Four: Monster vs. Man

- 4 -

Monster Vs Man

Bulma smiled to herself as she heard her mother ramble on and on in the man's room. It was obvious she was trying to annoy the man slightly even though everything she said was polite. Good old mom for the win.Though Bulma was somewhat surprised that he didn't insult her or tell her off, in fact he had said nothing. Yet, her mother could pin down the most serious earthlings and make them tremble in their shoes... So she shouldn't be surprised that her mother made this overly arrogant man speechless.

Sighing, Bulma stood and wiped the sweat from her brow, deciding that she should maybe free him from her mother. Sure, he deserved it, but she wasn't so heartless to leave him up there for another hour trapped with no way out. She walked to the backdoor and into the kitchen, nodding to herself. Besides, putting the pieces of junk together might go faster if he had any knowledge about it that she could use. Passing through the kitchen, she grabbed one of the small boxes of strawberries from the fridge and on the way to her room she had one, smiling happily again as she passed the door and heard her mother. Setting the box down on her dresser, she quickly tugged on a pair of short shorts and a loose, flowing yellow shirt that had a pretty black design of intertwining vines with red budding flowers on the front and side. With a small glance at the mirror, she touched up her makeup before grabbing her strawberries and leaving the room.

She started on another strawberry just as she toed the door open and leaned in the doorway, studying the room and its occupants. Before her the man lay on the bed staring intently up at the ceiling, scowling. Her mother sat in the chair, not noticing Bulma as she continued on, talking about her beloved flowers. Bulma waited there, not really listening, having learned a long time ago to tune her mother out when she was like this, and studied the man.

Vegeta heard the door open and saw her leaning there in his peripheral vision, eating a strange red thing that smelled a lot like her. He had to fight himself from turning to look at her completely, but even from where he lay he could see that crafty look on her face. Clearly she knew how annoyed he was, yet stayed there not interrupting her mindless twit of a mother. He never thought anyone could talk so much in his life? About nothing of importance he might add! Why did he care about the earth flower called... daisies? He would sooner blow them up than take care of the damn things.

Which brought up the particular problem he now faced. Why hadn't he tried to kill the damn wretch yet? He eyed her. She was weak... more frail than her useless daughter and yet... He looked away as her eyes met his. He couldn't believe it, but he was rather uncomfortable around her, the way her eyes wandered. He gritted his teeth... telling himself that if he had the strength and could control his ki then she would be a blood splat on the wall.

Bulma cleared her throat, finally alerting her mother she was there. "Mom, let our patient sleep." She walked in, her eyes still on him. "He needs to rest and I doubt he wants to hear about your exploits in the garden. No matter how adventurous." She smiled more at her own wisecrack.

"Oh..." Mrs. Briefs stood from the chair, smiling, as she picked up a tray of empty plates. "Okay, dear. Do you want anything?"

Meeting her eyes, Bulma lifted her box of strawberries somewhat. "Nah, got all I want here, Mom, thank you."

As the older woman walked past her, she gave her daughter a kiss on the cheek before saying, "If either of you need anything just yell." Nodding, Bulma closed the door behind her and leaned with her back on it.

For a few minutes there was only silence before he asked, "What do you want, woman?"

Her brow rose slightly, but she didn't get angry. Instead she walked to him and held out the box of red things before him. "Want one?"

He gave her a tempered look. "What are they?"

She bit into one and after swallowing replied, "They are a fruit here on Earth... called strawberries."

Fixing her a glare, he sneered, "I'll pass."

She shrugged. "Your loss." Moving to the end table, she sat on it and continued to eat without another word.

Frustrated, he started to sit up and repeated his earlier question, "What do you want, woman?" She glanced over at him but didn't say anything. "Damnit, wench, spit out whatever you want or leave me alone."

The flame sparked up like before as her gaze narrowed and her hand froze halfway to her mouth. Slowly she put the red fruit back in the box, obviously angered when she spoke, her tone harsher, "You're despicable, you know that? I should have let my mother continue."

With his arms folded across his chest, he leaned against the headboard, satisfied that he had gotten under her skin. "You're fortunate that I'm bedridden or she would be a corpse on the floor."

