Vegeta laughed at her reaction before he turned serious.
"Relax, woman. I will not destroy the Earth, unless you want me to do it. I only came in here because you called out for me to rid of him for you. I did it the way you want it so I guess my job here is done. I'll see you around when you finally need me to destroy the Earth," he said, waving a hand at her before turning around.
Bulma watched his broad, muscular back as he walked away from her, back to where she came from. His leaving form made Bulma feel something odd tugging within her heart. A stinging pain of regret and loneliness. The questions: "Is he really going to come back?", "What if he leaves and disappears forever?", "Will I lose my wish?" came to her mind. These past three weeks he was gone made her long for him in a strange way. Perhaps, it was because she had seen something within him that he was refusing to acknowledge, something she was feeling as well. The sadness, the loneliness, and something that told her that his evil, cold, and ruthless facade were just a mask to hide the truth about himself.
According to his story, he was forced to become a God of Destruction due to an unforeseen incident which placed this entire universe in great peril. He never wanted to become a God of Destruction in the first place, so him saying that he had learned to accept his role and his duties, changing his mind about it, were all just lies. Those evil smirks, his wicked grins, his sadistic glee, and the cruel glint in his eyes were all made to make himself believe that he was enjoying doing his duties as a God of Destruction.
But she knew better.
"Wait!" she suddenly called out to him. Vegeta's steps halted and he turned slowly to her direction with a perplexed look.
"You said we're bounded by fate, right?" Bulma suddenly asked him.
Vegeta nodded reluctantly, "Yeah..." he responded awkwardly, gazing at her in confusion. His thick, arching eyebrows furrowed together.
Bulma hesitated at first, wondering if whatever she was planning to do is right or wrong. She knew just how dangerous Vegeta is, being a God of Destruction and all. She knew that he might break her neck and kill her or even blow up the entire world, or even destroy her existence for this. Of course, she wouldn't want that to happen. That is why she had to do this.
Bulma thought his eyes changed color to its magenta hue, he was probably going to use his godly destructive power against her but she wasn't sure about that. She nodded, swallowing the fear and hesitation she was having, then she stepped up towards him, reaching out her hands to grab at his face and pulled him towards hers.
Bulma pressed her pinkish lips against his, causing the ominous glow of Vegeta's irises to fade back to its normal onyx color as he was taken aback by surprise. As soon as their lips touched, she felt some unexpected heat shoot throughout her body, and all she could think was to kiss him even more. She did just that, but he didn't do anything. Perhaps, he was in too much shock that he didn't know what to do at all. Because of this, the heat that Bulma felt earlier was extinguished, what an awkward sensation this is.
When Bulma finally pulled away from that stunning kiss she just gave the God of Destruction, she saw his dumbfounded expression. Vegeta was gazing back at her in a mixture of surprise and bafflement. Bulma wanted to laugh but she held it off. She thought the expression in his naturally intimidating face was funny and new. Vegeta frowned at her even more.
Bulma smirked, gazing at his wide, onyx eyes and wrapping her arms around his muscular neck as if to embrace him.
"Then let's stay and live together as fate intended. I will be yours and you will be mine from now on. And while we are doing so, I will change your mind about how you view humans and the Earth, and I will probably teach you a thing or two about how amazing we humans are as well," she told him.
Her mind filled with all her plans to make him understand being human, things she wanted to teach him, and then the sweet thoughts of her revenge against that jerk, Yamcha. Oh how she wanted to make him pay and regret what he'd done to her so much! For some reason, Vegeta's expression changed. He probably heard her thoughts again, most likely thinking about how she had truly lost her mind. He gave her an evil leer, drawing closer to her until his lips was over her left ear and she could feel his warm breath making the hair on her nape stand on its end.
"Now that is a request I will make sure you will regret, woman," he whispered in a voice that made Bulma felt goosebumps crawling all over her fair-white skin. That cold voice made chills run up her spine, but instead of her becoming terrified of him or whatever threat he was trying to tell her, it only made her feel excited. He was a dangerous man, and she used to be thrilled upon meeting dangerous men and putting them in their rightful place.
Then she felt Vegeta ran one of his hands on the back of her head, his fingers twirling her blue hair in between them and he roughly pulled her head backwards, causing her to let out a grunt as he pulled her body closer to him so he could give her an unescapable embrace. Bulma stared at his dark eyes, she could see both fire and ice, burning fury and wicked passion within his obsidian orbs and it made him look more ominous. It made Bulma's heart pound against her chest hard with her dread. Before she could even swallow and quicker than she had expected, Vegeta gave her a rough, fierce kiss on her lips. He ravaged through her mouth with his tongue with heated passion that she never felt with Yamcha. Now, that question in her mind about how it would feel to be kissed by him three years ago was answered.
Vegeta smirked against her lips, looking like he was planning something evil. He had wanted her to regret this decision and learn what the saying 'Be careful what you wish for' meant, but it seems that Whis' advice for him about how 'curiosity killed the cat' would also give him some kind of trouble. No matter. If it turned out to be quite a disappointment, then Vegeta will have a good reason to finally destroy her and the Earth.
Vegeta roughly grabbed her shoulders, pushed her back into the wall behind her, and placed both of his hands on either side of hers as if to trap her like an animal there. Bulma's big, cerulean eyes stared at him with dread like a helpless animal at first, as he was being dominant with her. But she won't let him do that to her. She was a lioness herself, so she isn't someone who would let a man dominate or intimidate her, making them think that they could easily wrap her around their fingers. She made that mistake with her relationship with that jerk, Yamcha, after she lost everything she had and suffered. Never again she would let any man do it to her. She smiled back at him, not backing away from Vegeta's intimidating challenge, and wrapped her arms around his neck again.
