Chapter 10

A few weeks had gone by since Bulma had first installed the gravity generator in the training rooms and Vegeta had to admit that he had felt his strength increase considerably. Before he began using the GR he had reached a plateau in his training, unable to break through the barrier that seemed to prevent him from progressing. But now with the increased pressure that was constantly pushing him, testing his limits, he had been able to break through that barrier and reach levels beyond his imagination. If he continued like this he would finally be able to reach his goal of Super Saiyan. The ultimate fighting being, the all-powerful legendary saiyan status would soon be his. Smirking to himself he continued the kata he was currently doing in the gravity room before Bulma came to install the new upgrades to the gravity generator.

Ah Bulma. He hadn't really noticed the extent to her intelligence until just recently when she had introduced him to the gravity machine. Sure he knew she was apparently a genius, a science protégé, but he never really understood the depth to her genius. She was far superior to any other being on the planet when it came to brains; she was the only one who had even thought of using increased pressure to enhance training and strength. Even the top-most trainers and elite warriors had never even considered the use of increased gravity to strengthen their power and for that he had developed a new-found respect for her.

She was strong in her own way, using her own talents to her advantage making her powerful and a fierce opponent. She was unlike any other woman he had ever encountered. He had known her for years, hell they basically grew up together, yet never had he ever looked at her in this light before. She was determined and passionate in whatever she put her mind to, which in his eyes made her quite an attractive being. Definitely more attractive than those miserable elite saiyan females who followed him wherever he went.

Suddenly his train of thought was broken by a flurry of giggling emanating from the stands. Glaring furiously at the offenders he shot them the angriest look he could muster, trying his hardest to get them to shut up. It was then he noticed Bulma sitting on the stands a bit off to the side away from the group of saiyan females, holding blueprints in her hands. However, she was looking at him with a look he did not recognise. When he met her gaze she blushed furiously and quickly dropped her gaze to her lap pretending to study the blueprints in her hands the blush still remaining on her cheeks. Tilting his head to the side in curiosity, he wondered why she would be acting so strangely. Making his way to the stands, he went to go investigate.

Bulma had arrived a bit early to the training rooms, tools and blueprints in hand. Making her way to the stands she decided to let Vegeta continue his training before she made the upgrades. Knowing him, he would probably object if she cut into his training time earlier than she had informed him and she really didn't want to deal with an angry Vegeta right now. Sitting down as far away from the group of female saiyans as possible, she unravelled one of the blueprints in her hand to make sure that all the calculations were correctly done, however she was soon interrupted by the incessant whispers of the saiyan woman sitting some distance away from her. Furrowing her eyebrows she tried her hardest to turn her attention back to the designs in front of her; however all hope was lost when she heard Vegeta's name being mentioned. Curiosity getting the better of her, she noiselessly scooted closer to them so she could hear clearly what they were talking about. Pretending to study the blueprints in front of her, she focused her attention on the conversation occurring alongside her.

"Oh my, Prince Vegeta truly is hot isn't he?" one of the girls sighed

"Are you kidding? Look at those muscles, he is far from hot; he is absolutely gorgeous" another one replied dreamily

"Yeah, and one day he is going to be all mine" another voice said confidently

At that there were several snorts before the same woman spoke angrily "Hey, what's wrong don't think he will fall for me?"

"Of course not, why would he go for you when he can have me?" a higher pitched voice spoke

"Look at all of you girls thinking you have a chance with him. He will obviously fall for me" a smug voice said. Bulma instantly recognised this one as Tomara's and cringed in disgust at the thought of her and Vegeta together.

Bulma was soon becoming bored of their conversation as they continued to argue over who would eventually land up with Vegeta. Oh kami, don't these girls have anything better to do? She thought to herself exasperatedly. Realising she wasn't getting anywhere with the blueprints in front of her, she looked up to observe the training area where Vegeta was currently doing his kata only in a pair of spandex training shorts and sneakers.

His body glistened with sweat as he moved gracefully performing each step of his kata with perfect precision and form. The well-defined muscles covering every inch of his body shifted underneath his tanned skin and highlighted the strength that his body held. Bulma became mesmerised with his graceful yet powerful movements and was soon absorbed in his every step. His body was so perfect. His muscles were not bulky but rather leaner and firm giving him a rather attractive build. His posture emanated elegance and royalty. The powerful pride that he held made his form even stronger and forced him to perform every move with the utmost accuracy and detail. Bulma felt that she could sit there and watch him for an eternity completely hypnotised by his enticing movements and body.