Bulma blinked, taken aback, rather horrified anyone would joke about something like that. Who would say such a thing? Well, clearly he just did. But still. She frowned then seeing how serious he was and a chill crept over her, realizing he was not joking. She just saved his life and he was telling her he wanted to kill her mother? Even if that was true (which she was starting to believe was because of his dark severe look), why would he tell her this? It didn't make any sense. This man was weak, at her mercy and he was telling her this? Maybe. Maybe there was something else that was wrong with him...

Vegeta watched as she remained deathly silent, sitting there with her face downcast to the strawberries in her hands. All the while he wondered what she would say back... knowing the man she saved was so ruthless. It was judgment time. And as the seconds passed, he waited for her to bring down his death sentence or to condemn him. But she didn't say anything, only moving off the end table and set the strawberries down.

A few strained heartbeats later she looked up, her face masked as she stated, "You mean it... you would really kill her."

He held her gaze. "What are you going to do? Cry like the weakling you are...? Now that you know you just saved a killer?"

The way his intense gaze studied her, it was as if he was waiting for a response. She didn't doubt he was a killer... The way he said it and the devilish look in his eyes made her shiver and grow hollow inside at the thought of how many lives he must have ended. But above that all she could think of was all his wounds and scars. What had the universe done to this man? Sure, Earth had its few nuts who went on mindless rampages, but she knew this man was not insane. There was intelligence in his eyes... hidden under everything. Was she scared? Oh, hell yeah! Who wouldn't be? Finding someone who just proclaimed himself happily as a killer as he lay in your spare guestroom's bed? Yet, with even more frightening clarity was the fact that she wouldn't do anything different.

"No..." she said softly. She wasn't going to cry.

"Oh, yes..." he drawled as he leaned closer to her. "You just saved the universe's most feared-"

She cut him off as she turned her chin up, "You mistook me. I meant no. I'm not going to cry." He pulled back as a momentary look of surprise flashed in his eyes. "I believe you... that you've killed, but even if I had known that I wouldn't do anything different." Unable to look into his eyes anymore, her gaze went to the window. "Unlike you I hold life sacred and special..." She hesitated, sneaking a glance at him. "Most of us on Earth do and though we have had our wars, I would like to think we've gotten past such needless bloodshed."

She turned, walking the length of the bed, then paused again. "When someone commits the heinous act of murder here they are judged before their peers who then decide what their punishment will be..." Turning back, her open conflict on her face left him breathless. "And though I would choose imprisonment for life instead of the death penalty if I ever had to be a juror during one of these trials, I find that I would be a hypocrite if it came to my family or those I cared about being killed." She walked back to the head of the bed. The look in her eyes was the wild flame he had caught so many times that day. "So I must warn you... you should stop any notion of hurting my family or you'll find yourself regretting it."

The right corner of his lip turned up with a devilish smirk as he leaned forward again. "And what would you do if I did? If killed your family?" His eyes trailed over her body and his wolfish grin grew as he noticed her shiver. "You have no strength. I would crush yo-"

He gasped for air as her hand suddenly hit him in a precise location on his chest to cause him the most pain and dug in. "How about a disease that eats your flesh?" she said calmly as she wrapped her other arm around his head and kept the one hand paining him on his chest. She drew closer, whispering in his ear, "And that's only for starters. I'm not someone you want against you... while I may be weak physically. My imagination and intelligence know no bounds." Her hand left his chest as she pinched a nerve on his neck. The pain suddenly vanished.

Pulling back, she patted him on the shoulder, her tone lighter, "Lucky for you I see no need for me to do any of that. So be a good little boy and let's keep it that way." He watched her at a loss for words as she grabbed the box of strawberries and held them out to him again. "Strawberries?" When he didn't move she took one and started to eat it, a small smile playing on her lips. "Anyway... as to what I wanted to talk to you about... What do you know about your ship?"


Blinking, he continued to stare at her, dumbfounded. This woman. She was just a mystery unto herself. How could she just suddenly switch the conversation like that? And the way she thought so highly of herself... It was infuriating. What he would give to be able to wrap his fingers around her neck and end her life. But with her little demonstration she proved she did, in fact, know a lot about his body. Not to mention she had his blood and DNA, she probably could invent some horrid disease. The biggest kicker would be that it only affected him.
He wasn't sure what to do. There was no way he was about to play nice with this woman after she just threatened him so boldly, but he really was at her mercy... in more ways than one. She gave him a teasing look as she waited for him to speak, clearly not bothered by the silence in the slightest as she ate that fucking red fruit of hers. What are they called? Strawberries? He growled, looking away. The scent from her and the fruit was driving him crazy with its sickening sweetness. He wasn't about to help her with the ship, even if it hurt his chances of getting back into space.

