I promised that this update wouldn't take long. I have to say, I'm pretty confident that this is the longest chapter I've ever posted, ever. I feel like I've crossed some type of milestone!

I've started utilizing my phone to get more writing done in my off-time during the day. This might have caused my writing style to change a bit, I wonder how noticeable it is. It's really been helping me with time management so far!

I hope you enjoy reading this one!

"Ugh, I knew he was just being cocky when he promised to be done in 10 minutes!" Bulma sighed, checking her watch for the twentieth time since she'd been left alone. It had been about twenty-five minutes by now. As she stared at the surface of the water, blackened by the night's lack of light, there seemed to be no trace of his return yet. Other than the typical waves that made her boat sway as she waited, there wasn't any activity. Not even an unusual ripple to indicate his impending return...

"There's no way he could last so long down there..." The Bluehead squeezed the edge of the boat as she continued to stare at the darkness in front of her. Even as she spoke it, Bulma knew it was a lie. The truth was that she was actually quite certain that he could last under the water for this long, and yet she really didn't have much to base that suspicion on. She'd never seen the man hold his breath, of course, but somehow inside she just knew he could probably last indefinitely if he wanted to...

Who was he?

She was pretty sure that he wasn't even from this world. If his superhuman strength and speed hadn't been enough for her to make the deduction, then the way he'd spoke to her at times did. Why - he'd even called her an Earthling when they'd been hunting for food a couple of days prior! Whatever he was, wherever he had come from, Bulma knew he'd faced a lot more in his time than she probably would for her entire life.

Not only that, but this man had never actually tried to harm her.

Sure, he had made ominous threats when he'd first taken her, but he had never acted on any of them. In fact, he'd even protected her at times when he could have just as easily left her for death. Such as when she was getting manhandled in that disgusting saloon, or when she'd been grabbed by the giant lizard… Vegeta didn't seem to be stupid by any means, and he had access to all of the equipment that Bulma had brought with her. He could quickly figure out how everything worked, so he didn't need her anymore. He could have easily allowed her to fall to destruction, and then continue his search for the dragonballs on his own, but he hadn't.

Perhaps that was a reason why she'd been so upset at the thought of him leaving her on her own now. She hadn't even realized how much safer she felt in his presence up until that point… And it was so confusing!

Bulma had been absolutely terrified of him when they'd first met, and she had been convinced that her life was disposable in his eyes. So, why did she now feel the complete opposite around him? Was it because he'd never hurt her up until that point? Was it that she now knew that he hadn't actually killed Yamcha and Krillin, after all? One of the biggest things that had caused her to be so afraid of him had turned out to be a bluff...

Who was he?

One of the things that Bulma found most interesting about Vegeta was how much he reminded her of Goku. And, the more time she spent around her captor, the more strongly she felt that the two could have been related in some way. Vegeta was certainly a lot more quick-witted and serious than Goku had ever been, but the two shared such striking traits. They both had such similar features and capabilities, and while their personalities seemed to be stark contrasts of one another, she was incredibly sure that the two would have had a lot to bond over if they'd ever met…

'If only Goku had been around to meet this guy.' Bulma thought, blinking back her confused tears. She hadn't really had much time to mourn the loss of her friend, since Vegeta had shown up so soon after he died. It seemed that every time she even thought of his name she was brought to the threat of tears, and she furiously wiped at her eyes. "I wonder if Goku would feel the same way about Vegeta as I do. The guy acts so tough, but there's a lot more to him than I know... I just can't help but trust that he doesn't have it in him to hurt me... Ugh! What's wrong with me for feeling that way?!"

She let go of the edge of the boat, sniffling as she lay down and hugged her knees. "Goku..." She breathed, sniffling as she shook her head. "Oh, Goku..."

.

A ball of power was humming in his palm, which Vegeta was using to light his path as he kicked himself deeper into the sea. The saiyan had to admit, this planet had some specimens on it that were rather enjoyable to look at - the Bluehaired woman being one of them. But, during his time in the water, he had certainly seen his share of some hideous creatures that he didn't care to ever look at again.