Suddenly she was broken out from her daze by some rather loud giggling. Quickly dropping her gaze back down to her blueprints she hoped that the females had not caught her staring at Vegeta. Luckily for her they were too absorbed in their own conversation to pay attention to her. Once again directing her ears towards them she listened in on what they were gossiping about. It seems they had finally moved on from their previous argument.

"Saiyan Tattle was right. He's the biggest I've seen" one of them giggled

"Definitely, look at his size. You can see it through his shorts, and I'm sure he's not even excited" another whispered excitedly

"He must be great in bed" another responded dreamily

"Saiyan Tattle says he's the best there is. Apparently the women he beds always come back wanting more"

"Of course he's the best there is. He is the prince of all saiyans, an epitome of perfection in all aspects" Tomara said arrogantly. "Don't worry ladies; I will fill you in on all the details when he takes me as his mate"

"Ugggh as if" another snorted

"Yeah, he's going to choose me as his mate and then you will have to hear from me how he is a God in bed" another said haughtily

There were then many snorts that followed and soon all of the females were arguing amongst each other. Bulma on the other hand was blushing profusely at what they were talking about. Curiously she lifted her head from the blueprints in front of her and turned her gaze towards the saiyan prince to see if their gossip held any truth. Running her eyes down his body, her eyes came to rest on the certain part of him that they were discussing about. She had to hold in a breath at his size. At least they got one thing right, he truly was large. The fact that he was wearing spandex shorts didn't help the situation either, the large bump was clearly visible and she was sure that he wasn't aroused in any way. Wow, how come I never noticed that before she thought to herself. Her eyes lingered on him for some time, and she soon felt herself getting slightly aroused. Shaking her head furiously, she knew she had to stop these thoughts immediately before they lead her into trouble. I can't be thinking like this, especially about Vegeta of all people. He is my friend, nothing more she tried to convince herself. Not noticing that Vegeta had stopped his training and was now looking at her curiously, she lifted her gaze higher until her eyes met his. Blushing furiously she quickly dropped her gaze back to her blueprints pretending to examine them.

Out of the corner of her eyes she saw the saiyan females alongside her; start to fuss about themselves, fiddling with their clothes and hair trying to catch Vegeta's attention. Seeing them do this she knew that Vegeta was probably making his way towards the stands. Breathing in deeply she tried to calm herself and unsuccessfully banish the blush from her cheeks. Okay calm down Bulma, just act natural. Nothing happened; your mind is just tired from all the work lately. This is just Vegeta, a friend, nothing more nothing less.

Soon she spotted a pair of sneakers in front of her. Lifting her gaze up the thick, strong legs and across the wide, muscular chest she finally met Vegeta's eyes.

"Woman are you just going to sit there or are you going to install the upgrades? I know you are lazy, but I can't wait all day for you to get up off your ass and do what you're supposed to do" he said haughtily crossing his arms over his chest.

At this Bulma immediately forgot her earlier nervousness and anger shot through her. "Mind you, I'm not lazy. I have been working non-stop on these upgrades, so I deserve to take a little break" she said rolling up the blueprints in her hands a bit harder than she needed to.

"Well, yo-" Vegeta started, but he was soon cut off as the group of saiyan females rushed towards him, surrounding him and somehow managing to push him away from Bulma.

Bulma snickered as she saw Vegeta being caught up in the mass of females. The look on his face was priceless! That was the first time she had actually seen him look surprised. Vegeta was always one to be one step ahead of the rest, plotting and planning to ensure he always knew what was going to happen before it did. But he couldn't have foreseen himself being mobbed by these women. He shot Bulma a desperate look through the crowd of women and Bulma chuckled to herself.

"Oh Prince Vegeta, watching you train was truly amazing. You surely are the strongest the saiyan on the planet" one of them cooed, attaching herself to his arm and running her hands over his chest.

Vegeta pushed her away violently, slightly disgusted. "Get off me whore" he growled through clenched teeth.

However the saiyan females seemed completely oblivious to his anger and continued to harass him.