"Well then..." she sighed, dumping the box into a trash bin as she finished the last one. "I guess my assessment that there might be some brains under the barbaric killer exterior was just wishful thinking."

His glare snapped back onto her. "Woman, you are treading on thin ice..."

"Oh?" She walked back to his bed. "Am I? Then prove me wrong."

His eyes narrowed abruptly, comprehending what she was trying to do. "Just because I refuse to help you, does not make me stupid."

"I fail to see how it doesn't." Her hands folded across her chest. "You want off Earth... probably the faster the better because you can't stand being surrounded by us lowly nobody's..." He reached out for her neck, furious that she would taunt him, but she simply stepped backwards out of his reach. "No way, mister. If you don't like what I'm saying, get off your high-horse and help me put the ship together."

A low, threatening growl escaped his throat, "I've killed people for simply looking at me wrong."
"Good for you..." She stepped forward, matching his glare. "A very conceited feat indeed. I bet your parents are just so proud."

Vegeta wasn't sure what happened next. It was like the mentioning of his dead parents made something snap inside him, unleashing a wave of rage on top of the anger he already felt for this woman. It made him see red and he lunged at her. Ignoring the pain, he put everything into the movement. He heard her startled squeak as they fell to the floor. His hands trying to choke her before they even hit the ground. However, as they did hit the floor a sickening crunch resounded throughout the room and he felt his ribs give. His hands left her neck swiftly as he put them on either side of her and pushed himself up weakly, coughing up blood that splattered on her face. His faint wheezing was loud as he rolled off her, his body thrown into the rage of a coughing fit. Shakily, the woman sat up as she wiped the blood from her face and pulled her hand away to look at the blood. Numbly, she went to his side... pushing aside the fact that he had just tried to kill her, but then again bringing up his parents might have been a low blow, maybe it was one of his buttons.

"Hold on. I think you just collapsed your lung..."

Between clenched teeth and the coughing fit he somehow managed to say, "You think?"

Her brow creased, but said nothing as she put her hands on the red spot that started to appear on his wraps. "Give me your hands. You need to put pressure here." Surprisingly he listened. "Okay, hold on." Going back to the end table, she opened it to reveal the emergency medical supplies and, taking a long, thick needle from it, she came back, kneeling next to him. "This is going to hurt."

She took the casing off the needle and held his hands with her left hand, giving him a good look at the long needle. He was about to say something against it, but her face stopped him. It made for an interesting image with her determined look and his blood smeared all about. A bloody Auronya. Legend stated it was the most gravest of sins to taint one, let alone hurt the guardians of space travelers. Would he be punished by the gods and the universe if something did happen to her? These thoughts were swiftly forgotten as she drove the long needle through his chest above their hand that she had rested there. A new pain surged through him, overriding the pain already there. Quickly she moved to uncap the end and he felt the pressure in his chest lessen as his right lung refilled, the pain eased. Recapping it, she let out a huge breath of air as she sat back, shaking her head as she looked at him.

"Sorry. I guess I went too far with the parent thing..." Feeling ashamed, she averted her eyes.

Did she actually just say that? He gave what sounded like a mix between a grunt and a chuckle, "I just tried to kill you and you're apologizing..." Shaking his head, he looked at her. "You..."

He hesitated unsure what exactly he wanted to say as she waited for him to continue. This damn woman was an utter bewilderment to him. Even with everything he had said and just tried to do, she was still helping him. No one was this forgiving. No one ever overlooked faults such as his. And not only had she done both, she also promised to keep him from harm. Vegeta didn't get it. Either this woman was missing a few screws or... or what? He wasn't sure and because of that he found himself both intrigued and irritated. Within a few minutes he could normally figure out the inner workings of anyone. If he hadn't learned to he would have died a long time ago... But this woman just kept throwing him for loops. Never had he ever been this clueless about someone.

