No, I don’t own DBZ - how many times have I got to say it before people will believe me?

Yes, there’s some swearing. And, there’s a near-rape (I don’t like it, but it’s part of the story).

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Chapter 5

 

"KapuKopu. . .are you sure?" Kakkarot asked as he stared at the town before them. It had some of the tallest buildings he’d ever seen, some rich-looking farms, and a working iron mill. It was quite impressive in appearance, truth be told.

"Positive," Chi-Chi said into his chest. "We can’t go back there!" She hated feeling and acting so weak and helpless, but when she thought of the bordello, and what almost happened to her, she couldn’t help it.

"We’ll be hauled back to hell the moment we set foot in there!" Bulma agreed, clinging to Vegeta. She, too, hated feeling so pathetic, but the idea of being dragged back to that horrible man, to suffer whatever he chose to put her through, filled her with terror and sickness.

"Which is why this is as close as you’re getting to it," Vegeta said as he dismounted. He lifted Bulma off Auroris’ back and set her gently on the ground. "You’re staying back here, out of sight."

"You, too," Kakkarot said to Chi-Chi as he dismounted and helped her down. He gave her some food and a water pouch, as well as his sword. "Hide in the woods, both of you. We’ll come find you after we get the ball." The two women nodded and turned to go into the woods.

"Bulma," Vegeta called to her, and she stopped. "Here, take this," he said, handing her his katana. "We’ll be back soon."

"Of course. And we’ll be waiting," Bulma forced a smiled as she held the katana tightly in front of her chest. Vegeta reached out and caressed her cheek before he thought better of it, and then climbed back onto his horse. Kakkarot kissed Chi-Chi quickly and softly, surprising her, then he, too, got back on his horse. Blushing, Chi-Chi and Bulma went into the woods that stood around KapuKopu. Vegeta and Kakkarot watched them until they were out of sight, and then nudged their horses in to a trot and went down to the town.

KapuKopu was one of the largest, busiest towns they’d ever been to. Only Vegetasei’s capital surpassed it. They watched as the people went about their daily business, women running errands, men working, merchants selling their wares. Even though they were strangers, they went virtually ignored as the large crowd moved around them. They dismounted and led their horses to make moving through the crowd a little easier. The jewel pointed to the right, and they turned down the next cross street. They had walked about ten paces down the street when they both jerked to a halt. A large poster was nailed to a wooden post a few feet from them, with large, prominent pictures of Bulma and Chi-Chi painted on it. Written beneath the pictures was the message "Wanted: Two runaway women, Bulma Briefs and Chi-Chi Ox. Ox is an escaped bordello slave, please return alive with minimal marks. Briefs assisted in her escape and ran away from her arranged marriage, also wanted alive with minimal marks. Reward offered for both." Vegeta scowled as he walked up to the poster, intent on tearing it down and ripping it up. Kakkarot was right behind him, ready to burn the offensive piece of paper.

"Have you seen them?" a voice said just as they reached the poster. They both spun to see a man standing a few feet away. "By the looks you two had a few moments ago, I’d think you did. What, did they con you out of some money? Those two are very clever." Their eyes flashed fire, but the man didn’t seem to notice.

"No, we haven’t seen them," Vegeta said coldly, giving the man a glare that told him to drop it.

"Are you sure?" the man asked. "You sure looked upset about something."

"Tch. Just disgusted with the idea of a woman that would run away from her own marriage, and help a slave escape," Vegeta felt bile rising to the back of his throat as he spoke the spiteful words. His mind filled with Bulma’s frightened face. He had to get her away from here as quick as he could.

"And what good will running do the whore, anyway? She’ll probably end up in another bordello, anyway," Kakkarot agreed, feeling his stomach twist into a knot. He desperately wanted to get going, find the ball, and leave this place as far behind them as they could.

"Got that right. Are you sure you haven’t seen them, just a glimpse, somewhere? They disappeared pretty good," the man observed casually.

"No. I’d remember seeing a head of blue hair," Vegeta said, his voice capable of making ice shiver. Kakkarot nodded, and then they all but pushed past the man, focusing on the tracking jewel again.

"We’ve got to hurry," Vegeta observed quietly.

"Agreed," Kakkarot muttered. They turned another corner as the jewel directed them, only to discover another one of the posters. This one they did manage to destroy.

 

Bulma and Chi-Chi sat in the shade of a large tree quietly. Neither one felt much like speaking, fear had paralyzed their tongues. They were afraid that if they breathed too loudly they’d be found. So they just sat under the tree, katanas in hand, praying for Vegeta and Kakkarot’s quick return. Bulma began fidgeting first. She rolled the katana around in her hands, and grasping and releasing the handle. Chi-Chi started to pull her katana an inch out of its sheath and then push it back in again.

"Ugh, I hate feeling like this," Bulma grumbled.

"Tell me about it. I never liked feeling weak and scared. That’s why I worked so hard on making sure nothing frightened me," Chi-Chi muttered.

"It’s not like we’re totally helpless, we’re not like other women," Bulma observed, still keeping her voice down.

"Heaven forbid," Chi-Chi almost chuckled. Then she sighed softly. "So. . .you’re going to be an empress."