'Where the hell is it?' He thought, glaring at a stone ledge he was swimming past. The structure had grooves carved in it, with a pair of yellow eyes staring back at him from one of its wedges as he went.

He swam deeper still, adding some power to his ball of light to accommodate for the increase of pressure that came with being so far into the sea. He'd been so focused on his task that he hadn't thought to keep track of time, but he knew it had been far longer than the 10 minutes he'd promised. He thought back on how concerned Bulma had looked just before he'd jumped from the boat, thinking 'that woman is probably beside herself with worry by now. I'll bet she thinks I'm dead.'

It wasn't long before he realized that he was actually approaching ground - he'd reached the floor of this body of water! Vegeta was surprised at how long it had taken him to do it, but he was relieved that he'd finally made it to the bottom of this ocean. It was a bit of a struggle to move, as he began to march across the wet soil. He actually had to grind his teeth with concentration as he went, his eyes scanning his surroundings for any sign of that tangerine ball.

'We were directly above it,' He thought. 'It shouldn't be a far from here!'

As he advanced through the ocean floor, his heavy feet leaving holes where he stepped, the light radiating from his palm started to fall on something ahead. It was an opening on the side of a cliff, where the water had dramatically become more deep. 'Damnit.' He thought, eyes widening as he slowly advanced on the underwater cave. 'I'll bet there's something in there that's hoarding the ball!'

Knowing perfectly well that he could be walking into a lion's den, the saiyan stepped into the cave and glared at his surroundings. It was a narrow tunnel, and as he looked he realized that there were faceless creatures lining the walls around him. It seemed that they were all asleep, but as the light hit them they began to wriggle to life. They all looked like the pale noodles that Bulma had prepared for dinner a couple of nights earlier, and Vegeta felt ill as the creatures squirmed around him. He was trying to look through the overgrown worms, to see if a hint of orange would be revealed from underneath them as they coiled, but there was nothing there. Deciding that the ball must be deeper inside the cave, Vegeta continued his walk through the tunnel.

He turned away from the walls so he could look ahead, and his face quickly broke into a grin. There, about a meter away in the darkness, lay a perfectly round orange sphere. The light that was hueing from the saiyan's hand seemed to make the ball glisten as he approached it, and Vegeta grabbed it as quickly as he could. When he looked down at where the dragonball had been laying, he didn't feel too surprised to see that it had been nestled between two large eggs, on what appeared to be some type of nest.

'Stupid creature didn't even know what its own eggs looked like.' The saiyan thought as he moved back through the tunnel, past the coiling worms, and towards the clearance to the open ocean floor.

When he made it out of the cave he jumped and began his return back towards the surface of the ocean. He had a long way to go until he got back to the boat, but Vegeta figured his return would be quicker than his departure since he was no longer distracted in searching for the ball.

It might have been about fifty meters that he'd risen, when suddenly he felt a wave hit him from behind. An air bubble popped from his mouth as he growled from the shock of it, the ball dropping from his hand. It was sinking fast, but Vegeta dove after it and managed to retrieve it before it got too far.

He heard a loud noise to his side, though it was muffled by the water. 'The mother makes her entrance,' Vegeta thought, narrowing his eyes as he glared at something that was at least six times his size.

It was watching him.

Its large eyes were the size of the saiyan's body, and they were so dark that they almost appeared to be two hollow pits. Its body, long and twisting, was so large that it faded into darkness as Vegeta's ball of light failed to illuminate all of it. This creature looked just like the disgusting things that were coiling the wall of the cave, but it was monumentally larger and was sporting tentacles from its frame. The end of the tentacles were attached to large, crab-like claws, which snapped at Vegeta as he dodged the attack from the side.

It had been a close call - too close. Not only did the added pressure of the deep water inhibit Vegeta's movements, but it was hard to fight back when he was trying to reserve his oxygen and protect his dragonball. He looked up at the pitch blackness above his head, and instantly started to shoot towards it. Putting the same amount of energy as if he were flying, the saiyan shot up like a rocket as he propelled into more shallow waters. The creature, angry and wanting to protect its nest, took off after him.