"Vegeta, I want you to stay on Earth and live together with me," she said.
Vegeta's cocky expression shifted into confusion, "What?"
"Of course, if you are going to stay on Earth, then you must have accommodation. So why don't you live with me? Whenever there will be leftovers of sushi in our restaurant, I'll bring it home for you. Just don't do anything naughty to me. I know I'm too pretty." she winked.
Vegeta's face was hilarious. He was flushing as red as a tomato, and that shocked and embarrassed stare he was giving her was enough for her to laugh at his face.
He pulled away from her, stepping back as if she disgusted him greatly. "Ha-Have some shame, you vulgar woman!" he yelled at her, turning his back, crossing his arms and huffing in the air.
Bulma gave him a sly smile, "Oooh? Then, what were trying to do just now, eh? You kissed me back, then you pushed me into a wall."
"Don't get the wrong idea, woman! I only did that because you did it first! I only answered your challenge and I was trying to make you feel intimidated!"
"Oh no, that won't work on me this time, mister. I made up my mind already. So what do you say? Come and let's live together!"
Vegeta stared at her as if she had just grown a second head. There was something about this infernal Earth woman that he couldn't understand. How could she be this straightforward to him?
Bulma giggled. She couldn't imagine that the most fearsome god in this universe could be easily flustered. So much for being a deity responsible for death and devastation.
"I won't pass up on a challenge, of course," Vegeta snorted, crossing his arms over his chest. "Plus, I am only interested with the take-home sushi and pissing off that bastard even more. Also, whatever you are planning in your head, I'm sure that if it pissed me off, it would give me a proper reason to destroy you and this stupid world," then he gave her a wicked grin, tilting his chin up haughtily. "Do not forget that you just let the most ruthless and evil deity among all in to your home. I hope you won't regret it."
Staring at his vicious expression, Bulma began to ask herself if she had truly made the perfect plan or if she had only made matters even worse for her, the entire humanity, and the Planet Earth.
Chapter 21: A Frightening Cohabitation
A few moments later, Bulma was staring blankly at the tiles of the bathroom wall right in front of her. She was squatting and hugging her knees as she reminisced what she just said and did back then.
"What the hell did I just do?" she asked herself. "My gosh, what the hell? Why did I even ask him to live with me? He's right. How could I forget what kind of freaking monster he is? Aaah... Damn it! I must be going crazy thinking that I could suddenly change him magically just like that."
She was berating herself, pressing her face against her palms in embarrassment and whined out loud. "Uuurghh... What do I do now? This is embarrassing."
After a few moments, trying to think of a solution, she decided to tell him that she was only kidding him around. Though that was an effective strategy she used when she denied and defended herself about her wish for him to destroy this world, she doubt it would do her any good right now considering that she wasn't drunk at all. Would he be so mad enough to destroy her existence and the world if she told him that?
Or maybe she should apologize to him. Yeah, she should just apologize and beg him to show her mercy once again. She could only hope that she still had some lucky stars to use.
She rose from her position and turned to the exit.
"Uh... You know, Vegeta, I-!"
As soon as she turned the knob and opened the door, Bulma let out a surprised gasp, causing her words to be cut off in her shock.
The outside to her bathroom had totally changed. When she expected it to be the bright, tiny living room of her small apartment, what greeted her was a massive room lighted by a single chandelier that hang above the ceiling. The walls were black instead of cream white, and the tiled floor was changed into marble. At the center of the spacious room was a black, leathered sofa set where Vegeta sat like royalty with his legs crossed. He was devouring his favorite food that he ordered Whis to get him earlier.
"Hm? What's that? Are you going to say that you're only kidding me earlier?" Vegeta suddenly asked her with a happy smile as he chewed the food on his mouth. Bulma stared at that joyous expression he had, flabbergasted at the fact that only Maguro Nigiri could make this terrifying god to smile like that.
Bulma shrugged, thinking that Vegeta looked scarier to her if he smiled that way as compared to him letting out his usual wicked smirks.
Bulma's blue eyes swept across the room as she stuttered, "Wha... What... What the hell is this?" she gasped.
"I couldn't stand how tiny your place is so I decided to have it renovated a little."
"Huh? You did this?"
"No, I ordered Whis to do this for me," he said nonchalantly.
Bulma strolled around the spacious room and found several doors leading to several different rooms in the house, though nothing led her back to her apartment, except for that one door where she came from.
She returned to where Vegeta sat and asked him, "What did you do to my home? Where are my things?"
"Worry not, they're in the same place. You simply entered into a closed space which led you to my home."
"Your home?"
"You wanted us to live together but I couldn't stand your tiny place so I decided to have my place transferred here by creating a closed space and connecting two dimensions together within it. Your place is right there," Vegeta pointed at the door where Bulma just came from with his chopsticks.
Bulma turned around to reopen the door, to find that the bathroom earlier had changed into the small, studio-type room of her apartment.
"Woah... This is amazing," she gasped in awe.
When Bulma cheerfully sat on the sofa next to Vegeta while commenting how her small home suddenly became a mansion because of what Vegeta asked his guide angel to do, he was giving her a glare as he used his power of destruction to reduce the empty bento box into black dust particles until it completely disappeared in the air. She shrugged at the uncomfortable feeling of his intense gaze, and at the sight of him using his godly power.
"Wha-what are you staring at?" she asked awkwardly.