Startling even himself, he said the first thing that came to his mind. "...are definitely the strangest woman I have ever met." She met his gaze, surprised as he lay there on the ground, his hands on the spot she had told him to hold.

Bulma had expected an insult for sure, so she was a little unsure what to say at what he just said. "Thanks... I guess." Sighing, she crawled back to him. "I'm going to have to stitch that wound back up and we have to give your lung some time, so I'll just do it here. You want a pillow?" He stared at her like she was being obtuse. "Okay, okay... forget I asked."

Standing, she went back to the end table and got the things she needed, making a neat little pile next to him on the floor. He watched her in the silence as she prepared the things she needed, putting them in order before taking the scissors and cutting the wrap he wore up his side. Setting them aside, she took her blood-spattered shirt off, revealing her swimsuit top. Puzzled, he continued to watch her as she wadded it up and proceeded to open a dark bottle with her mouth and poured whatever liquid was inside onto the once yellow shirt.

"Move your hands, I got it." He did as she said and she quickly flipped the wrap away, using the shirt over the wound as a rag. A hiss came out as he felt whatever she put on the shirt burn the wound. "Sorry... I know it hurts like a bitch, but I need to get the bleeding to stop before I can do this."

He had this oddest sensation. This feeling when seeing her destroy her own shirt with little care to take care of him. She was quite literally taking the shirt from her back... And her words from before all this replayed in his mind. Every life mattered to her. Every life. Even the ignorant, stupid and weak. The thought was preposterous to him and normally he wouldn't waste a second concerning himself with such rubbish, but looking up at her from the floor. Watching her face. Having her help him like this. He actually found himself thinking about what that actually meant.

"What are you going to do?" he asked and she looked sideways, finding his curious black eyes on her.

"Well, we use a sewing needle and thread and stitch the skin back together." He gave her a disgusted look and she laughed, "Crude I know, but it works... though it hurts too. I'll try to be gentle."

After everything she still worried about hurting me... He still had trouble wrapping his head around that. Why? Why is she helping me? If she was as intelligent as she said she was -which he was starting to believe her more and more- it made no sense to help him. Helping him heal. Helping him get his power back. None of this made any sense!

Looking away, he snorted, "Don't bother... I can take the pain."

Frowning, she pulled her hand away and looked at the wound before she reapplied pressure. Several minutes passed with neither saying anything. Yet, she grew tired of the awkward silence and finally asked, "What's your name?"

Glancing back, he noticed how she wasn't looking at him. "Does it matter?

"Unless you want me calling you jerk all the time..." she paused, giving a tired sigh as she shook her head, "No, I guess not if you're going to just kill me when this is all over." She peeked sideways at him. "But I would like to know who I have to come back and haunt as a ghost." He noticed her smiling to herself as she pulled the shirt away again.

He snorted, "Fat chance I'm telling you... I don't need to ad-" He stopped himself, realizing what he was saying. What am I doing? Saying something like that?


She gave him a fleeting glance, her face telling him she had noticed his slip. Lucky for him she decided not to push it as she used a wet pad to wipe around the wound. Opening another square package like a book, she pulled from it a tiny needle with the thread already attached. She bit her lower lip as she pressed the torn skin together and started a stitch, being as gentle as possible. He observed her, the look of concentration and determination on her face. Once she even brought her bloody hand up to her face to rub her nose, not noticing the blood she left. Another strange sensation settled over him. He wasn't sure what it was or what it could mean, but... The strength he was seeing from this frail human... Sure, it wasn't strength in the sense of physical power, but it was there. The will to fight. If only she had the ability to manipulate ki, she would make a formidable force to be reckoned with, and even so... her threat still stood.

With the last stitch finished, she snipped the thread and set it aside. Sighing, she rubbed her forehead only to finally realize what she had been doing and pull her hand away to look at it as her nose scrunched up. Deciding that it didn't matter because it was already messy, she finished scratching before grabbing another medicated wet pad. As she turned back to finish she caught his gaze and her cheeks pinkened, uncomfortable that he had been watching the whole time.