Vegeta quickly diffused the ball of light in his hand, and he was instantly surrounded by darkness. Perhaps if he couldn't see, then the creature might not be able to, either. Or, at least, it wouldn't be able to make him out as easily, and he'd be able to get away…

.

"Two hours!" Bulma groaned after checking her watch. "How long should I wait before I just turn back without him?"

She was still laying in the boat, staring up at the starlit sky, trying to think of something to do with her time. Not only was she becoming incredibly bored, but she was starting to get hungry - and sleepy, too. How much longer would she be waiting for him? What if something really did happen while he was down there, and he never came back?!

The Bluehead had put a swimsuit on under her clothes when she had still been on the plane - just in case she would need to swim. Feeling sweaty in the claustrophobic boat, and unnerved by how much time had passed since Vegeta had dived into the sea, Bulma had long ago removed her shirt and pants and was laying in her swimwear.

She sat up, clad in only her polka dot bikini, hugging her knees as she went. She thought she could hear something bubbling in the water a few meters away.

Was he finally coming up?

Bulma's face lit up. Soon they'd be able to head back to land! She turned towards the back of the boat. The water began to bubble louder, and she knew it wouldn't be long before his head poked out from the sea. The Bluehead clicked on the engine and began to steer the boat towards the sound of the bubbles, thinking she'd make it easier for him so that he wouldn't have to swim out towards her when he finally rose from the water.

… What she hadn't been anticipating was that he'd have company...

Out of the ocean came Vegeta, shooting into the sky like a rocket. Before the sound of the splashing had been able to dissipate, he had already turned towards Bulma and started to yell. "Get out of here!" He shouted. "Get as far away as you can!"

"Huh?" Bulma paused the engine of the boat, eyes widening as it set in that something was wrong.

"GO!" He screamed, and a moment later something else came propelling from the water. Letting out an ear-rattling yell, the giant sea-monster launched for the saiyan, who flew to the side and dodged the assault.

"Veggie!" Bulma cried.

"GET OUT OF HERE!" He bellowed, gripping his dragonball with one hand and landing a punch to the large worm's side with his other. The sea monster wailed, its tentacles flailing in the air as its temper rose.

It was frustrating to have to defend himself with one hand. Vegeta growled, wishing he had something to store his dragonball in. He had considered tossing it to Bulma and telling her to take it with her, but he knew that this water demon would just turn on her instead, and he needed to steer it away.

He turned to see if she had listened to him and was fleeing, but instead he saw that she was digging through the cargo in the boat.

"WOMAN! LISTEN TO ME!" Vegeta barked. It was then that the sea monster took advantage of his back being turned. He growled as he felt a tentacle suddenly wrapping around him, cursing for allowing himself to get so distracted.

The creature was pulling him towards an opening on the bottom of its head – which was presumably its mouth… The saiyan could hear Bulma screaming "Veggie!" from the boat again, and this made him even more uncomfortable than the prospect of being eating by a giant worm did… "You disgusting harpy!" Vegeta barked, fighting to free his arms from its grasp. He began to charge a ball of ki in his hand. If he couldn't beat this creature with his fists, he'd just have to blast it to shreds - piece by piece.

The creature let out another howl and tightened its grasp. Vegeta bit his lip as it squeezed the wind out of him, his eyebrows furrowing as he concentrated on the power that was charging in his palm. "You..." He growled. "… Ugly..."

Suddenly the tentacle let go, and Vegeta went dropping down into the ocean with a loud splash. He poked his head above the waves and looked up to see that the creatures had a river of blood dripping from the tentacle it had been grasping him with.

Something was stuck in its skin!

He looked to the boat to see Bulma on the deck, holding a crossbow over her shoulder as she glared out at the writhing worm. While the creature screamed its protests in a wave of angry splashes, she bent down and picked up another bolt. Carefully and smoothly, she was reloading her weapon.

