| Communication Breakdown Chapter 8 |
| Author: Valeyard Rating: R Disclaimer: She doesn't own, so don't even bother. |
| "Piccolo!" Yamcha called to the Namek, who was floating slightly above the ground in deep meditation. Piccolo shifted uneasily. He was supposed to be fully absorbed in meditation. Yet, he had sensed Yamcha's approach from a long way off and knew why he was coming. He had dreaded this day, but knew it had to be. Piccolo sometimes felt his acute sense of hearing a curse. This was one of those times. Overhearing, the conversation between Mirai Trunks and Goku had been a shock on many levels. For one, he found it almost inconceivable a cold bastard like Vegeta would ever form any kind of attachment for another living being besides himself. For another, the idea that someone as independent as Bulma would want anything to do with Vegeta was also hard to believe. Finally, how all depended on just this unlikely coupling if Trunks were to exist, he found the most shocking and troubling of all. Piccolo sighed deeply in himself, never once opening his eyes. He looked at peace, but inwardly he was disturbed. He had no great love for Yamcha, but he also had no great animosity toward him. He knew the time had come for Yamcha to face the fact, Bulma was no longer in his future, but it would be painful for him. Yet, as much as he dreaded the conversation, he found his desire not to hurt Yamcha was tempered by a certain lack of sympathy. Yamcha, with his penchant for other women, had simply brought this on himself. "What do you want, Yamcha?" Piccolo said with some irritation. "Piccolo," Yamcha began, "look, I know, we aren't exactly friends, but I am really worried about Bulma. Vegeta is acting just crazy and she refuses to see it. Someone has to talk to her, someone she respects, and she won't listen to me." Piccolo opened his eyes giving Yamcha a grave expression. "Why do you think lying to me, will win my favor? You are not worried about Bulma. You are worried about Vegeta, isn't that closer to the truth?" "Of course, I'm worried about, Vegeta." Yamcha yelled back. "He came over to my house acting insane. He threatened to burn my face off and punched around me telling me each was a killing move. He's insane! Bulma needs to see that, for her own sake!" "What Bulma needs to do, and whatever Vegeta does, are out of your hands, Yamcha. Bulma belongs to Vegeta now, and you are going to have to accept that." Piccolo closed his eyes again, hoping Yamcha would let the matter drop. It was a vain hope. "You can't mean that!" Yamcha screamed desperately. "You have no love for Vegeta. You can't go along with Bulma being given into the hands of a monster!" With that Piccolo got to his feet with surprising quickness, rushing into Yamcha's face. "You have no idea what I mean! People once called me demon and monster. Some monsters are made and not by their own choice, some monsters would have it otherwise if circumstances were different, and some monsters just pretend to be your friend while lying in your face." "He won't hurt her, Yamcha." Piccolo shook his head. "Vegeta has had far too many opportunities to do so. Even at his worst, all he could do was take the dragon ball from her." "How can you defend him?" Yamcha cried in disbelief. "He even killed you once!" "I am not defending him. I simply think I understand him." Piccolo shook his head sadly. "I have no special love for Vegeta, but I do understand what it is to be made a monster and not by your own choice. Now, Vegeta is being given the choice, and like me, he is trying to make the right choices. He may not always make the right choices, but he is trying and for that, he has my respect." "I wish I could say the same for you, Yamcha." Piccolo gave Yamcha a cold look. "You have not earned the same respect. It's true you have fought for the cause of right. But you have also lied and cheated on someone that has trusted you, and that is something I find hard to forgive." "Vegeta may be acting crazy, but it's an insanity I would heed." Piccolo gave him a deadly serious look. "This matter is out of your hands. Vegeta belongs to Bulma and Bulma to Vegeta. That is the future. You try to interfere between them, he will kill you, and if he doesn't, I will." "This conversation is over Yamcha. Leave, before you find out, I am capable of my own insanity." Piccolo went back to floating in a sitting position, two feet above the ground. He sighed and his eyes closed. Yamcha stood there for a moment with a stunned expression on his face clenching his fists in impotent fury. Then he flew off, a single tear sliding down his cheek. Yamcha flew home, stopping to again examine the two holes in his house, wondering if he could send a bill to the Capsule Corporation for the damage. Remembering the look in Vegeta's eyes, he thought better of it. He went inside, sitting on the couch, still trying to drink in the last two days' events in stunned amazement. His entire world had changed in less than 48 hours. The prior day, Bulma revealed she had been sleeping with Vegeta, something he still found hard to believe. Now, he found not only was Vegeta standing in the way of getting Bulma back, but Piccolo as well. 'This is Vegeta's fault!' He told himself in a rage. 