Vegeta found that this amused him, seeing her face flushed. Seeing the way her eyes kept glancing back to him. One second she was so sure... so confident... The next she was like this. Whatever this was. He wouldn't call it uncertainty. Nor would he really describe it as any sort of weakness. She wasn't afraid of him. She had made that abundantly clear. Neither was she intimidated by him. Something very few could ever truly claim. No it was something else.

"Um..." She grew a little self conscious as she gestured to his rib, wondering why in the world he was looking at her like that. "Can I?" He gave her a nod before looking up at the ceiling as her small fingers started to carefully feel his chest and fix anything that might have moved.

For a few minutes all he could concentrate on were her warm gentle hands as they fluttered across his chest, vigilant not to pain him more than necessary. Such an odd creature. What does she hope to accomplish by helping me? There had to be a reason, but he was coming up blank. His gaze went back to her, her blue hair somehow managing to work its way out from behind her ear and hanging in her face. The thought of tucking it behind her ear came out of nowhere and he blinked, startled. Where had that come from? What was this woman doing to him?

Satisfied, she grabbed the huge syringe in his chest. "Okay, hold on..." She put her hand on his shoulder and pulled it out swiftly. "There we go... all better." She held out her hand. "Can you sit up?"

Vegeta ignored her hand and slowly sat up. He wasn't sure what to think as he watched her round all the used medical supplies up. He just couldn't stop thinking about how it made no sense whatsoever how she was helping him. Not only with him trying to kill her moments ago, but even knowing he still had the intention of doing so later... Gathering everything in her arms, she left the room and he listened to her footsteps as he looked at his chest for the first time in a long time. He frowned upon seeing healing and freshly healed wounds from what had to be the last time he had been tortured. There was no way she could mistake those for the shipwreck... He wasn't sure how long he had been in that pod, but obviously they wouldn't have been good going untreated as they had. He also had had broken bones... the fleeting memory as he stumbled from his cell flashed in his mind. My leg... and my arm...


"You shouldn't really be moving around, but I was thinking we could get you to the shower before I wrap your chest again," she said as she entered the room with a new baggy t-shirt on that didn't look to be hers.

"Are you going out of your way to help me because you saw my other wounds?" he asked as he slowly stood.

Confused, she itched the back of her neck. "What you mea-" Realizing what he meant, she sighed, "Oh..."

Frowning, she gave him a leveled look. "No. But it certainly was a shock..." Hesitating, she turned away. "If you don't mind me asking... How did you get those?" Seeing her cautious glance back, she accidently told him that she did know, but was trying to hide it.

"I do mind," he growled, unsure what she was trying to get at. If she knows, why pretend like she doesn't?


She shrugged as she went through the door. "Follow me."

Leaving his arms at his sides -for crossing them would hurt too much- he followed her out. As he left the room, she was to his left heading down a hall and he glanced to his right, finding stairs before following after her, briefly taking mental note of his surroundings. She stopped at a door, leaning on the wall next to it.

"Use the stuff on the right unless you want to smell like me." As he came to the open door, she pointed to the counter and found a neat folded pile of garments. "There's new clothes there for you. Hopefully the hole I made was right... but just leave the old ones in the basket in there." She started to walk past him and patted his shoulder. "Hot water is left and do try not to fall down."

He snorted, watching her go down the stairs, before looking into the bathroom again. He stopped, catching her scent from the room across the hall. It was overpowering. Curious, he pushed the cracked door open to her dark blue room. The white bed looked almost saintly. Pure. Fitting, he thought, though the way the girl carried herself he doubted she was. There was a giant closet, a door next to that that led only the gods knew where and mirror to the right. She had a spacious balcony that looked out onto a small park of trees across the room from him, the sight of tall skyscrapers peaking out above those tall green trees. Surprisingly he didn't gather much from her room other than she liked clothes and seeing herself... he had a feeling she didn't reside in there much.

Turning away from the room, he went into the bathroom, going to the window. He saw below that the girl was talking to her mother as she stripped her shirt. He was tempted to open the window to hear what she said, but didn't want to accidently draw attention to himself. Instead, he concentrated on her lips, "He tried to punch me because I went a little too far... but everything's okay mom..."Interesting how she was covering up for him. Maybe her mother wouldn't be so lax if she was to knew that he tried to kill her... His thoughts abruptly stopped as she stripped off her shorts... He shook his head, frustrated, as her back turned to him and she dove into the pool of water. Coming up she scrubbed her face before letting her body simply float. He frowned as he stepped from the window and went to the shower. Turning on the faucets, he got out of the scrub-like pants and stepped in.