Vegeta seemed to regard her for a moment, looking like he was trying so hard to understand whatever she was thinking.
"Tell me, woman. You like me, don't you?" he suddenly asked.
Bulma's head swiveled in his direction, wide-eyed. "What?!"
"Because I was thinking about why you invited me, of all people, to live with you. Aside from that, you kissed me and you told me that we should stay together as fate would have intended for us. To be honest, I've never seen a woman be this straightforward with her feelings. Even your thoughts weren't that way when you said those words to me. When you said, 'Let's live together', I heard that you were afraid of me leaving you alone and disappearing from your sight forever. Why is that?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about!" Bulma denied, her face as red as a tomato.
He stared at her, amusement sparking in his dark eyes. "Either you like me or you are just a crazy idiot," he snickered, shaking his head. "You really are strange and annoying, you know that? After you told me how much you hate me and that you want me to disappear from your life, now you suddenly like me and you even invite me to live with you."
Despite hearing her thoughts and knowing her intentions, Vegeta still finds it hard to understand the workings of this Earthling woman's mind. It confuses him more than anyone he had ever met.
"So why did you agree on this? Did you somehow pity me?" she asked.
Vegeta snorted at her lightly, "Pity you? Why should I?"
Bulma shrugged her shoulders, looking away, "Deities like yourself usually pity us mortals."
"Not all deities are like that. I am the God of Destruction and I don't feel anything aside from my own anger and hatred, which are necessary for me to focus on my duties well. I see mortals as just mere things. Think of this Universe as my home and I decide which things stay to exist and I eliminate those that are useless to me in order to make it the best. So I don't pity mortals, much less an insignificant and powerless human like yourself."
"But aren't you once a mortal? Even if you are a God of Destruction now, you were still once a mortal who used to feel emotions, right?"
Vegeta's expression suddenly turned to that of annoyance. "Woman, I told you that as a mortal, I was a Saiyan prince and we Saiyans are the most ruthless race of warriors in the Universe during my time and as the Crown Prince, I should be the cruelest among us. I was raised not to have such emotions that would make me soft and bring my downfall. This is one reason why I was chosen to be the God of Destruction of this Universe. I am heartless, cruel, evil, and I am not allowed to feel emotions like you do, since birth."
Bulma eyed him, a sideway glance of disgust. "Liar," she muttered. "You fought so hard during your mortal life for the sake of your duty as Crown Prince. You were afraid of dying, of becoming weak, of losing your pride. You stood up for your predecessor in front of the King of All, fought against the King of Nothingness to protect this Universe. You worked hard to gain your strength, that's why you chose to become a God of Destruction despite not really wanting to. You used to care for someone or something, right? I'm sure that there was a time when you felt pity on any of your clients."
"All those things I did for the sake of my ambition to become the strongest in the cosmos. It's not because I truly wish to protect this Universe. I protected myself because I know that if this Universe is gone, and so as myself. Anyway, that was a very long time ago and I have changed a lot since that time. Causing death and destruction wherever I go for more than one thousand five hundred years already hardened my heart and my resolve enough that I don't feel the same way as I used to when I was still a mortal. I already told you this in the hospital. So to answer your earlier question, the reason why I agreed to this is because of the challenge. As I said, I've been hearing your thoughts through our bond, and because of it, I know exactly what you were planning when you invited me to live with you. I have intentionally let myself fall into your trap because I was being curious about something."
"And what made you curious?" she asked.
"Lately, I've been getting absurd requests from a few clients, which I couldn't make any sense of. I was hoping to find an answer to this problem by making use of the bond I had with you to understand why those clients did what they did. This is the reason why I chose you to decide the fate of this world for me. Whis agreed to allow me do this, but he also warned me of the dangers of such curiosity. I promised him that once I didn't find any of my discoveries useful or interesting at all, I will destroy everything there is in this world, of course, that's starting with you. Do you get it? The fate of this world is up to you satisfying me." Vegeta replied, grinning at her maliciously.
"You said you have heard my plans," Bulma said.
"Yeah, your plan on making me the person you love the most so you won't have to lose anything," he replied. Vegeta rolled his eyes, crossing his bulging, muscular arms over his chiseled pectorals. "You wanted to try stopping me from destroying you and this world. You can go ahead and do so, I don't mind. It's going to be your waste of time and effort anyways. But don't ever expect me to return the same favor to you. I can only give misery, pain, death, and destruction. Nothing else," then his smile grew more malevolent. "I will make sure that you will cry in the end."
Bulma gave him a weird look before asking, "Last time, you said that mortals either feared you, hated you, and cursed at you. You said that you do not live, and that you simply exist to do your duty as the God of Destruction of this universe. I still cannot understand how you can just accept all of that and for so many years. Does it hurt you?"
Vegeta returned the same gaze at her, "What are you talking about?"
She shrugged her shoulders again, looking away and leaning her back against the backrest of his sofa. "I don't know, maybe because back in the hospital and also the last time I was with you, when you said those words to me, I thought that I saw something within your eyes that made me feel sad about you. Maybe, pity even."
Vegeta rolled his eyes, scoffing, "Pffft! I am the God of Destruction. I don't need your pity."
"No, maybe it's not pity. I have seen sadness and loneliness in your eyes when you told me those words, and for some reason, I feel the same way. I thought we are similar, and maybe because I was feeling the same way as you, that I was thinking that I could use it to try and understand you.
