Chapter 5 (original)
Title: It's Not Where You Start…
Chapter 5: The Best Laid Plans...
Rating: T (for now…)
Fandom: Dragon Ball Z
Genre: Alternate Universe/Romance/Angst/Drama
Pairing: Vegeta/Bulma
Warnings: Language. Abuse of commas and semi-colon as necessary, they made me do it.
Short Summary: AU. Vegeta and Bluma have met. Now what...?
Summary: Alternate Universe. Bulma and Vegeta have finally met one another and seem to have a kind of (semi-friendly) rivalry going on. We've learned Vegeta is in a gang which has been taken over by the Kold clan. Goku is Goku, Chi-Chi is Chi-Chi, not much development there presently (working on it).
Disclaimer: All Dragonball, Dragonball Z and Dragonball GT characters belong to Akira Toriyama. Cause let's face it, if I owned these characters I would totally be making this into the animated canon or manga cannon somehow.
Author's Notes: I appologize for the switching back and forth between tenses. I just felt certain passages read better one way than some others.
Also, I may not have Gero characterized exactly according to his DB/DBZ personality but where is that whole in-yo-face obvious megalomaniac personality going to fit in? Point is, artistic license and yadda yadda yadda.
Please leave a review as they are like candy to me and I like candy. :) Also, I squee like a little school girl when I read them.
Recommended Listening: "Extraordinary Machine" by Fiona Apple, "A-Punk" by Vampire Weekend
It's Not Where You Start…
Chapter 5: The Best Laid Plans...
Most of obstacles would melt away if, instead of cowering before them, we should make up our minds to walk boldy through them. -Orison Swett Marden
Bulma's eyebrow twitched involuntairly as she approached the cafe table. Since the arrival of Goku's friend from Japan, Vegeta had continued to join them for lunch regularly. Despite how he argued and complained with Goku, he still kept sitting with their group each day. Bulma wasn't sure if he was oblivious to her agitation or just simply ignoring her discomfort ; she would put odds on the latter.
Since the guest lecturer incident, he had been fairly quiet and reserved, only speaking when spoken to-not that it had been different before hand. It made Bulma's blue hair stand on end in an unappealing fashion. Something was brewing in that messed up head of his; she was positive. Absently tapping a slender finger on the table she mulled over various forms of revenge however she had yet to come up with any decent ideas. Unintentionally her gaze had become unfocused and had drifted over to the strange Asian man's direction. Bulma's vision was slightly blurred out of focus the entire time she was propping her chin up with her other hand. The cold, hard linoleum of the table top was beginning to make her elbow hurt but she was able to easily ignore the feeling as she lost herself in thought and her mind wandered about here and there.
He was undoubtably handsome, that couldn't be argued with. Too bad his personality completely ruined it. His strong bone structure and enticing dark eyes gave him an air of aristocracy that seemed to somehow suite his snobbish attitude and lack of social skills. The rich tanned skin with an olive color suggested his background wasn't just Japanese; maybe there was Italian somewhere back in his genes. It made an oddly attractive and yet unexpected subtle combination of features.
"...What is it Woman?" Vegeta grunted the question, giving only a quick side glance to the woman sitting none too far away at the same table. Shaking her head out of her trance, some of her hair fell out of it's pulled-back hairstyle and gently around her face. He would admit she was attractive but that's where he stopped himself. He wasn't the kind to dwell on such details unless they were relevant to him, which he had decided she wasn't. Well, not really. She was a toy; something to entertain him and pass the time while he was here on his business.
"Nothing. Just thought I saw another person sitting at the table for a minute. Turns out it was just monkey's ass." She mused dryly.
"Bulma, c'mon. Don't try to start a fight...no matter how funny or how much he might deserve it." Chi-Chi chided, picking at the remanents of her salad in a waste-not-want-not manner. It wasn't that she wanted to take the exchange student's side, it was more like she didn't want her friend to put any more stress on herself than was necessary. Bulma's mid-term Comp Sci thesis was coming up and she knew that while her friend was a genius, she could get easily distracted when her emotions got involved.