"Woman..." Vegeta gasped, staring at her petite figure as she stood under the moon. She was aiming her crossbow at the monster again, staring at it with a look on her face that silently said 'fuck with me – I dare you.'. It was the same fearless stance he'd seen in her a few times before, as she stood her ground against this impending threat. His breath caught in his throat when she narrowed her eyes in concentration before shooting another bolt into the creature, this time hitting it near what he presumed was its head.

Its crab-like pincers snapped angrily as it let out another pained yelp, and then it began to charge for her.

It was moving with more difficulty than in had been before it was shot, but the disgusting worm was still quick. Vegeta jumped from the water, the energy he'd been charging in his palm ready for release. Holding his arm out, a purple beam of light shot from his hand and slapped the worm in the body. It let out a howl so loud that it made Bulma's eardrums throb, and she let out a cry of her own as she dropped her weapon.

As the creature limply fell back into the water, a tentacle loosely flailed out and hit the Bluehead in the side. She let out a wail, her feet giving out and sending her over the edge of the boat with a splash.

Seeing her falling like that triggered such an inexplicable urgency in the Saiyan that he couldn't remember ever feeling for anyone else's survival other than his own. Without even thinking about what he was doing, Vegeta let out an angry yell before diving into the sea. Once underwater he lit his palm before frantically scanning his surroundings, fearing that the creature was dragging her down to its cave as it retreated. But when his eyes found the sea-monster he saw it drifting down into darkness, limp and alone, as it calmly sank away.

… It wasn't pulling her with it…

Even if the saiyan hadn't been under water, he still would have been holding his breath. Panicked, he quickly looked to his side and spotted Bulma a few meters away. Her body was swaying in the unsteady current that had been created by the battle. She wasn't voluntarily moving, and appeared to be rather lifeless as her figure was thrown around with the waves. All of the air had been knocked out of her lungs when she'd been hit, so there was nothing to keep her floating as she slowly started to sink.

Vegeta took off towards her, grabbing her body and carrying it up to the water's surface. She was limp in his arms, but she inhaled sharply and began to cough when he laid her on the deck of the boat and gave the middle of her chest a tight nudge.

Panting from the ordeal, Vegeta looked down at the sopping woman as she gasped, and he couldn't keep the grin from his lips. She was bleeding from where she'd been whipped from the sea creature, but her chest was rising and falling at a healthy rate. She was still passed out, but she was alive.

She would be okay…

Vegeta looked down at his hand, opening it to reveal that the dragonball was still there. Feeling slightly manic from what had just happened, he let out a husky laugh before turning back to the Bluehead who was laying beside him. "I told you to get away." He panted, eying her fresh wound as blood loosely dripped from the skin. His eyes traveled up and down her body, light reflecting off her curves with how wet she was. He had noticed that she was hardly clothed when she'd been shooting the worm with her crossbow, but now he was able to get a better look. When had she changed outfits?

This polka dotted two piece she was now wearing was... well, nice...

"Oh..." Bulma groaned as she started to come to, putting a quivering hand to the cut in her rib. The tentacle, large and heavy, had acted like a sharp whip against her frame. She grimaced as the pain suddenly shot to her head, her bones aching from the impact.

"Woman." Vegeta smirked, turning and heading for the paddles. It was time for them to head back to the shore.

"Gah," The Bluehead groaned, still only half awake and not caring to filter herself from verbalizing her thoughts. "That stings to bad... It hurts…"

"It will heal." The saiyan replied, rowing the oars into the water. The boat gave a lurch and began to swiftly move through the waves. He stared at her as he worked. She was laying exactly where he'd left her, and she turned her head as she began to lose consciousness again.

"Woman..." He muttered, still grinning as the image of her holding that weapon replayed in his mind. "... I told you that you were brave..."

.

.

"Ahh!" Bulma croaked, her skin sizzling as she pressed an alcohol-soaked towel into her wound. It was a long slash that started just below her rib, and wrapped around to her mid-back. She was sitting on the bathroom counter in the capsule house, Vegeta standing in front of her and watching as she worked.