"You know Prince Vegeta; I think we would make quite a pair. You being the strongest male and I the strongest female. We could rule Vegetasei as the perfect couple" another said haughtily. This time she recognised it as Tomara's voice. Peeking through the crowd of females Bulma saw she had also attached herself to Vegeta's arm and was resting her head on his shoulder. At that sight Bulma suddenly felt something inside of her stir and begin to roar angrily. However before Bulma could take further action, Vegeta caught sight of her peeking through the crowd.

Quickly shoving Tomara off of him, he pushed his way through the group that surrounded him and made his way towards Bulma. Grabbing her wrist he pulled her away from the females and towards the training area.

"Hey!" Bulma shouted as she tried to hold on to her blueprints and tools while Vegeta pulled her along behind him.

Reaching the training area he turned around to face the horde of saiyan females who had begun to follow him.

"Don't come onto the training area, unless you want to get squashed into a pulp. The woman has to work with the gravity setting on maximum, in order to do the upgrades" he smirked at them

At that there was a collective groan from the females as they shot him one last look and turned around to head back to the stands.

"What are you crazy?! How am I supposed to do the upgrades without getting killed by the intense gravity?" Bulma whispered to him angrily

"Can you do the upgrades with the generator working on maximum?" he asked

"Yeah, but-" she started

"Then don't worry. Just do what you need to do and I'll take care of the rest" he said heading towards the main controls.

Bulma ran after him, blueprints and tools in hand. Once she reached him, she set her stuff on the control panel and turned towards him.

"And how do you suggest we pull this one off?" she asked

"Trust me" he said turning the gravity up to its maximum setting and initiating the gravity. Quickly wrapping an arm around Bulma's waist he pulled her to his side, so close that her left breast rubbed against the side of his chest. Neither noticed however, as Bulma was panicking too much, afraid that she was going to get squashed by the gravity and Vegeta was focussing his ki to a level that was strong enough to protect her from the intense pressure. Forming a protective shield around her he slowly let go of her waist and stepped away from her, observing his work.

Bulma who had closed her eyes in fright, felt Vegeta move away from her and had started to grope the air in panic searching for Vegeta.

"Vegeta?! Vegeta! VEGETAAAAA!" she screamed searching the air for him with her hands crazily

"Calm down woman. I'm right here" he said coolly

At that Bulma slowly opened her eyes, to find herself surrounded by royal blue ki. Turning around to find Vegeta, she found him standing behind her smirking like crazy.

"Why am I not dead?" she asked incredulously

"Really woman, I didn't think you were that dumb" he smirked "I covered you with a ki shield, to protect you from the gravity"

"Oh… well….thanks" she stuttered

"Whatever. Just do what you need to do. It takes a lot of energy to hold up this shield" he said crossing his arms over his chest.

"Ok right" she said still in shock as she picked up her tools and got to work.

Meanwhile on the stands, the group of female saiyans were watching the display with curiosity which soon turned into anger.

"How dare she think she can take him away from us?!" one of them growled out

"We had him just where we wanted him and then she had to come and interfere" another said through clenched teeth

"Definitely. A few more minutes and he would have been mine. I could already see him falling for me." the woman who had first gotten pushed away from Vegeta spoke up.

"Yeah, just look at her. She's all over him" another one spat as they watched Vegeta pulling Bulma to his side.

"We need to do something about this" another said distastefully

"We don't just need to do something about it. We need to eliminate her completely from the picture" This time it was Tomara who spoke up. "But we need to be smart in the way we act. Clearly the Prince has fallen into her trap, so if we are not careful we might land up hurting our chances more than helping them."

"So what do you suggest we do Tomara?" one of them asked

"Leave that to me" she said slyly an evil grin spreading across her features.

Vegeta walked along the palace corridors, heading towards the dining area for a well-earned meal. After Bulma had made those upgrades to the gravity generator, he had gotten a chance to push his training to even greater limits and, he would not admit it, the harder training had made his body rather tired. He needed sustenance to keep up this more intense training routine, the only problem with eating greater food portions was that he would have to spend more time at the dining table surrounded by those moronic saiyan females and his father. The females were always troubling him, getting in his way, following him wherever he went, trying to flirt with him and at the dining table it was even worse because he was unable to run away from them. He was starting to wish he already had chosen a mate so that they would just leave him alone. It was not like he was going to choose any one of them anyway so he didn't see why they were trying so hard.