He stared at the green tiles. No matter how much he wanted to kill the girl and her twit of a mother before... He couldn't. Not that he still didn't want to, but she was right. She was his way out and after all that had happened he believed her self-proclaimed intelligence and that she was the only one who could help him get off this damn planet. It also meant that her threat was dangerously true. Yet, as long as he didn't kill anyone that shouldn't be a problem. But for him to refrain... he hadn't been lying when he said he killed people when they looked at him wrong. Even after getting away from Freeza the first time. All the things she had said to him, he just kept thinking he had killed people for less... and yet now he couldn't kill one frail little woman. How his people would mock him.

Frustrated, he hit the tile with his fist. Still, when this was over he was going to kill her and enjoy it. Watch as that wild flame left her cold, lifeless body and take pleasure knowing he destroyed it. Then he would kill that dimwit of a mother. He would probably kill even her father. Then again...

"But I would like to know who I have to come back and haunt as a ghost..." The second part of her sentence echoed in his mind.

The rage suddenly left him as her words stirred something inside. There was another aspect to this to. One he couldn't place. Another reason that stayed his hand from hurting her, but he was having difficulty putting a name to it. Frowning, he looked down at his hands... Many called him a monster. He didn't doubt that he was. If this wasn't the greatest example he didn't know what was. To kill this girl and her family even after all they did for him... He already had his fair share of ghosts, did he really have to add her to it? He growled at himself, fist tightening. What the hell was wrong with him? He never questioned what he did before. And he lived with the ghosts, dealt with them. Well, more liked ignored them, but that didn't matter. What mattered was why should this be any different? This women. She was awakening something deep inside him...

Cursing this arising weakness, he tried to push the annoying thoughts from his mind. He really didn't want to think about this now. Not after waking up. He needed to get his bearings. Grabbing the soap, he lathered it against his body, washing. If he was being honest with himself, he just didn't want to be left alone with his thoughts. To deal with the battle within him... A battle between the monster Freeza had created and the man who lay somewhere beneath (long thought dead and buried with all the atrocities he had committed). Vegeta had decided long ago that since he did all those horrible things there was no going back... He sneered at himself. Back to what? It wasn't like he had much to go back too. He had been five when Freeza got his vile hands on him, killing his planet and parents.

Jerking the faucets so the water turned off, he stepped from the shower. Without thinking he went to power up and dry his body, only to have pain rush through him. Breathing heavily, he steadied himself with a hand on the counter, remembering dimly that the girl had said something was wrong with him. Why couldn't he use his ki without it hurting? He looked at his other hand, his vision going slightly hazy as he opened and closed it. What did that fucking lizard do to him? He wasn't healing right, his strength was horrible at best, and this... It seemed he didn't need the girl and her family just for the ship, but also this. Great... Another thing he needed their help with. Angrily he grabbed one of the towels and dried before putting on the baggy black sweat pants. Leaving the shirt off, he tossed it over his shoulder before opening the door.

"Goku... Don't come over." He heard the girl tell someone through the crack in her door as it stood somewhat ajar. She paused as if listening, but there was no one in the room with her. "No. I didn't tell you so you could come over. I just wanted to let you know. He's not ready for any company."

He pushed the door open, finding her wearing something like earlier, only he didn't think this was meant for public... She was jumping up and down on one foot trying to get her leg into a pair of blue jeans as she held something pinched between her head and shoulder. Her wet hair clung to her face and neck. He leaned against the door frame and crossed his arms to watch her. Moments later she finally managed to get them on, all the while he appraised her body. She honestly was beautiful. Something that made him take pause to think about. Should he be worried that he found her attractive? He never had ran across this issue before and it was sort of puzzling.

"Please?" Bulma sighed, "I know you're excited, but..."

Bulma didn't really know what to say. To tell him the truth would only hurt his feelings... She knew the two wouldn't get along. Goku was a good man. He had morals... he protected the weak and strived for good. This guy couldn't be any more different than him, and something just told her that he wouldn't like Goku... She didn't need the headache of having to deal with such conflicts. So why did she call him? Because he was her best friend and she knew he would be thrilled to know he wasn't the only one like him out there. Not to mention... she doubted Krillin could keep the secret for much longer. The poor guy simply wasn't good at keeping his mouth shut.