The saiyan, who had come out of the battle relatively unscathed, had just finished examining Bulma to make sure she didn't have any cracked bones from the impact. Her musculoskeletal system seemed to be okay, though her lower ribs were bruised. He had soaked the towel in alcohol before she'd quickly snatched it away from him and pressed it into her injury before he'd had the chance to.

"Such a fragile specimen." He muttered, taking note of the excruciated look on her face. The tentacles had worked as hard as they could to strangle him, and it hadn't even left him with a mark – but, this woman! She'd been hit by a lifeless extremity on its way down, and that had been enough to render her unconscious and leave a deep flesh wound in her torso…

Bulma sighed, pulling the towel from her skin to reveal that it had turned red from her blood.

"You need that gel I gave you." The saiyan commented. "It will stop the bleeding. Where are you storing it?"

"Right there - behind that door under the sink."

After grabbing the ointment, which was exactly where Bulma had said it would be, Vegeta handed the tube to her. She squeezed a generous glob out, rubbed her hands together with it, and began to massage her palms into her gash.

"I don't care how useless you think this stuff is." The Bluehead said breathlessly, cringing as she palmed the ointment into her wound. "I think it works really well…"

"On someone like you, perhaps…" The saiyan replied. "Turn around when you are finished. Your back has several raw spots on it."

It was true. Bulma had been burned so bad when she had jumped from the exploding plane that she had blisters on her back. The ointment had helped the majority of her injuries to quickly heal overnight, but there were some parts of her back that she hadn't been able to reach, and she was far too proud to want to ask Vegeta for help… Especially when he'd been the person she'd been trying to escape from when she'd gotten hurt in the first place…

"Someone like me…" She echoed, rubbing the last of the ointment into her skin and then looking up at the saiyan. "Where are you from?"

He didn't seem pleased about being asked this, for his face suddenly hardened. "I told you to turn around when you finished with your wound."

She glared back at him. "Well, why should I?"

"Hmm." He growled. "Are you pretending to be daft? Do you want help with your back injury, or not?"

"Not if you won't tell me where you're from." Bulma scowled. "Why should I trust you enough to turn my back to you if you can't even share that information with me?"

"My past does not concern you." He glared.

"I know you're just like Goku. I always knew he was different, that there was no way he could be from this world-"

"And how do you assume I am not from Earth?" Vegeta shot.

"Because you told me." She hissed. "You've implied it before. You say that there is only evil in the universe, which is not a generalization that many people from my planet would make. And you've even called me an Earthling."

Vegeta raised an eyebrow, but he didn't interject.

"I'm not stupid, so stop assuming that I can't put together the pieces you've given me." She continued. "You're not from anywhere near Earth, are you?"

"Perhaps." He smirked, looking more mischievous than he did amused. "And why should you care, even if I wasn't from around here?"

"Because I want you to stop with these games and be honest with me about what you're planning to do with those dragonballs. And now that I've met you, I know that, wherever you came from, Goku did too. I want to know where that was."

"Goku." Vegeta crossed his arms. Now the smirk on his face really was starting to looked amused. "You speak of him so much."

"He was my best friend." She scowled.

"Pity, then, that you don't even know the real name that your best friend was born under…"

"What are you saying?" She could feel her heart rate starting to rise. The two of them had been relatively calm just a few minutes ago, and now she was struggling to keep her anger at bay.

"If he was your best friend, then you should already have the answers to your questions... There was obviously more to him that he ever let on, wasn't there? It sounds like he was keeping his own secrets…"

Her eyes widened at this. He made a good point… He was right, and he knew it… And he had such a damned smug look on his face about it, too!

"Goku…" She breathed. Suddenly she was taken back – back to the first time they had met.

Back to seeing him transform into a terrifying ape at the sight of a full moon… Back to all of the times that he had saved her, comforted her, and made her laugh with his naivety.