"Yeah. . .and you’re going to be a samurai’s wife!" Bulma smiled. Chi-Chi’s cheeks flushed.

"He hasn’t actually asked me to marry him," she admitted.

"He will," Bulma smirked. Chi-Chi smiled a little shyly.

"I hope so," Chi-Chi whispered. They fell silent again, but the silence didn’t last. Heavy footsteps crunched close by and the two women dove for the nearest hiding place they could find. From their hiding place, they watched a few men go by wordlessly. They looked more like farmers than bounty hunters, but Bulma and Chi-Chi kept low anyway. After the men had passed and were well out of sight, the two women came back out.

"We can’t get away from this place fast enough," Bulma said.

"Yes," Chi-Chi sighed.

 

Vegeta and Kakkarot followed the tracking jewel through KapuKopu for hours, working through the maze-like streets slowly or quickly depending on how crowded they were. Vegeta was getting angrier with each passing moment, and Kakkarot was growing increasingly antsy.

"Damn it! What is wrong with this thing? It says the ball is here, but it can’t seem to decide where!" Vegeta growled loudly. They didn’t have time for this, the longer they stayed there the more likely it was that Bulma and Chi-Chi would be found.

"This place is a maze. . .!" Kakkarot grumbled loudly.

"Hey-O! Come one, come all! Rare and valuable treasures for sale! Gold and jewels, from the farthest reaches! Exquisite jewelry from across the world!" a merchant’s voice traveled to them. Their first reaction was to ignore it, until they remembered that the dragon balls were stolen and being sold by a merchant with ‘self-proclaimed rare and valuable treasures.’ They turned and ran for the voice. Even if he didn’t have the last ball now, he’d know where it was! They found him two streets away, standing by a beat up cart loaded with trinkets. Some of it actually did look valuable, while others looked like junk. The merchant himself was one of the shortest men they’d ever seen, though his arms showed honed muscles, and he had wide eyes and no nose. He boasted a head of thick, bushy black hair, and was trying to sell a necklace to a woman.

"You there!" Vegeta barked, in no mood for formalities. The short man turned to him with a wide, salesmen grin.

"Yes, sir! What may I do for you?" he said. "I’m Krillin, dealer of treasures, and I have most anything you could want! Need something to impress a lady friend, perhaps?"

"Do you sell orange crystal balls with red stars on them?" Vegeta said, frowning. Krillin was obviously unsure of what to think of Vegeta’s expression, but went on.

"Orange crystal balls? You must have heard of me before! Sadly, I’ve already sold the last one. But, I have some other nice. . ."

"Who did you sell it to, you short thief?!" Vegeta cut him off. Krillin stared at him.

"Who are you calling a thief?! I’ve never stolen anything in my life!" Krillin snapped, throughly annoyed with Vegeta.

"Like hell! Those balls were stolen from the dragon Shenlon!" Kakkarot stepped in. Krillin stared at them both blankly.

"Dragon? What dragon?" he said.

"The dragon you stole them from!" Vegeta said.

"But I never. . .there wasn’t any dragon, that guy said. . .ooh, I knew nothing good could come from dealing with a man who wouldn’t step into the light!" the short man began sweating nervously.

"What man?" Kakkarot asked, becoming confused.

"W-well, a while ago, I was up north, and a man called to me from the shadow of an alley. He offered me something truly rare for some gold, and showed me the balls. He wouldn’t leave the shadows of the alley, all I ever saw was his hand. . .I knew it wasn’t a human hand, it was green, and the nails were too long. . .but, I knew I could get some good money for those balls, maybe enough for my wedding. . ." Krillin explained meekly. Vegeta rolled his eyes a little, but felt his anger at the man ebb.

"Shenlon wants his balls back. We’ve found the other two; now, who did you sell the last one to?" Vegeta tried again. ((We’ve almost got it, Bulma. You’ll be away from this place soon.)) he promised her mentally.

"I don’t know who he was," Krillin admitted. "But he was richly dressed, young, and had dark hair and gray eyes, and a lean face. He seemed well known around here. He went that way," Krillin pointed. Vegeta held up the tracking jewel to see if the ball was still that way, and the jewel pointed the same way Krillin had.

"All right, then," Vegeta said, and walked off, Kakkarot uttering a quick thanks and a warning to be more careful in the future to the merchant. They followed the jewel again, deeply annoyed that the merchant had already sold the last ball by the time they’d found him. Vegeta glanced skyward as a cool breeze passed them, the sun hanging low in the sky.

"Night’s coming," Kakkarot said quietly.

"Yes. . .hurry up, Kakkarot, I want this over with!" Vegeta snapped, and nearly began to run. Kakkarot joined him without complaint. The jewel once again led them down several different streets, until it finally glowed gold and began trying to pull Vegeta to a large mansion.

"Finally!" Vegeta sighed, and they went up to the door. They knocked lightly, and a few minutes later, the door slid open. On the opposite side of the door stood a woman with blonde hair pinned on top of her head. She looked relatively young, but was still clearly older than they were.

"Yes? Can I help you gentlemen?" she asked. Vegeta cleared his throat.