However as the weeks passed, he was starting to doubt whether he was ever going to find his perfect mate. Sure he had put absolutely no effort into looking for one, but he was sure if she was truly right for him, she would come to him. The only problem was that his 21st birthday was coming in a couple of weeks and he still hadn't found a potential mate. Sighing to himself he realised that he shouldn't have to look for a mate anyways. He was the Prince of all saiyans, he did not go around scrounging for what he wanted, he should have people to do that for him. Frustrated he reached the dining area and slid into his seat next to his father. Suddenly there was a rush of females, who started pushing and shoving each other to try and get the seat next to him. Unfortunately for him, it looked like Tomara had won again and was now seated grinning victoriously next to him. Rubbing his hand over his face and into his hair tiredly he tried his best to ignore her and focussed his attention on the kitchen doors, which were still closed, waiting for the food to be served.

The king and queen were already seated and were currently discussing something. Not one to be concerned with his parent's politics, Vegeta blocked out their conversation and crossed his arms over his chest impatiently quite content to remain isolated from all other conversations occurring at the table. However his moment of peace was soon short-lived as Tomara turned towards him and tried to start a conversation.

"You know, Prince Vegeta, I was thinking that maybe we could start training together. I have watched all your training sessions and I am now pretty familiar with your routine. It would be great. A chance for us to spend more time together" she said hopefully.

"No way in hell would I ever let you train with me, let alone spend more time with me than you already do. You are not worth my time or effort and I cannot afford a weakling like you slowing me down" he said glaring at her.

"Maybe you would reconsider if you come join me in my quarters tonight. I can show you how spending time with me can truly benefit you" she purred running her hands up his arms.

"Uggghhh disgusting! Get your hands off me!" he shouted roughly pushing her away and scooting his chair closer to his fathers. "Note this woman, and try to get this into your thick skull. I HATE YOU, STAY AWAY FROM ME, I WOULD NEVER TOUCH SOMETHING AS FOUL AS YOU" he said emphasising every word slowly as if he was addressing someone who didn't understand English.

Tomara's face grew red with anger and looked the prince directly in the eye "I don't see why you don't want me, the strongest and most beautiful woman on the planet, yet you spend your free time with that stupid, ugly blue-haired earthling. I don't know why you waste your time with her. She isn't half the woman I am" she finished haughtily.

At that Vegeta lost all sense of control he had. His hand immediately went around her throat while the other formed a ki ball aimed at her head. Tomara choked and sputtered, clawing at his hand around her neck as he tightened his grip. "Don't you ever say that about her. She is five times the woman you are" he spat angrily glaring at her.

By now all attention had been directed to the both of them and the king decided it was best he interrupted now before his son would do something drastic.

"Now now Vegeta. No need to be so violent. Let the young lady go" he said calmly patting his son on the shoulder.

"Not until she apologises" he said through clenched teeth

"Come now Vegeta, let her go" the king said more sternly this time

Vegeta turned to glare at his father, who just nodded his head in response. Sighing to himself he let go of Tomara's neck and dissipated the ki ball in his hand.

Turning back to Tomara he shot her one of the most threatening looks he could manage which scared the hell out of her. "You'd better watch your mouth whore because next time my father won't be around to save your sorry ass" he spat

Tomara just defiantly crossed her arms over her chest and stuck her chin up in the air trying to save whatever pride she had left.

At that moment Bulma came bursting through the dining hall doors adorned in her grease covered lab clothes and a smudge of oil along her cheek. Smiling happily and completely oblivious to the tension in the room she took her seat next to Goku and opposite Vegeta. Turning to Vegeta she smiled cheerfully. "Guess what 'Geta. I just finished these training bots that will serve as an automated training partner for you. They can work in the high levels of gravity you train in and you can use them whenever Goku isn't able to spar with you. Aren't I a genius or what?!" she smirked

"Or what" Tomara mumbled under her breath

Bulma who had heard what she had said glared angrily at her and was about to retort, but luckily for Tomara, at that moment Chi Chi and the kitchen maids came bustling through the kitchen doors with their arms full of food.

Everyone quickly getting distracted by the food being laid out on the table in front of them, completely forgot about the earlier tension in the room and continued with their previous chatter. Quickly grabbing whatever was in her reach Bulma filled her plate before all the food was taken by the hungry saiyans. Glancing at Vegeta she noticed that he had taken considerably more food than his usual gigantic servings.