"But... but..." Goku whimpered on the other end.

"Give it a week. Please... he will still be here Goku. It's not like he can go anywhere." She really didn't want to yell at him, but the childishness was starting to get on her nerves. Especially when she knew he was mostly pretending for his wife and her.

He sighed, "Fine, I guess I can wait a week."

"Thank you."

"What is he like?" His excitement oozed from the phone.

Bulma rolled her eyes. "I already told you. He's been asleep for two weeks... I don't know."

It was only a little lie. Other than the fact that he had killed people and was a pretentious jerk at times, she really didn't know anything else about him. Oh, and she was pretty sure he had been tortured most of his life... But of course she wasn't going to tell Goku any of that, even when he was here. However, despite all that she really did want to know more. This man may scare the shit out of her at times, but she just couldn't help wanting more. He was a puzzle... and Bulma Briefs just loved puzzles.

"Oh come on, Bulma..." Goku pleaded and she could just imagine the puppy dog look he used to give her as a child.

Sighing, she ran a hand through her wet hair. "Um... well he's a few inches shorter than you and instead of his hair being all over the place like yours its more... I don't know. Dang, Goku..." She suddenly caught sight of the man she was currently trying to describe out of the corner of her eye and froze. Frowning, she shot her houseguest a glare and muttered to her friend, "Hey, I need to go... something just came up."

Hanging the cell up without waiting for a reply, she turned to him, her arms going to her hips as she asked, "Enjoying yourself?" His brow rose, but he said nothing. She groaned, tossing the phone on her bed and grabbed her shirt. As she hastily put it on, she glared at him. "Normally I would hit a guy for that, but you're hurt so I'll refrain." After getting her new blue shirt on with a strange logo on the front on, she waved him away with her hand. "Now out."
He didn't move. "I fail to understand why you are upset when you were wearing something much like that earlier..."

She continued to glare at him. "That was a swimsuit... this was underwear. One you wear when you go swimming... the other one is under clothes. One's made for public the other one is..." She noticed his devious look. "You knew damn well there was a differenc-"

"Who was that?" he asked, cutting her off to stop her rant.

Knowing he was changing the subject, she ignored his question and put her hand on his stomach, pressing. "Go." He backed from the doorway and she closed the door. "Let's get those bandages back on and you back to bed." She started back to his room.

He didn't move, instead grabbing her arm and forcing her to remain before him. She looked up, finally noting how he stood four inches taller than her and how dominating that was (though she doubted height would matter, he could have been the shortest man ever and he would have probably given off the same air). "Woman, I asked you a question."

Glaring again, she jerked her arm away. "I do have a name you know." He just stared at her with his infuriating half grin. "Goku is my friend I mentioned before... the one who is one of your species." She continued to walk and then entered 'his' room, leaving him no choice but to follow.

"Why won't you let him come over?" he asked as he passed through the doorway, not about to tell her he was just as curious about this other Saiyan.

Bulma studied him as she got the ointment from the end table. "Really... You are injured. You shouldn't even be walking around and you want company?" He shrugged carelessly. She sighed as she grabbed the wrap and walked over to him. "Truthfully..." Unscrewing the cap on the ointment she carefully started to dab it onto the stitches and a few other wounds. "I don't think you will like him."

"Is that so?"

"Yes." She put the ointment down and started to wrap the bandage around his chest. He tried to ignore the fact that she was so close to him at times she was almost hugging him as she reached the odd fabric around him. "Goku is the kindest person I know, and you, well..." She glanced up at him. "Aren't."

He snorted, "Saiyans are never kind woman, you must be wrong that he is one of us."

She smiled, catching his slip. "Saiyans huh?" Seeing him look away with a scowl she sighed, "No, he's definitely a Saiyan, but if it helps... he hit his head as a child. That was before I met him. Supposedly he had been a little demon before." Taping off the bandage, she started to clean up. "But I'm glad he did hit his head or else I wouldn't have my best friend."