… Suddenly she remembered the last encounter she'd had with him. Pale and sweaty, he had groaned in pain and clutched his chest. He had been laying in a pool of his own sweat on his bed, with Chi-Chi, Yamcha, Krillin, and her by his side. How he had opened his eyes briefly to extend a hand towards Chi-Chi, to tell her he was sorry that he'd never get to eat one of her steamed pies again...

… How he had turned to his friends after that, and how he'd looked at them. His white lips parting as he softly whispered "thanks for everything…"

… And then, how slowly his eyelids had shut... And then, the fight drained from his face…

Bulma shook her head, her flashback ending. She was now back in the bathroom, with that cocky man standing over her as she sat on the countertop. Vegeta was still watching her, his arms crossed over his chest. And he was still sporting that smug expression, staring at her and waiting for her response.

"Goku…" She breathed again, her vision growing blurry.

"Hm?" The saiyan in front of her replied, lifting a snide eyebrow.

After the memory she'd just had, Bulma could feel the impending threat of tears welling in her gut, and she shook her head to will them away.

"Right." Vegeta said then, nodding as if to confirm his victory in this dispute. "That's what I thought…"

"AHH!" The Bluehead suddenly snapped, launching from the counter. The saiyan felt a light smack against his cheek, which made a much louder noise than he would have expected for something so weak, and then Bulma landed a fist on his chest.

"Hey!" His mouth dropped open.

She was beating on his chest with both of her hands now, smacking him with everything she had. It sounded as if she were trying to play a drum, and yet it didn't even phase the saiyan. Instead, he was semi-amused by how little strength she really had. "Hey!" He snapped again, wrapping his fingers around her wrists to stop her pathetic attempt at assault. She was gasping, and she looked up into his eyes, her face growing puffy as she failed with her attempt to hold back tears. "You don't know anything! You hear me?!" She yelled. "You never even got to meet Goku! It's obvious you didn't know him if you're going to talk about him like that!"

He raised an eyebrow.

"How dare you say something like that about him! He didn't keep any secrets from anyone!"

He grasped her wrist more tightly, and she winced, but this didn't stop her rant. "He was just as unsure about his roots as we all were! He didn't even know how he was born – he was found and raised as someone's child, and that's all he knew!"

"Are you speaking the truth?" Vegeta growled. What had happened to that low-class warrior during his mission? None of what she described him to be sounded correct at all! Something must have gone haywire very early on – but what?

"I just want to know…" Bulma spat, trying to pull her arms out of Vegeta's grasp, but failing. "I just wanted to know who you are… Who Goku was… And you didn't have to be such a jerk about it!"

"I have told you before that you need not concern yourself with my past." Vegeta said sternly, giving her arms a slight tug to assure her that he was the one in control of this situation. "Now is not the time for that."

"I can't stand that!" She hissed. "I want to know!"

"I will not tell you right now." He announced, and with that he finally dropped Bulma's wrists. "It is too late to get into everything. But we will compromise on this, Woman, I'll give you that. I will enlighten you with a brief history of my culture, but I will not share everything I have done and seen. You will know enough to satisfy your curiosity about the one you call Goku, and that is all you shall receive."

She didn't reply to this. Bulma just watched him, her shoulders heaving as she processed what he'd just said. She really hadn't been expecting this… She'd thought he wouldn't agree to anything at all…

"The condition is that you will cease with all of your prying, and you will accept the information I choose to give without demanding any more. In return you will tell me more about Goku. I want to know why he didn't tell you any of this on his own."

"There was a lot to him that even he didn't know." She replied sharply. "I've already said that."

"But you will tell me what he did know." Vegeta growled back, leaning closer into her face as he stared fiercely into her own blue orbs. Bulma had finally caught her breath, and her posture relaxed as her temper began to subside. She took a step away from him, her jaw locked as she considered everything he'd just said. "You promise?"

"You have my word. We shall discuss this tomorrow. Now is too late."

"Okay…" She breathed. Bulma was now feeling somewhat awkward as she sobered from her hostile emotions. She looked to the counter, the purple tube of ointment still laying where she'd left it.