"When I was watching the news this morning, I was beginning to understand the importance of your duties being the God of Destruction of this Universe. You were right, all mortals suffer. I had my fair share of miseries and I have no idea if other people have the same, better, or worse situations and experiences than I had. I just learned that everyone has their own fair share of burdens, even you. You said that every suffering is a blessing in disguise and that you deities listen to our prayers and decide which blessings we should receive in exchange for the things we have lost. You said that this is how you deities keep the balance of this Universe. When I saw the morning news, I thought over what you said and realized that you were right. I wanted to apologize for misunderstanding you. I just thought of only myself and not have seen the bigger picture.
"Then I realized that maybe even if I did apologize, that it would be too late. My sister almost died today in the hospital. You threatened that if I failed to decide the fate of this world, then the person I love the most shall be destroyed. So I thought that maybe you were coming for her. I waited, but you didn't show up. I thought that I already lost you. You left and simply stopped caring about my wish and I was afraid that you will never show yourself to me again. And for some reason, I do not want to waste my wish just like that, plus I was also curious about that bond you were talking about. That's why I decided, and I will not allow you to leave me like that ever again."
Vegeta simply stared at her in silence, considering her words in his mind. This was the first time a mortal admitted to be afraid of him leaving her and not coming back again. All mortals he met were afraid of him returning to them because it meant that he's coming for them to destroy them or their world without second chances anymore. This woman though, she wanted to see him again? Not just that, she wanted to make him the person she loved the most? Nobody dared to try and bother themselves to love a God of Destruction, the bringer of death and devastation to mortals and their worlds. Though there were some pathetic mortals who loved the idea of death, they were still afraid of it and would hate it once they were at the face of it.
Vegeta darted his eyes away from her and silently snorted, "Hmph! Do and believe whatever you want. As I said earlier, I hope that you won't regret this. To think that you want me, of all people, to stay in this world with you. You have simply put this entire planet in great peril by inviting me to stay in here. I accepted because I know that in the end, this world is going to be destroyed by me, which is favorable on my side. Have you forgotten that wherever I go, death and destruction will happen?"
"And in places you visit, either someone there is fated to die or that entire world is going to be destroyed. I know that."
"I hope you won't have any problem with guilt. Also, I bid you good luck with that little plan of yours. I hope it works out."
Bulma didn't know if Vegeta was being sarcastic or not.
"I will find a way, thanks," she assured him with determination and confidence.
Vegeta rolled his eyes at her, grumbling, "Whatever."
In his mind, he knew that this decision of theirs to live together would eventually cause a chain of events which would lead to the destruction of Earth and the entire humanity. Vegeta was confident that he will win this challenge as always.
Meanwhile, on Planet Namek, Granolah's space jet landed on one of the empty islands where he would normally park his spaceship. The green-haired bounty hunter jumped out of the plane and looked at his surroundings with a smile of relief. Finally, he was back home and he cannot wait to see Monaito. He was getting hungry after that long journey.
As he hopped enthusiastically on one island to another on his way back to Monaito's small house, he found a group of Namekian children studying Namekian mythology led by the elder of the village, Tsuno. One of the children called Dende waved a hand on him and he was followed by other children greeting him welcome back. Tsuno cleared his throat and gave Granolah a gaze that silently told him to wait for a moment and join his little class for a while.
Granolah sat on one of the empty chairs and joined the Namekian children on listening to Elder Tsuno's lesson about the two most powerful deities of the Universe.
"Kaioushin-sama is the God of Creation who created everything that exists in the Universe. He created the stars, the planets, and everything that is living within it. He also gives life to all living things. He watches over us mortals in his sacred planet up in the godly realm," Tsuno was explaining. "On the other hand, we have the God of Destruction, Hakaishin-sama, who destroys everything that the Kaioushin had created. He is also responsible for death and devastation, and serves as a judge of mortals to this Universe. He decides which to exist and not to exist in this world."
One child named Esca raised his small hand and asked, "Are Kaioushin-sama and Hakaishin-sama enemies?"
"No, they actually work together to maintain the balance of our universe. You see, before creation happens, destruction must occur first. Else, the balance of this Universe will fall and will result in total annihilation of everything."
"You mentioned that Kaioushin-sama only watch mortals in his godly realm, how about Hakaishin-sama?"
"Hakaishin-sama lives in a different realm than Kaioushin-sama, and as he is a destroyer deity, he is allowed to go to the mortal world to do his job of destruction. They say that wherever he goes, death and destruction would follow."
"So I guess he still hasn't appeared on Planet Namek yet?"
"Actually, he already did a very long time ago. Remember about the Legend of the Dragon Balls that we have discussed last week? According to the Namekian Book of Legends, the reason why there are no more Dragon Balls that existed today is because Hakaishin-sama had decided to destroy them."
"Eeh? Really?"
"Yes. He had foreseen the dangers of the existence of the Dragon Balls, that is why he decided to destroy them. He is also the reason why Planet Namek suffered a great drought, for it is our divine punishment from him after someone defied his command to never create any Dragon Balls again. So it is a great taboo for us Namekians to create the Dragon Balls. We should still be grateful that Hakaishin-sama was being merciful and that he didn't destroy the planet and us Namekians, else we wouldn't be alive and be here as of today."
"Heehh..."
As Granolah listened on, his mind suddenly had a flash of memory seeing a man with flaming hair and glowing magenta eyes trying to destroy some planet he had barely and luckily escaped from. Granolah blinked, wondering what that is.
"A God of Destruction, eh..." Granolah muttered to himself. He remembered that the man he heard talking to Elec back in the Heeter's base was referred to as 'Hakaishin-sama' by his boss. He wondered if he is the same God of Destruction Tsuno was speaking about.