"Would you be so glad to know he was sent here to purge this planet of life so it could be sold?" He wasn't sure why he said it, maybe to make Kakarot look less in her eyes? He didn't like seeing that look on her face just now when she talked about him.

"How barbaric..." her voice trailed off as she frowned. "Though it would explain a lot. With your guys' transformation and all..." His scowl hardened, not liking that she knew about their transformation. "Oh, that reminds me. Our lunar cycle is every 32 days... try not to stare out the window during the full moon or I'll handcuff you to something in my lab where there are no windows... or..." She held up the scissors jokingly and waved them. "I'll just remove that tail of yours."

He snarled suddenly, furious that she would joke at such a thing and that she knew all this. He stepped towards her, glaring down at her as her eyes widened, startled. She backpedaled until she nearly sat on the bed. "Sorry, I was just messing around... I didn't really mean it."

Fist clenched at his sides, his tail became spiky around his waist just at the thought of someone threatening it. He drew so close he felt her body quake, but she didn't show any fear in her eyes. She knew way too much... if Freeza found her or anyone else who hated them they would learn of this weakness. He couldn't afford to have her live now! Even if it was at the cost of him not being able to get off of this damn planet or getting his strength. Freeza would use this knowledge and take away their only wild card... the thing they would turn to when all else failed.

But as Vegeta stood there glaring down at her, the weight of his race weighing down upon him... he couldn't raise his hand and wrap it around that slim neck of hers like before. It would be so easy. So so easy to snap her neck. But as she stared up at him with no fear or resentment in her eyes (something that troubled him greatly). He couldn't. The thought of killing her was almost forgotten with the war waging inside, the monster roaring in his ears at how weak he was, but the man deep inside didn't want her blood on his hands. Even after knowing she was a risk. Why did this have to happen now? To all of a sudden form a... conscience... it was ridiculous. He suddenly took the scissors from her and threw them at the wall, hoping to release the tension inside. But it did little good.

His hand came up slowly and he heard her hold her breath. She really was a stunning creature, wasn't she? This Auronya? His hand stayed there, hovering a few inches from the side of her head, almost afraid to touch her. Closing his fist, he brought it back down.
Bulma swallowed, "I'm sorry... I didn't mean it as an insult or anything."

Reining in his thoughts, he took a backwards step and turned sideways, refusing to look at her. "Go."

Not waiting to be told twice, she slowly, cautiously moved from the bed and brushed up against him as she slipped past and out the door. He turned towards the bed and hit it, ignoring the pain it brought him. Why the hell couldn't he kill her? She was an endangerment to his people and yet... Frustrated, confused and... suddenly weary, he sat on the bed staring at the door blankly. This is her fault. He knew that. He wasn't really sure when her self-righteous shit got to him... Maybe it was when he was watching her give him stitches? He wasn't really sure. But there it was: the small beginnings of what he could only make out as a conscience.

.~-~.

Bulma leaned against her door, her heart racing a mile a minute. To suddenly have him growl like that and charge her with that feral look in his eyes, she had thought that second she was a goner. She didn't want to die... She still had so much life yet to live! But she also didn't want to cave to him, showing him how much he had frightened her. Something told her not many stood up to him, and maybe it was something he needed. Yet, it also helped that she had friends who would resurrect her with the dragon balls if that ever did happen. So she could at least die once... though she didn't really want to think about it like that. Mostly she just didn't want him to do it.

Ever since their little scuffle that ended with him bloody on the floor, he was starting to let things slip. Sure it wasn't much to go on, but it did show her that his guard was starting to falter. But that look in his eyes, it felt like he was boring a hole into her soul. He had wanted to kill her. She wasn't exactly sure why... obviously something to do with his tail with the way his bushed up like that... Yet, she felt there was more going on here. Like a better question would be, what had stopped him? She really didn't know. He clearly didn't have problems killing. He stated that blatantly enough. Neither did he sound like he regretted it. But then... When he told her he wouldn't tell her his name because he already had enough haunting him... She shook her head, hoping there was something going on here with him to change his perspective and that she could help further it. Sighing, she pushed off from her door, needing to busy herself or else thinking about all this was going to drive her insane.

~~~~ .~-~. ~~~~

Yes, Vegeta is taller in this AU. Reasons will become clear later.
Beta'd by LPphreek