"So." Vegeta muttered, stepping around her as he made his way for the door. "I am going to my quarters for the night. We will wake up at the same time we always do to continue our journey."

"Wait."

The saiyan turned, wondering what this woman had to be upset about now. He raised an eyebrow, glaring at her from over his shoulder. Bulma was still looking as if she didn't know what to say after her explosion, and she shyly clasped her hands together as she looked at him. "My back still hurts." She whispered.

He narrowed his eyes.

"I… I could use some help with the ointment…" She broke eye contact to look down at her feet, biting her lip. She hated asking him for help... "There's… a lot of my back that I can't reach on my own…"

For a moment Vegeta considered saying something to tease her – to reference how opposed to the idea she'd been just a few minutes earlier. But he was getting tired, and he didn't want to give her an excuse to break into another yelling fit at him. The saiyan made his way for her, grabbing her shoulders and forcefully spinning her around so that she was facing the mirror and her back was to him. While some parts of her back had perfectly healed by now, there were several large patches that were worse for wear – some looking nearly raw, others sporting bright red scabs that seemed as if they would bleed if she hit them the wrong way. Not to mention, there was the new gash that had been created by the sea creature that night…

Bulma held her breath as Vegeta grabbed the tube and squeezed some of its contents out…

… And then she felt rough hands slapping into her skin. "Ah!" She jumped before whipping around so she could see the look on his face. "What are you doing?!"

"What are you on about now?" He growled irritably.

"You were beating on me!" She hissed.

"No I wasn't!"

She stared at his expression for any sign of malice, but all she saw was confused frustration instead. Bulma blinked for a moment, realizing that he really hadn't intentionally hurt her, and she carefully turned back around. "Please…" She muttered. "Try to be more gentle... I'm delicate, you know."

"Did that really hurt you?" He growled. This Earth Woman was as fragile as a piece of glass! He looked down at his hands, which were glistening with the healing lotion he'd put on them, and then he looked back at her skin…

… When he touched her again, he was more careful to hold back on the pressure he used, palming the ointment into a raw patch so softly that he was barely rubbing her at all.

He felt her muscles tense up from his touch, but she didn't jump or scream like she had a moment ago. It seemed that this time her pain was coming from the tender area he was rubbing, instead. With a sharp intake of breath, Bulma straightened her posture and closed her eyes. His fingers were moving so fast, and with their touch brought a throbbing in her dermis tissue, but she did everything she could to resist crying out…

.

.

"Can you still walk?"

She heard him asking this, but he sounded far away. It was strange… The Bluehead opened her eyes to realize that Vegeta had spun her around again and was now staring at her grimacing face. She blinked at him, wondering how long she'd been positioned like that, when he spoke again. "Did you faint?"

"I – " She began, blinking again.

"That's the second time you've lost consciousness on me tonight." He commented. The saiyan took a step back and bobbed his head to the side, eying her up and down. "You might as well go to bed, then. You back should be mostly healed by the time you wake up."

With that, he turned and walked away, leaving a stunned Bulma standing alone in the bathroom. Feeling lightheaded, she rubbed consciousness into her eyes before turning to look at herself in the mirror. When she saw her reflection, the Bluehead couldn't help but to raise her eyebrows as a shy grin creept up on her face. She was still wearing that polka dotted bikini...

The ordeal with the sea monster, the pain she was in from her wounds, and the argument she'd gotten into with Vegeta had all made her forget that she was hardly wearing anything at all. And now, after being left to her own devices for the night, Bulma was suddenly replaying the events in her head…

She was still wearing that bikini, and he'd been looking her up and down…

Just so you know, Chapter 9 is already in the works. It currently has about 1800 words, and there's still a quite a lot of ground to cover!

For anyone who is reading my other story, The 7 Year Gap, I am currently working on the next update for that as well. So far, the draft only has about 800 words, but I have the feeling that it's going to be a long one by the time it's complete!

Thanks for reading!