After the class ended, Tsuno told Granolah to follow him back to his house where he handed him a paper bag filled with vials of liquid herbal medicine. It was for Monaito, who was already five hundred years old and was having problems with his legs and how he walked. The kind village elder told Granolah to deliver it to Monaito and the Cerealian thanked him.
Granolah made his way back home to where his father-figure, the gentle and generous Namekian who adopted him and took care of him for forty years after his mother's death, resided. They both lived in one of the islands far from most villages. Both Granolah and Monaito wished to live a little far from the rest of the Namekians, considering how they got used to the life on Planet Cereal.
Once he entered the small white house made of white mud bricks and clay, shaped like a giant slug, with oval shaped windows and a door that lifts up from the ground, he found the elderly Namekian, Monaito, sitting in front of his small television set that broadcasted entertainment shows from the Intergalactic network. He was busy doing something else aside from watching a live concert of a pair of Sugarians singing together.
"I'm home!" Granolah greeted, causing the old Namekian to gasp and almost jump on his seat in surprise. An orange marble fell into the floor towards Granolah's feet. Granolah picked the marble up and stared at the crystal-like ball with a single orange star shaped design seemingly embedded on the inside.
"Granolah, you rascal! You surprised me." Monaito laughed.
"You were too busy to notice," Granolah said, eyeing the strange-looking but beautiful marble. "Too busy making these star balls again."
The green-haired Cerealian handed Monaito his marble and the paper bag Tsuno told him to deliver, "This came from Tsuno-san. And here, I bought you a few bottles of water."
"Thank you, Granolah," Monaito said. "How was your work today?"
"Strange," Granolah replied. "I can't remember a thing or two of what I was doing or where I was going to. I woke up in the jet not knowing what I was doing there. I felt like I was dreaming or something."
"Huh? That is strange indeed," Monaito agreed.
Granolah's shoulders slumped as he let out an exhausted sigh, "Yeah, I didn't manage to get any profit too. I had no job on the list from the Heeters as of now so I guess I'll be staying here for quite some time."
"Yeah, you should rest and take your time off once in a while, Granolah. Maybe you needed it," Monaito suggested.
"Yes," Granolah agreed. He looked up to his foster father and asked, "Hey Monaito, do you happen to know what a God of Destruction is?"
"The God of Destruction?" Monaito blinked. "Of course. He is one of the deities responsible for the balance of the Universe according to Namekian Mythology, the destroyer of all creations, the judge, the punisher, and the most feared and most powerful deity among all in this Universe. Why did you ask?"
"The kids were having lessons in mythology earlier. I just thought that the Hakaishin sounds familiar. When I went to the Heeter's base, I heard Elec talking to someone he addressed as Hakaishin-sama."
Monaito's eyes went huge at Granolah's words. "Elec did what?!" he gasped in fear.
"He was talking to some Hakaishin. Weird, right? Do you think that the God of Destruction really exists or is he just a mere character from urban myths?"
Granolah had no idea why Monaito was looking at him that way. He was clearly afraid and worried, terrified even, shaking in fear and anxiety. It made Granolah worried.
"Monaito, are you alright?" Granolah asked carefully.
"Granolah, you better stay away from the Heeters for now. No matter what happens, do not ever associate yourself with them. Do you understand me?" Monaito was stuttering.
This confused Granolah, "Huh? Why is that-?"
"Because I said so!" Monaito's voice was hard and shouting. "If you do, you might get into a crossfire between the Heeters and the most feared and most dangerous deity in our Universe. If that happens, even you will be utterly destroyed from your existence."
Granolah blinked back at him. What was the problem?
Monaito rose from his seat and turned around to walk back to his room. "Heed my warning, Granolah. I am going to bed. You better go to sleep as well." that was the last thing he said before he shut the door close behind him.
"I understand," Granolah replied, though he was still confused by Monaito's upset reaction.
Granolah went to his room next to Monaito's, wondering about Monaito's surprising reaction to his question earlier. Did Elec really have a conversation with the God of Destruction? Is the God of Destruction real? Or whoever that guy Elec was talking to was only pretending to be one? But Elec was obviously fearing for his life- existence rather, when speaking to the mysterious man.
As Granolah's eyes closed to sleep, he dreamt of strange, supposedly forgotten memories of his encounter with the God of Destruction back on Planet Inoshishi... Or was it? It was too dark for him to make sense of anything. All he could hear was the sobbing of a woman next to him, and his own cries of pain.
The man standing above him had such fearsome darkness within him, with hair flaring up like a burning flame, staring intently at his soul with a glowing pair of magenta irises. And his cold voice speaking in his head saying, "Of course, you can decide whether you go through this or not. Once you have made your decision, focus your mind on the destruction of that man and call me by my name.
"I am the God of Destruction, the deity responsible for death and devastation. My name is... "
When the mysterious man was about to say his name, the images became filled with the screams of horror as people ran for their lives. The young Granolah was also screaming as his mother threw him into the spaceship, Monaito was there, clinging to him as the ship blasted off into the skies of Planet Cereal. The last thing he saw through the window was his mother falling dead to the ground. The God of Destruction's voice faded, like through a radio static. There was another flash of images, Granolah was escaping from the destruction of a planet, as he passed by Clouds where he saw the man who claimed to be the God of Destruction once again. Their eyes met, and Granolah felt something within him pulsed in reaction to that man's ominous presence.
Granolah woke up with a scream.
