively close to Vegeta and Bulma, not liking that he
Bulma continued her barrage of kicks and punches, but to no avail. "You're protests are futile. Unless you want me to let go and have you fall to your death. Your choice."
He could hear her mumble obscenities at him as her physical attacks ceased. He looked over to her 'partner', as she called him to see the man staring back at them, none too happily. Apparently he had touched a nerve with the new Saiyan by transporting the woman. Did the term 'partner' mean some kind of relationship beyond a working one? The thought immediately irked him, more so due to the fact that he even thought it.
"...Hey! Are you even listening to me?!" The woman's voice filtered in through his thoughts. He turned his head a bit. "What are you on about woman?"
"If you weren't being such a space cadet you'd notice that everybody turned left."
Vegeta looked around and sure enough, they all were heading away from him to his left. He grumbled his displeasure at himself. "I am most certainly not a cadet woman. My rank in the PTO is captain."
"Could've fooled me." Bulma retorted, a slight chuckle in her voice.
The two remained silent for the remainder of the journey, which only took about twenty minutes or so. Vegeta saw the clearing up ahead near a river and made his descent, landing a little roughly, to Bulma's displeasure.
She climbed down his torso like it was a tree trunk, none too gently, as he was also trying to pry her off of him.
"What are you doing? Get off of me!" He yelled. To the rest of the group they just looked like a tangled ball of limbs.
"I'm trying! Stop moving around!" Bulma yelled back as she finally broke away from him and straightened her clothing.
As soon as she stepped away Vegeta walked as quickly as he could over to Raditz and Nappa to discuss setting up some kind of camp for the evening. Goku had already set down his massive amount of kindling and was heading towards Bulma.
"You okay? That guy wasn't very gentle with you." Goku asked as he looked her over.
"Oh, I'm fine. Vegeta just isn't the super considerate type. My head and wrist hurt but otherwise I'm ok."
"Vegeta?"
"Yes, his name is Vegeta. Apparently he's a captain in the PTO."
"I see. So he's pretty high up in the ranks then?" Goku wondered.
"I suppose, I haven't bothered to brush up on their ranking system. Come on, let's go set up the capsule house and get you up to speed on everything."
Goku nodded in agreement as they chose a spot for the house, putting some decent space between themselves and the other Saiyans, not too much but enough that Bulma felt they'd have a little privacy.
Vegeta watched as the strange yellow dome building was once again erected and the two went inside. If she's allowing him to stay in that house with her then that must mean they are more than just working partners he though. Again, that unsettling feeling welled up inside his gut, but he once again pushed it down. What business is it of his if they're involved?
"Hey Vegeta? Vegeta?" Raditz waved his hand to get the smaller Saiyan's attention.
"You ok? Did you hear what I said?"
"Hm? Oh yes, that sounds acceptable. Lets get a fire going and cook up the animal. I'm starving."
His two comrades nodded and got to work as Vegeta began walking around the perimeter of their encampment, getting familiar with his surroundings. Even though he couldn't sense any other beings that could cause them trouble, he didn't want to take any chances. That and he definitely needed some time alone to collect his thoughts.
He had been distracted by thoughts of the woman twice now and had been caught twice! Never in his life had he let a woman distract him from what was going on around him. This whole mission had gone to hell now and he honestly wasn't sure what to do anymore. The second tracking device in his pod, the chase to this planet, the destruction of two of their pods, and the third one still on planet hatozu. He knew that it wouldn't be long until Frieza sent someone to investigate. Even if he managed to get the woman to pilot her own ship to Frieza's flag ship, he was still going to be on the chopping block for letting this get so out of hand.
He stopped amid a cluster of medium sized brown leaved trees and looked up to the orange and amber sky above. The sun would be setting soon. They had only been on the planet for a few hours. He would need to figure out how long the days and nights were on this planet. Every second of time they had would need to be utilized.
It wasn't long before he smelled the familiar scent of burning animal flesh and made his way back to the center of the encampment. Nappa had constructed a rudimentary turnstyle spit that the large animal Raditz had gathered was currently on over a good sized fire. Raditz himself was gathering piles of leaves to create some makeshift beds for them around the fire, but could be heard grumbling as Vegeta got closer.
"Why can't we stay in that house thing with them? They didn't even offer! I say we just go in there and claim some space for ourselves. We do outnumber them."
"I for one prefer the outdoors. I spend enough time as it is in confined spaces." Nappa chimed in as he continued turning the animal over the spit.
"We will stay out here. End of discussion." Vegeta spoke as he walked up to the fire pit.
If a Saiyan could pout, Raditz was doing so in that moment.
"Besides, we've stayed in worse conditions than this." Vegeta added.
That ended that particular conversation. The three soldiers sat around the fire in silence as the meal continued to cook, though the silence didn't last long.
"MMMM, that smells good!" Goku could be heard saying as he and Bulma walked toward the campfire, taking a seat on the ground between Vegeta and Raditz. "What's for dinner?"
"Mammal." Nappa replied.
"Sounds delicious." Bulma added sarcastically.
"Hey, don't knock Nappa's cooking until you try it!" Raditz spoke up.
"Ah, so you're Nappa! Nice to formally meet you, I'm Bulma, and this is Goku." She looked over to the longer haired Saiyan. "And you are?"
"I'm Raditz." He replied. "Goku? Seriously? That's not a Saiyan name. What happened to Kakarot?"
"Today is the first I've heard of that name. I was found by a man named Gohan who named me." Goku replied, staring at the browning meat on the spit.
"Ok, there's got to be more to the story than that." Nappa commented. He was now genuinely curious too.
"That's all I know. I was found in a space pod and raised by my grandpa Gohan."
"Well, you're going to be Kakarot to me from now on, since that was your birth name."
"Are you sure we're brothers?" Goku asked. He would love it if they were, but the only thing they could base that conclusion on right now was the fact they had similar facial features.
"Positive." Raditz asserted as he leaned back against a rock, moving his hands behind his head.
"Grub's ready." Nappa announced as he removed the animal from the spit and began doling out chunks of meat to everyone. He handed Bulma hers, expecting the woman to outright refuse it, but she accepted with a smile.
"Thanks."
Nappa didn't know how to respond to that so he merely nodded and found himself a spot on the ground on the other side of Vegeta and started chowing down on his portion.
Vegeta remained silent as his comrades talked with their mission targets. He observed the woman and the Saiyan Goku, they seemed unconcerned about their situation in that moment, which he thought was rather odd because they would butt heads soon enough once the woman's ship was fixed. They would all need to decide what to do, where to go. Whether they would fight The other Saiyan and take the woman back to Frieza, or travel with them to who knows where.
He finished eating quickly, as he usually did and tossed the bones of the animal into the bushes as he stood. "We'll have a rotation on sentry duty. I'll start, then Nappa, Raditz and Kakarot if needed."
"Why, there's nothing on this planet except some medium to large sized animals and us. Nothing's going to pose a threat." Raditz spoke up between chews of his meat.
"Why? Because I'm not stupid. You don't take chances on an unknown planet." With that he turned and disappeared into the tree line.
Raditz looked to Nappa who merely shrugged and resumed eating. The conversation around the fire revolved around their close escape from death earlier that day in the ship and Bulma's piloting skills.
After dinner, Bulma and Goku headed back into their capsule house while Raditz and Nappa stayed around the fire talking for a while.
Bulma closed the door once she was inside and sat at the table in the kitchen. She recounted the day in her head and was thankful to still be alive, but was wary about what lie ahead. So many things could happen over the next couple of days and she knew she would have to prepare for every possible outcome...