"Hmph," Vegeta smirked. "Then you should really stop looking in the mirror Woman." Then as if nothing had happened he continued his meal gracefully. Bulma seethed inwardly at their childish repartee. It was only amusing when she won dammit.
Vegeta was surprised that the Woman hadn't questioned him about, or even mentioned, the 'fun' he had text-torturing her. He had assumed with her personality that she would immediately be complaining and trying to get a rise out of him in a far more grandiose fashion. He hadn't received any flack for pestering her from Kakkerot either which meant she hadn't told him or he was suddenly good at keeping things to himself; It was definitely the former. The airheaded was certainly not known for his descretion in such matters.
Curious that it seemed she hadn't told anyone though. It had been three days since the texting assault. A pondering smile slowly formed on his face as he disposed of his emptied lunch tray. Grunting a farewll to Goku, Vegeta shouldered his bookbag over his shoulder and walked out of the student center cafeteria. Placing his skateboard on the ground and giving it a starting push, he glided gracefully in and out of the student traffic which slowly plodded along. Dr. Gero was back on campus today and Vegeta decided he wanted to check in on his family's investment. With that plot in mind he steered himself in and around the dull moving students on the walkways. Without looking at their faces Vegeta took count all the different expressions he passed; blank faces either zoned out in contemplation or exhaustion; angry faces that were contorted in the midst of narrating a story; thoughtful faces with no particular emotion other than concentration. He briefly wondered if anyone could see past the façade he had chiseled into being long ago; and if they did, would he welcome it?
As he arrived at the Computer Science and Economics building, he stomped on the edge of his skateboard and deftly snatched it from the air as it kicked up to greet him. He gazed up at the multi-story building and centered himself, Dr. Gero was waiting.
Hearing a knock on the door, Dr. Gero looked up from the stack of student papers he had been grading. Various piles of paper lie in neat stacks on his oak desk which was placed against a wall to help prevent papers from flying off and onto the floor. "Come in." He invited casually. The face of a purple haired student leaned in and smiled jovially at her favorite teacher.
"Hi Dr. Gero!" Opening the door a little farther, Bulma shuffled a large binder she had wrapped in her arms.
"Ah, Bulma! How are you? Thank you ever so much for stepping in for me while I was away. No one could match your talents and I'm sure the students couldn't have had a better substitute." He smiled gently and stopped his paperwork gracefully. His bushy mustache wobbled up and down as he chatted cordially.
Bulma could feel her cheeks blush a little at the praise and smiled. "You're welcome! Thanks for allowing me to have the experience. It was quite enlightening to be in the teacher's role for once." She hoped her mouth didn't reflect the slight twinge of a grimace as she remembered Mr. Vegeta Ouji and his wonderful attitude.
"Yes, yes. Now then, did you manage to look over the schematics I doled up?" He smiled contentedly, leaning back in his leather office chair. Resting his hands on his belly he intertwined his fingers and made use of the chair's arm rests accordingly.
"I did! And I must say this is more than science Doctor, this is a work of art!" Bulma continued to babble on and converse about the balding man's latest research project; a fully functioning autonomous android able to think and feel, both physically and mentally. Just the idea of it excited Bulma to the point of giddily bouncing in her chair, making large expressive gestures with her hands.
Comparing notes, they conferenced with each other. Sharing ideas and pointing out possible problems. Dr. Gero really valued Bulma's input, not only because she was the daughter of the leading man in machine technology but because she was very intelligent herself. Yes, she had potential. Dr. Gero could only hope to bring her onto the project he had been slaving over, however some information would have to be managed and details hidden first.
Third floor, office 315 was Dr. Gero's room of solitude. Well solitude whenever he closed the door; otherwise students were in and out, asking questions and turning in assignments. It was easy enough to find for Vegeta; he had been here numerous times since he started classes. He had to keep an eye out for his family's 'investment' and being close to him like this was not only helpful it was a good motivator for Dr. Gero to continue his research on time if not faster. The faster the project was complete, the happier Boss Kold would be.