Bulma rose from her seat next to Vegeta, who suddenly was silent and concentrating his senses as if he was hearing something Bulma couldn't hear, and went inside her room. Several seconds later, she returned with a futon, a blanket, and a pillow piled upon one another. She stopped nearly five feet in front of Vegeta and started to make her bed on the floor. As if he just came to life, Vegeta's icy, black, beady eyes looked at her, frowning.
"What are you doing, woman?" Vegeta asked her, eyeing her disgustedly.
"Preparing my bed, isn't that obvious?" she responded coldly as she continued to spread the sheets over the futon.
"I can see that," he said with a tone of annoyance, rolling his eyes off her.
"Then stop asking such obvious questions."
Vegeta silently snarled at her, feeling annoyed at her words.
Bulma raised her head and said, "Let's sleep together. Go and get your own pillow."
Vegeta scowled, "What?!"
"Why? Are you scared that I might do something to you?"
Vegeta snorted aloud, letting out a malevolent looking smile, "You should be the one who should fear the fact that I may do something to you while you are asleep, woman. There's no reason for me to be afraid of a mere human like you. I could kill you or even destroy your very existence as you sleep. Are you sure you wish to sleep with a monster and a destroyer deity?"
Bulma frowned at him, "I am not afraid of you. Why else did I invite you to live with me? Plus, my life is miserable as it is, death and destruction could be more comfortable than what I have gone through."
"Is that a challenge?"
"Why? Are you going to do it?"
Vegeta snorted, "Fine, come with me," he said with another roll of his eyes.
Vegeta rose from his throne-like sofa and led Bulma towards his massive bedroom. It's as dark and as almost empty as the living room, a single king-sized bed topped with a mahogany canopy, filled with the best silks, comforters, and pillows in the universe was at the center of the room. Next to it was a bedside drawer made of dark wood, and a lamp. As Vegeta shut the door behind Bulma, he put his hand over the wall next to her right side, causing Bulma to be cornered and had her back against the door. He leaned closer to her, enough for Bulma to feel the warmth of his body and smell his ambrosial scent. His face close to her, enough for their noses to barely touch the other's. She stared into his cold, dark eyes as he gazed at her with such hair-raising intensity.
"Remember that you had willingly stepped into my territory. Don't say I didn't warn you," he whispered into her ear.
Bulma simply glared back at him before she made a side step and made a beeline towards the left side of his bed. She lied in there as if the bed was her own, and for some reason, it reminded her of the days when she slept in a bed as comfortable as this many years ago. Very far from the feeling of sleeping in a futon on the floor or a sofa. Vegeta shook his head in distaste of the woman's manners and lay down next to her.
The room was silent for several moments until Bulma decided to speak up in a sleepy, tired voice, "Hey, Vegeta. Are you asleep?"
"No," he responded coldly.
"What are you thinking right now?" she asked.
"I am thinking about what kind of idiot you are, how stupid you are, and how strange you are. Your very existence annoys me to no end. I am thinking of all the cruel ways I could kill you, of the many ways I could make you suffer, just before I end your miserable, pathetic existence with the divine punishment of Destruction. That is what I'm thinking," Vegeta replied. Even though he could clearly hear her thoughts as he told her that, he decided to ask her the same thing, just to hear her voice say whatever she was thinking. "How about you?"
"I am thinking... About how crazy I must be to allow someone like you to do this to me." Bulma responded. "You were right, you could have killed me in here and destroy my existence, and that I have placed my world in great peril inviting you to stay and live with me. The way you looked at me earlier, the way your smile reeked of cruelty, and your eyes darkened with the intent to kill and destroy, you were really cold and scary. I may indeed regret this later, but right now, being this close to you, of all people, feels good. It feels warm and comfortable. I like being with you like this."
Vegeta frowned to himself. Nobody in his life had ever felt this comfortable in his presence. Bulma was right, she must be really crazy.
"But I believe I am not crazy when I think that you still have a good side," she continued. "I know that you can still feel emotions, despite how much you deny and act like you don't. I know that you care, that sometimes you regret doing some of your duties and feel pity in some of your clients or victims. I know that you feel sad and lonely at the fact that you were forced to become a God of Destruction against your own will. I saw it in your eyes, that's why I strongly believe it."
"Stop spouting such nonsense and go to sleep, woman. I want peace and quiet," Vegeta angrily muttered, rolling his eyes in his annoyance of her stupid assumptions.
"Mmmmphh... Okay," Bulma sighed, replying back with a groggy voice. Few seconds later, she was asleep.
Once Vegeta sensed that she was in deep slumber, he rolled to his left side to face her. He watched at her sleep for quite some time. She was truly relaxed and comfortable being with him like this. In his mind, he wondered about how such a fragile little creature he could easily squeeze the life out of could feel such comfort being this close to him. In his many years of being the God of Destruction, he allowed a few women be close to him physically before he went on destroying them from their miserable existence. Despite that, the tension and fear of being destroyed were obvious to their actions.
But this human woman, Bulma Briefs, was crazy enough to sleep next to him like this. And she knew he could kill her right there whenever he wanted to. Just as how he did to all other mortals like her.
Vegeta raised his left hand, sneakily drawing it closer to her throat. If he wanted to, he could break that fragile little neck of hers so effortlessly. But what he only did was to gently pull some strands of her blue hair away from her face. He curiously traced his fingers against the smooth porcelain skin of her beautiful face, feeling the warmth and softness of her mortal human form. As soon as his finger made contact to her skin, he felt her core of existence pulsed within her body. Bulma groaned and rolled around the bed, facing the other side. Vegeta frowned to himself, silently berating himself, "What the fuck am I doing?" before he rose from the bed and left the room.