"Feeling extra hungry today?" she asked curiously

Vegeta looked up from his food to meet her gaze, his mouth full with food. Nodding slowly he returned back to his meal to try and finish as much as possible in the shortest amount of time. The queen glanced at her son's serving of food and then at Bulma curiously. Even she had not noticed that her son had taken extra servings of food today. Of course she always made sure that he had taken enough, but she did not notice the development of his sudden larger appetite. It looks like Bulma knew her own son better than she did. Smirking to herself she knew that she was making the right decision for both her son, Bulma and the planet. All she needed was the right opportunity to initiate her plan.

Conversation filled the table as everyone enjoyed their meal. The only person, however, who had not been making conversation as usual, was Vegeta. He just buried himself in the meal in front of him, ignoring all those who surrounded him until his father turned towards him with the sole intention of getting some answers from his son. This was the one place where Vegeta was unable to walk away from him if his probing got a bit too far, and the king decided to take full advantage of this fact.

"So son, how is the search for a mate going?" he asked calmly

Vegeta turned towards his father his eyebrows furrowing and his mouth full of food. Swallowing his food slowly he answered carefully "Very well father"

At this point the queen turned her attention towards the conversation currently occurring between her son and husband. She also noticed satisfactorily that Bulma was also giving the conversation her attention even though she was trying to hide it.

"Any females caught your eye yet?" the king asked taking a bite of his food

"Not from this lot" he gestured with his head to the saiyan females

"Oh, so you have found another woman. I would very much like to meet her" he said unaware of Vegeta's sudden nervousness

"I'm afraid that wouldn't be possible father" Vegeta responded unusually calmly

"Why not?"

"Uh… because I haven't found a woman yet" he said softly, turning back to his food hoping his father hadn't heard him.

Unfortunately for Vegeta the king had heard him loud and clear and was now growing rather angry.

"Well, tell me son have you spent time with any of these females? Associated with them and judged which one, if any, is compatible with you" he asked sternly putting his fork down and looking his son directly in the eye.

Vegeta would have noticed his father's angry look anywhere, and right now he was on the receiving end of it. Straightening up in his chair, he decided to face his father head on instead of hiding like the coward he knew he wasn't. He was the prince of saiyans, for kami's sake, if he didn't show any bravery who would?

"No, they are not worth my time" he answered firmly

"And how would you know that if you have spent no time with them?" the king replied getting frustrated at his son's stubbornness

"I have observed them from a distance. They are nothing but a pack of greedy whores whose interests only lie in my title and wealth"

"Well, have you at least scented any female yet?" his father asked hopefully

At that both Vegeta and Bulma visibly stiffened. Vegeta shot Bulma a look from the corner of his eyes; however her head was down as she quickly stuffed some food in her mouth to hide her nervousness.

The king seemed completely oblivious to his son's and Bulma's nervousness and had not seen the look Vegeta had given her. The queen however was more observant than her husband and had noticed everything from their reaction to the look Vegeta gave her. Interesting she thought with a smirk on her face. Clearly, I'm not as clued up with my son's actions as I thought I was.

The king continued to look at his son hopefully, waiting for an answer. Vegeta cleared his throat and chocked out a barely audible 'No'.

"Agghhh son! How do you even plan on finding a mate when you make no effort to do so?! I have made your search as easy as I can, there is nothing more I can do, it is up to you now yet you do nothing!" the king shouted angrily

Vegeta just sat there staring at his father with an emotionless mask on his face. The king quickly looked around at the other occupants sitting at the table, making sure they hadn't heard him shouting. Luckily for him they were so absorbed in their own conversations they hadn't paid any attention to him. Sighing slightly he turned back to his son and continued in a softer voice "Look Vegeta, you'd better find a mate for yourself by your 21st birthday or you cannot become king. If you do not do so, it would not be in my power to change things but that of the council, and knowing them they would try to push one of their own sons into the running for king. I do not want you to lose your birth right because of something as simple as not finding a mate."

"I understand father" Vegeta said solemnly

"Right, you've only got a few weeks left so I suggest you start as soon as possible" the king said calmly once again picking up his fork to continue eating.

Vegeta just nodded in response. Turning back to his food he looked down at his plate irritably as he knew he just lost his appetite.