Approaching the aforementioned room Vegeta heard a familiar melodic voice; it was that of the Woman's he liked to anger. The door was ajar and he could see her purple hair and lower half of her body as she leaned over part of Dr. Gero's, seemingly discussing whatever was on the desk. Vegeta halted a few yards away, listening to their conversation with more detail. From what he could tell out of context it sounded like they were discussing the android project that Dr. Gero was working on for the Kold faction. Listening to the woman blather was actually...informative he noted; he also noted that while she was bent over the desk he had a nice view of her jean clad bottom. Vegeta gave a slight nod to himself in appreciation. At least she has a nice ass.
Thinking of turning around and forego talking to Dr. Gero today, he stopped himself. He needed to check up with Dr. Gero, even if it did mean crossing paths with Bulma. Giving a loud throat clearing sound was how he announced his presence when he decided to approach the two scientists in the disheveled room.
At the sound Bulma stopped her gushing to Dr. Gero and spun around with an uncontrolable enthusiastic grin from having a chance to nerd-out with her favorite professor. Spiked hair, skateboard, blue hoodie, and a grumpy disposition; it was Vegeta alright. Her face fell in discontent from her happy grin to a surprised look and then contorted into a position of irritation. Bulma turned around again to Dr. Gero as he greeted Vegeta with a slightly forced note of happiness in his aged voice.
"If you'll excuse me Bulma, I have to talk with another student of mine. We can decide when to go over this project on another day." His eyes squinted happily when he smiled at his prized student.
"I look forward to it Doc!" Bulma chirped excitedly. Gathering her binder she shoved it into the backpack she had placed next to the one student chair in the office. Having her back facing the professor Bulma took full advantage of the time to glare at Vegeta, sticking her tongue out at him childishly before passing him and leaving him alone with the doctor.
"Sorry about that Mr. Ouji. She's one of my more brilliant students and we frequently get into long discussions over projects we're working on." A light sweat appeared on his brow as he worried how the yakuza son would react to him sharing the top-secret plans he was working on.
"it's fine," He said as he stared after the blue haired genius out of intrigue. "I already know who she is." Turning his head back to Gero he steeled his face into a severe expression. His flat-soled sneakers made a slight squeaking sound as he walked over to the lone chair when he kicked something. Looking down he saw something interesting; the woman had left her purse. Vegeta closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose to keep him from laughing; he managed to keep it down to a chuckle.
That woman really was forgetful, wasn't she?
Bulma groaned remorsefully as she flung herself onto her bed. She had really wanted to go over more ideas with Dr. Gero. Especially about the neuro-circuitry that would be needed; there was an easier way to organize the pathways inside the electronic brain that would not only increase efficiency but also allow more room for development later on. However then that jerk had to interrupt and ruin her good mood. It was easy for her to dismiss the strange behavior that the good doctor had shown as she figured it was pretty common to have weird interactions with anyone as brusque as Vegeta. Strange though, she thought, that he hadn't given her any blueprints to look at before she left-as was their normal routine. Sometimes the blueprints he gave her were simple projects he had already finished and some of them were of things dreamt far into the future with no real way to create them yet. However, this new blueprint he had let her look over was near, if not surpassing, Da Vinci proportions!
For a while she laid on the bed, looking at the ceiling and daydreaming about blueprints and ideas, her mind wandering in and out of relevant trains of thought. Then she sighed and, with a grunt, threw herself off the bed to get up and walk around her apartment. She had discussed the idea with her parents of living at home, which they desperately wanted her to stay, but in the end she had decided that living closer to campus was just more efficient. However, she purposefully neglected to mention the fact she didn't walk to campus, even though it was less than a five-minute walk, to her parents.
Wandering out of her bedroom she grabbed an apple out of the fruit basket in the kitchen. After rinsing the colorful orb in the sink, she bit into it's red and yellow exterior; enjoying the crispness of the bite as she broke the peel. Looking up at the cat clock, which looked oddly like the cat her dad spoiled rotten at home, she sighed. That midterm paper wasn't going to write itself. Shaking her head slightly she took the apple in one hand and headed into her office to continue writing the document that had vexed her for a week or more now.
Knock, knock, knock!