Vegeta silently paced towards Bulma's small apartment. He was looking around at her things as if to investigate, and found a picture frame with the photo of her and Yamcha during their College graduation. Both humans were smiling happily at the camera, with Yamcha embracing her from behind. Vegeta frowned at the couple picture and wondered why she didn't remove it among the display of mostly family pictures. He scoffed in disgust, putting the photo down and picked up the Briefs family photo instead. In it, Bulma was with her older sister and her parents in front of the entrance to her old home, the Capsule Corporation.
"You said you have heard my plans," he recalled her words in his memory.
"Yeah, your plan on making me the person you love the most so you won't have to lose anything," that was what he said.
Bulma lost everything in her life. Her parents were killed, her once bubbly older sister fell into a coma, her once princess-like life where she was supposed to be this heiress to a multi-billion company, and despite all her genius and degrees in engineering and medicine, she was reduced to being just a waitress in a small sushi stall to serve customers. She lost everything because he came into her life.
He knew exactly just how frustrating it could be for he once lost everything in his life too. He was a crown prince, the heir to the throne of his people, the Saiyans, most powerful race of warriors in the universe. His and Bulma's entire race were meant to be destroyed by the God of Destruction, but for some reason, they were chosen to decide the fate of their people and their world. Both of them lost everything because a certain destruction came into their lives. Vegeta realized that him and Bulma were oddly similar in some ways.
However, while Vegeta had no other choice, he had the favor of the God of Destruction on his side. How about Bulma? Will he be willing to give her the same favor as what Beerus gave him? Or does he only see her as a tool to help him decide the fate of humanity and the Earth?
He wondered what Yonshir was trying to warn him about. What could be his greatest test yet? While he suspected that Bulma and the bond he had with her could have something to do with this test and how he initially wanted to sever those connections by destroying her existence, his curiosity got the best of him and dared to take on this challenge. Vegeta wasn't the type to back out and refuse challenges after all. This is the reason why he agreed to Bulma's plans. He thought that this could be interesting enough to fend off his boredom.
Of course, a little sightseeing wasn't really a bad idea. It's not often that a God of Destruction would stick around on a planet to make his observations to help him decide what divine judgment he should bestow upon its mortal inhabitants once in a while. Some part of him was hoping that whatever discoveries he could find here with the woman's help, it would fail to satisfy him just so he could finally have the proper reason to destroy humanity and the Earth.
Just as what happened to Planet Inoshishi.
Plus, it wouldn't be that bad since Vegeta knew that wherever he goes, death and destruction would always happen. So just staying in this little mudball might cause a chain of events that would eventually lead to the Earth's destruction he had been waiting for.
Vegeta put the Briefs' family picture down on the top of the table and looked at the red glowing digital numbers on Bulma's alarm clock. It was three-fifteen in the morning. It should be time for those desperate and foolish humans to be calling out to him.
Just as he expected, he felt a connection when he heard a desperate and weeping voice in his mind and he went as still as a statue, concentrating on the prayers being sent to him by the vengeful and mourning father of a young and innocent victim who was killed during the children's parade incident that occurred on this City yesterday morning.
He turned to the door and said in a tone devoid of any emotion, "I'm going, Whis."
Several blocks away from Bulma's apartment, was a funeral filled by grief and lamentation within the home of the Sakai family. A devastated thirty-six year old father whose name was Keisaku Sakai just arrived to see and mourn the remains of his first born and only child, Hiro Sakai, who was one of the poor victims of the West City Holiday Parade this morning.
Keisaku was very fond of his six-year-old boy, a miracle baby who survived being born prematurely at just eight months. His wife, Chiharu Sakai, had eclampsia during her pregnancy with Hiro, so after she gave birth via cesarean section, she was advised to undergo salpingectomy, thus effectively ending her ability to become pregnant ever again. That's why Keisaku and Chiharu cherished Hiro so much. So when their beloved son was among those unfortunate enough to lose their lives during the bloody parade, it made both parents utterly woeful.
The remorseless suspect of the hideous crime, Jeizun Shibata, was still on the loose. The police authorities still haven't captured the rotten scum and was probably hiding somewhere far, with all those money he stole from a nearby bank. The bereaved family loathed the guy so much, and the slacking actions of those stupid authorities. Keisaku was known for his distrust of those damn officers and the stupid justice system of this City.
Somebody among their visitors mentioned about the Urban Legend of the ritual to summon the God of Destruction. The story caught the attention of the weeping father, who listened on the conversation of those two visitors.
"Hiro-chan was a good little boy. I feel so bad for Keisaku-kun and Chiharu-chan," said one of the visitors, an elderly woman named Chiyo, who was a close family friend of Chiharu's parents. "I hope that the authorities could find and arrest the suspect. I heard that the man was a convict before, but was able to escape prison for some reason."
"I doubt they could. I think that man has connections among the authorities, that's why he can get out of prison that easily," said her friend, Kougo.
"Ah... Really?"
"In cases like these, we should just leave it to the deities."
Chiyo snickered, shaking her head. "If only a deity could come down here and punish those evil men."
"Speaking of deities, I suddenly remembered a story my granddaughter shared to me after she watched Yami on likomico. Do you know who Yami is?"
"Ah... I think so. Kouya-chan was a big fan of those boisterous songs. Yami is the vocalist of that metal rock band, The Dark Destroyers, right?"
"Exactly! Miho's quite a stan of those kind of artists," scoffed Kougo. "So he said that there was this urban legend where you can summon a destroyer god and wish for him to destroy anything you want."
"Really?"
