Down to Earth (Vegeta x Bulma)

2: Two Choices, One Decision

What stood in front of the two made Bulma's stomach churn. She simply blinked at the boy that, assumably her age, seemed to limp over to her and Yamcha.

"What do you mean?" Yamcha was beginning to fail miserably at hiding his fear.

His question earned a chuckle from the teenage Vegeta, his dark and intimidating gaze piercing through the two of them. Bulma's head flickered towards the red device concealing his one eye.

What's that gadget? She inwardly thought.

"Don't play stupid with me," he announced, his attention never leaving the pair.

The girl remained still, backing up as the beaten up boy began his wobbly approach.

Wait... beaten up?

Her blue eyes adjusted once they scanned the rather muscular guy in front of her. His appearance made her face contort into a mixture of fright and concern, though worry immediately seeping through her skin.

He looked rather... odd.

What's up with his weird clothes?

He seemed extremely dangerous, but didn't make any attempts to harm either her or Yamcha just yet. What stood out to her the most was definitely the deep wounds and injuries scattering his figure. Heck, the poor guy could barely even walk!

Bulma simply blinked, listening to his rugged and almost faint breathing. Blood trickled down his arms and neck, complimented by the several tears and rips visible on his blue... jumpsuit? Was that armor on him as well?

She had no clue what kind of apparel that was, but it intrigued her.

Then, it hit her. What he wanted was probably help, right? He was in really bad shape and her and Yamcha had been the only people in the area. However... he didn't appear to be the type to ask for assistance like that.

It took her a moment for her to eventually realize it.

Wait, no- It's not help that he wants... it has to be the Dragon Balls! He might be trying to take the six that I've gathered already.

The desert bandit was about to speak, but Bulma interrupted, proceeding to link arms with him for safety. Her blue eyes narrowed at the Saiyan in front of them, her brows furrowed downwards.

"What would you wish for if you got all seven?"

Her words earned a smirk from Vegeta and a perplexed expression from Yamcha.

"Bulma, what're you—"

A dry and airy chuckle began to emit from the mysterious boy's lips.

Just the simple action of laughing caused bursts of pain to flood throughout Vegeta's body. It was intolerable, probably one of the worst things he'd experienced thus far. Damn it, he shouldn't have made that visit to Planet Saw earlier.

The aching sensation of all the injuries eventually caught up to him, prompting him to slowly collapse onto his hands and knees.

His actions left Bulma and Yamcha shocked, unsure of what to do.

The Prince began to cough ferociously, his gloved fist concealing his mouth from view. He could gradually feel the energy slipping out of him as he managed to make eye contact with that peculiar blue haired girl.

"That's... none of your concern," he murmured, his body completely falling onto the dirt trail. His eyes slowly sealed shut and his muscles grew limp.

This caused Bulma to gasp, her face visible stricken with horror.

She silently hoped that he wasn't dead. He appeared to be motivated beyond belief and the fact that he made it so far while being injured spoke volumes to her. He must've been determined and that was quite admirable.

Bulma felt compelled to do something, a deep worry conquering her internally. She slowly began to approach, but was held back by the placing of Yamcha's hand on her shoulder.

"Don't, Bulma. He's seriously dangerous," he warned, his expression still set into a scowl. "We're lucky that he was already beaten up. If not, I... don't think we would've made it out alive."

She shot him a concerned look, her eyes scanning the desert bandit.

"We can't just leave him here... I'd live the rest of my life in regret if we did that!" She gently broke away from his grasp and began to approach the fallen boy.

Her actions and words definitely took Yamcha by surprise. Why was she so willing to assist someone that visibly threatened them? It irritated him slightly, especially since he was still not even close to being over her.

He watched as Bulma knelt down beside the unconscious boy, her delicate fingers grazing some of his open wounds. He felt the anger arise from within him as he observed how she appeared to be treating this stranger with such care.

"Don't I get a say in this? This is a terrible idea," he bitterly stated, his lips pursing.

Locks of blue felt in front of her face as she leaned forward, working to detach the scouter from the Saiyan's face.

"Hold on a sec," she dismissed casually, her aqua colored eyes inspecting the rather odd device in her hands. "Oh wow... I've never seen anything like this."

She made a mental note to herself to further examine it once she got to the lab.

Her obvious disinterest in what he was saying made him frown. Why was she so set on helping this guy? Yamcha really couldn't wrap his head around it, but it definately didn't make him feel ecstatic.

"Okay!" Bulma announced, standing up onto her two feet. She proceeded to dig into her jacket's pocket, eventually pulling out a small Capsule. "This one should do the trick just fine."

"Sure, yeah, let's bring an evil alien into our home," he sarcastically retorted, his arms crossing against his chest.

With a scowl and furrowed brows, the girl tossed the small pill-like tool onto the ground, her hands on her hips. A cube shaped aircraft appeared beside her, the door opening at will.

"Don't you mean my home? Listen, I don't know what you're problem is, but—"

"My problem? Sorry, excuse me for being concerned over your well-being."

Yet again, the pair were arguing. Unlike usual, this one seemed a bit more serious. Both were stubbornly standing on opposing sides of the spectrum, neither of them wanting to budge.

"Excuse me for being concerned over someone else's well-being," she snapped back, her narrowed eyes flickering back over towards the boy on the ground.

Yamcha knew that nothing good would come out of what she was doing.

With a huff and the flip of her hair, Bulma allowed her back to face him, kneeling beside the almost lifeless Vegeta.

"I can't be with you if you're willing to help some weird villain from outer spa—"

"We're not dating anymore, Yamcha," she softly stated, attempting to lift up the injured Vegeta by herself. Sheesh, he sure was heavy for a short guy.

That caused Yamcha's eyes to widen, his gaze wavering from her towards the boy she was trying to drag towards the Capsule Craft. The words... hurt. He knew that they weren't a thing anymore and it made him upset.

Screw it.

He'd have to just swallow his pride for now. It was more important to get her back, so he'd just have to stop making her angry.

With a huff, the desert bandit began to approach them. He proceeded to hoist the wounded boy up and onto his shoulder with ease.

Bulma smiled due to his actions, her palms clasping together in joy. She knew he'd give in eventually.

"You ready, B?"

With a cheerful nod, she shoved the scouter into her pocket and entered the aircraft.

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(1,257 words.)