Bulma jumped as she heard the sound echoing through the apartment's entryway. She noticed as she rose from her cushy office chair that the sky outside was now dusk dark. How long had she been writing anyway?
KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK!
Came the thumping more sharply, and possibly angrier than before. Was is possible for a knock to be angry? Bulma yawned as she grasped the brass doorknob and gave it a turn.
She blinked a few times to make sure she wasn't seeing things. Then rubbed her eyes and blinked them again. Standing there was none other than Vegeta Ouji...which explained how the knock would've sounded angry. Everything about the sour man sounded angry.
"Shut that thing you call a mouth Woman, no one wants to see your tonsils when you answer the door." He quipped with a smirk painting the edges of his lips.
"Who the hell asked you?!" She exclaimed and unceremoniously slammed the door in the young man's face, leaving a very bewildered Vegeta on the side of the door from whence he hailed. Bulma blinked several times as she stared at the door. As if a flame went off behind her eyes, they sparkled as she realized she had reacted purely on instinct and not even asked why he was there.
...wait a minute. How did he know where she lived anyway? If she found out it was Goku who told him she was going to flip out and yell the crap out of him next time she saw him. As many other questions as she may have racing through her head, one thing was certain. On the other side of that door was one of the last people she had expected, or wanted, to see. And she had no idea what he wanted.
Opening the door back up mechanically, somewhat embarrassed that she had forgotten to extend even the slightest courtesy to earlier, she greeted him. "Hello Vegeta." She said with a monotone voice. "Why are you here?"
Vegeta was paused in mid-knock from her hasty rejection earlier when she opened the door. The Woman was staring at him with a very displeased look on her face, which certainly didn't do her looks any favors.
"It's not like I want to be here Woman." He sneered derisively. The woman with cornflower blue hair looked at him with one of her eyebrows lifted in suspicion, "Mmm-hm." Was all she said as she crossed her arms and shifted her weight onto one leg, leaving her in a defensive contrapposto position.
Pulling a familiar looking bag out of his book bag, Bulma gave a soft gasp of surprise. How had he gotten that?! She had it when she came home, didn't she? Thinking for a moment, retracing her steps of the day, she froze in horror-she had left it in Dr. Gero's office. Shit. But wait, how did he know where her apartment was? Anything in her purse had the address of her parent's home on it. He didn't. She thought incredulously.
"This is yours right?" He asked gruffly. Proffering the offending soft red leather bag to the woman who stood shocked in front of him. Narrowing her cerulean eyes, which gave off a pleasant flicker when they were angry he noted, she quickly snatched her purse out of his hand.
"Thanks," She replied as humbly as she could while trying to hold back her annoyance for the man in front of her. "But how the hell did you know I lived here?" She questioned genuinely.
"Simple enough, I called your parents." Which made enough sense to Bulma; until she processed the information.
"WHAT?!"
Amazingly unfazed by the harsh noise, Vegeta simply blinked at her overreaction to the statement.
At that moment, Bulma's head was a mixture of way too many thoughts. Most all of them concerning how her mother must have taken to talking to any guy who happened to be calling from HER phone; even more so that the guy in question was one of the most prickly, sarcastic and annoying individuals she had ever met.
"As a reward you will owe me a favor. I'll call upon it when needed." He stated matter-of-factly before pulling his hoodie up over his head and walking away from the apartment.
"I didn't say ANYTHING about a reward OR agreeing to it!" She yelled loudly, forgetting that her neighbors could probably hear her.
Vegeta spun around quickly and Bulma flinched a little, thinking that maybe yelling that had upset him. Instead he projected a very amused smile on his face as he yelled back his response.
"Oh and by the way! Your mother said when we do it we should use protection!" Snickering amusedly he turned on his heel and continued walking away, presumably to the school's campus. Bulma could feel her face flush crimson as she stared, jaw agape, suddenly remembering that all her neighbors probably overheard and very likely misunderstood their conversation.
Now she would never hear the end of it from her mother, who was all TOO boy crazy and overly excited about getting her precious daughter a boyfriend.
Looking down at the girly tote in her hand, she wondered vaguely what favor it was that Vegeta had in mind.
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