"There was an urban legend circling the internet according to Yami himself, though many vloggers on likomico have tried to do this ritual, it seems it's nothing but just a hoax since nobody showed up."
"Tsk tsk... These kids are so easy to believe those kind of things..."
Having heard that conversation, Keisaku took his smartphone out of his pocket to search about this so-called urban legend and found several articles pertaining to the said ritual of summoning the God of Destruction.
Many entries among the likomico vlogging website say it was a hoax and is nothing but a mere urban legend. Just as Keisaku was about to lose his only hope of revenge, he found a rather ominous vlog entry from a guy called 'JunMa3d4' titled: 'My Mother summoned the God of Destruction!', a video that was done over a month ago.
Keisaku went to the corner to watch the video of Jun Maeda, the son of Himawari Maeda, which was created a week before Vegeta destroyed Himawari. Apparently, Jun uploaded the video a few hours before that. So Jun was facing the camera, telling his audience about how his mother summoned the God of Destruction and wished for him to destroy her bully from her existence. He mentioned that his mother did warn him to never make a vlog about this sensitive topic, but as it was becoming such a trend due to the video of Saike Regin's death three years ago, he decided to ignore such warning so he could make use of the topic's popularity and gain a lot of viewers and new subscribers, thus giving him lots of money. In the video, he mentioned of the requirements and the steps of the ritual his mother did. A blood sacrifice, a prayer for destruction during the devil's hour. Keisaku didn't dare to finish the said video after learning the process. He was determined to do this ritual and destroy that damn scum who killed his only son.
He raised his head to glare at the urn of his child before he looked down at the time on his smartphone. It was 3:14 a.m. Keisaku rose from his kneeling position, grabbed the picture frame displayed on the top of the urn and hurled it into the floor. The sound of his grief-filled roar and the glass shattering against the marble made all his visitors turn their heads to him with odd looks, wondering what he was doing. When Chiharu and their other family members tried to grab him, thinking he just lost his mind at his own son's funeral, he picked up one of the broken glass shards and slashed his forearm. With his crimson blood dripping on the floor, Keisaku fell to his knees, and let out a loud, desperate prayer.
"Hakaishin-sama, if your existence is real, please hear my prayers and avenge my Hiro-chan! Please! Please find that rotten scum and destroy him for me!"
His family pulled a ballistic Keisaku out of the living room, trying to calm him down. The commotion only stopped when a stranger suddenly walked within the house as if it was his own home. They stared at the man with the flaming hair as he strolled straight into the altar and just stared at the urn. While it was proper to wear an entirely black mourning attire during a funeral, the strange man came in almost half naked, donning a striped blue and black wesekh collar similar to what Egyptian gods wore, a vibrant blue baggy pants, brown boots with gold rings around his ankles, and golden jewelries such as a golden choker necklace, and a pair of golden arm and wrist bands on his arms. The man had a strange style of hair, it swept upwards, forming spikes that made it look like he had a black flame over his head. And... Is that a monkey tail behind his legs?
"Excuse me, but do we know you?" asked Keisaku's father, who was trying his best to restrain his son earlier.
"No," the stranger replied coldly. "But your souls should recognize who I am."
Just as he said those words, everyone within that home felt something within their chests pulsed. But the humans were unaware what this feeling meant. Vegeta simply glared at the humans with the intimidating gaze of his narrowed, slanted, obsidian eyes, and they all froze in their soul's terror, making them all paralyzed and stiff, like statues. Vegeta turned, stepped towards them and squatted right in front of Keisaku, who stared at him in disbelief. He smirked back at him, one that gives off his terrifying aura, a true deity of destruction.
"You summoned me," he said. "I am the God of Destruction, the deity responsible for death and devastation, Vegeta Yonsei. I heard your prayer and here I appear before you to fulfill your wish to avenge your son by destroying Jeizun Shibata."
Keisaku's tears fell and he fell to his knees to plead the god before him, "Please... Hakaishin-sama. I never trust the justice system of this country and I believe that even if that bastard rots in prison, it wasn't enough punishment for him for what he did to Hiro-chan and many others who lost their lives in his hands. He may soon get out of there and do more heinous crimes to other people. I want you to please make him suffer a slow and agonizing destruction."
"I will do as you wish, but for a condition, of course. When you enter a contract with me, I shall bestow my divine punishment to the one you wish for me to destroy. In this process, the one you wish for destruction will cease to exist in this world. That means he will disappear forever, body and soul. He will never pass over, be sent to the afterlife, or will be given the chance to go to heaven, hell, or even be revived or be reincarnated. He will also be forgotten by mortals as if he had never existed in this world.
"Before creation, comes destruction. This is how the balance of this universe works. But if one's existence is destroyed when it's not yet its due time because of a request made to the God of Destruction, this creates a discrepancy in that balance. In order to keep the normality, the cause must suffer the same fate as the other. It basically means that once it is time for you to die, I will destroy your soul just as I did to the one you wished for me to destroy."
Keisaku let out a gasp at the price the God of Destruction was asking for. It was a hefty one and it shook his earlier resolve. Vegeta could clearly tell his hesitation, and so he rose from his position and turned his back on his client.
"Of course, you can decide whether you go through this or not. Once you have made your decision, focus your mind on the destruction of that man and call me by my name."
As Vegeta turned to leave the home of the Sakai family, his mind was filled with thoughts of Destruction, causing his black eyes to glow a magenta light around his pupils. A fearsome smirk crept across his lips as he thought to himself, "This is just the beginning of humanity's own destruction."
The lights around the Sakai's family home flickered until it abruptly went out.