'Worse than that, it is the Saiya-jin's fault!' Before the Saiya-jin came, the world was normal and Goku was just a funny kid with a tail. Now, because of the fights with the Saiya-jin, Goku had far surpassed Yamcha in fighting power, and Vegeta came to live on Earth. Yamcha could live with Goku being more powerful. That meant Goku was in the line of fire and not himself. Vegeta was another matter. Not only, could Yamcha never hope to beat him in an open battle, now Vegeta had beaten him in an area of conquest where Yamcha considered himself to have no rival-that area being his prowess with women. This was a blow to his ego, Yamcha found hard to forget or forgive. Yamcha sat there, trying to think of a way to turn this around. To have his revenge on Vegeta. Nothing came to mind. Yamcha finally gave into the unthinkable. That he had truly lost Bulma. With that, he gave into the tears he had been holding back since he left Piccolo. Bulma returned to the Capsule Corporation with the shadows from the afternoon sun now stretching toward evening. She saw no sign of Vegeta, but wasn't sure if she should be relieved or worried. She checked on her parents, who were just fine, and as usual totally clueless about any troubles in the outside world. Her parents lived for their animals and so her mother could bake just one more batch of cookies. Bulma sighed, relieved her parents were fine. 'Perhaps, I am letting my imagination get to me.' She told herself. 'Vegeta is not upset, he is just Vegeta, and he will go back to training and being as rude as ever. Things will be back to normal-EXCEPT FOR THE BABY!' Bulma went white with panic. 'How could I forget that? Nothing is going to be normal again. I am going to have a Saiya-jin baby! What in the hell am I going to do?' Bulma's mind was so frozen with anxiety, nothing came to mind. All the fears she had earlier came flooding back. 'It's the baby! I just know it! Someone as cold and unfeeling as Vegeta is not going to want to be saddled with a kid.' Bulma looked outside the Capsule Corporation toward the training room, just as Vegeta landed by it. She quickly ducked in her head. 'Oh God, I think he saw me!' She thought in total horror. Dread fell on her as she heard footsteps coming toward her. She ran toward the door and locked it, laughing in hysteria as she did it. 'That's not going to keep him out!' What else could she do? Goku couldn't help her. Yamcha couldn't help her. If Vegeta was upset, she was as good as dead. Bulma suppressed a shriek as there was a knock on the door. "Who is it?" She said, desperately trying to stop her trembling from being heard in her voice. "Bulma?" Her Mom called. "You never lock the office door. Open up, dear." Relief flooded Bulma as she ran over to open the door for her mother. Vegeta landed outside the Capsule Corporation training room, looking up toward the office where Bulma usually worked on her crazy inventions. He spied Bulma looking out, pulling her head in quickly as she saw Vegeta. 'So, she hides from me all afternoon. Now she doesn't even want me to know she is here.' Vegeta clenched his fists. 'I've had enough!' He screamed in his mind. 'I have done what Kakarotto suggested and as usual he is proven the fool and I was a fool to even listen. It is now time to do things my way! This woman must learn the games must cease!' Vegeta punched his fist into his other hand with that decision, walking with determined steps toward Bulma's office. "It's just you seem a little upset, dear." Bulma's mother said. "You father and I noticed it and I just wanted to make sure everything was okay." Bulma wanted to tell her mother the whole nightmare of her last two days, but knew it was impossible. They would insist Vegeta leave and that would only enrage Vegeta more. No, this was her burden and her burden alone. "Really, Mom," Bulma replied. "Everything is fine. It's just I broke up with Yamcha, and I am a little down in the dumps." "Oh, dear!" Her mother said putting an arm around her shoulder. "I don't think you have anything to feel down about. He was cheating on you, dear. Your father and I knew, but you were so in love with Yamcha, we knew you'd be upset if we tried to tell you. We thought you better find out for yourself. You will be so much better off without him." "I hope so, Mom." Bulma tried hard not to cry, wishing she only had Yamcha to worry about. "I really hope so." "You will see, dear." Bulma's mother smiled at her. "Why don't you come down to the kitchen with me and I will make you some tea." "In a little bit, Mom." Bulma lied. "I'm really into working on this invention, and I don't want to stop now." Bulma's mother smiled and closed the door. Bulma ran over and locked the door again as soon as she left. She backed up from the door, praying she didn't hear any more footsteps. She watched the doorknob turn. "Mom?" Bulma called. Vegeta's voice was thick with threat. "Open up this door, woman, or I will blow it off the hinges." Bulma shrank from the door in open terror. She was trapped! There was nowhere to go! She backed up against the wall, feeling the cold smoothness of the walls, wishing she could disappear into them. "Woman! I know you are in there, open up this door, NOW!" Part of Bulma wanted to give up, simply walk over, open up the door, and embrace the fate she knew she couldn't fight. Then she put her hand on her stomach and knew it was more than her life than hung in the balance. She was going to fight for her child, even if it was a hopeless fight. Bulma looked out the still smashed glass from her window. She was on the second floor. She didn't know if it was possible to make such a jump, but she was going to be damned if she would just sit there and die. She swung her leg out the window, hesitating, until she heard an explosion as the door flew in. With that she leaped out the window, landing on her two feet, feeling something give in her hip. She stifled a cry of pain, limping as fast as she could into the woods. |