"We’re looking for a young man who bought an orange crystal ball a little while ago," Vegeta said.

"The ball is stolen property," Kakkarot added. The woman’s blue eyes widened, and both samurai were suddenly struck by her resemblance to Bulma.

"I don’t know anything about any ball!" she said with a shake of her head. "What makes you think the man who bought it is here?"

"We have our ways," Vegeta answered as he raised the tracking jewel, which was striving to fly into the house and glowing bright gold.

"What’s going on, Mrs. Briefs?" a young, male voice asked, and a man joined her. He was wearing a rich kimono, had long dark hair and grey eyes, and a lean face. The jewel tried to go for his pocket. That, however, wasn’t what held Vegeta and Kakkarot’s attentions anymore. ((Mrs. Briefs? Bulma’s mother?!)) Vegeta quickly fought the shock that stabbed at him.

"These samurai say they think there’s a stolen crystal ball in the house, Rukin," Mrs. Briefs told the young man. Rukin looked at the twosome with a slightly arrogant air, looking them over like they were insects to be crushed underfoot. ((Is this guy Bulma’s finace?)) Vegeta wondered.

"Actually, I believe it’s in your pocket," Vegeta answered as he released the tracking jewel, which dove into Rukin’s pocket, making the youth jump in surprise. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the dragon ball. He scowled and pried the jewel off of it and flung it back at Vegeta.

"What the hell is that thing?" Rukin snapped.

"A tracker for the balls," Vegeta said. "We were sent to get them back for their rightful owner. So. . ." Vegeta reached for the ball in Rukin’s hand, and Rukin’s eyes flashed as he pulled the ball back.

"Now, wait a minute! I spent 6000 yen on this ball!" Rukin said.

"We’ll reimburse you, if you want, just give us the ball," Kakkarot said, running low on patience. Rukin’s eyebrow suddenly hitched upward, an idea coming to him.

"Perhaps we can work out a trade," he said coolly, smiling lightly. "May they come in, Mrs. Briefs?"

"Oh, well, I. . yes, of course," she said. "But not before they introduce themselves."

"Tch, do their names matter?" Rukin muttered softly, but Vegeta and Kakkarot’s sharp ears caught it. They suddenly realized their armor and kimonos were dirty with traveling, and they still had dust from the road in their hair. . .and because of that, Rukin thought they were below him! Vegeta gritted his teeth, but made himself be civil before Bulma’s mother.

"My name is Vegeta," Vegeta said with a bow.

"I’m Kakkarot," Kakkarot bowed next.

"It’s nice to meet you," Mrs. Briefs said. Vegeta and Kakkarot left Auroris and Horushu in front of the house and went in. They were led to a table with fresh tea on it. Mrs. Briefs went to get two extra cups while the men talked.

"Now, what kind of trade did you have in mind?" Vegeta asked calmly. Rukin was still smiling as he held the ball against the table.

"I am supposed to marry Mr. and Mrs. Briefs’s. . .charming. . .daughter, but she’s run off," Rukin explained, and Vegeta felt his anger start to rise. So this was the man that Bulma feared and hated so much. "I’ll give you the ball if you get her back for me." Every muscle in Vegeta’s body tensed as he fought back the urge to strike the man.

"We could just give you the 6000 yen," Kakkarot said lowly, seeing his prince couldn’t speak at the moment.

"Yes, I’m sure you could. But I’d rather have the girl," Rukin answered with a condescending smile. Kakkarot scowled; the ass thought they were poor!

"Was there some reason she ran off?" Vegeta asked as he regained control of himself. Rukin snorted.

"I don’t really know. She has far too much spirit for a woman, I’ll tell you that. She’s also loud and disobedient. She actually talked back to me several times, and even raised her voice! I’ll have a time breaking her, I can tell that now," Rukin shrugged.

"‘Breaking’ her?" Vegeta echoed, fury and surprise mixing in him and rising to the surface.

"You know, making her quiet and obedient, putting that spirit out before it gets her in trouble. Her parents should have done it long ago. They actually let her build things, can you imagine? They gave her too much freedom as a child instead of teaching her how to be a proper woman. Frankly, I wouldn’t even consider marrying her if the Briefs weren’t so rich and influential in this town," Rukin said, keeping his voice low so no one outside the room could hear it. Vegeta’s right hand clenched into a tight fist beneath the table. Mrs. Briefs came in then with the tea and her husband.

"Good evening," Dr. Briefs said.

"Good evening," Vegeta and Kakkarot said in unison.

"What were you all talking about?" Dr. Briefs asked as he made himself comfortable at the table.

"We were just discussing a trade. If they’ll find Bulma for us, I’ll give them the ball," Rukin smiled at them.

"Oh! Do you think you could? We’re all so terribly worried about her!" Mrs. Briefs said eagerly, her eyes showing her concern for her child.

"I can’t imagine why she ran off the way she did. We had just gone to a tea ceremony and she said she saw a friend she wanted to talk to, and that was the last time we saw her," Dr. Briefs told them, sadness and worry creasing his face.

"Some people told us they’d seen her beyond the city," Mrs. Briefs added.

"After she stole her friend Chi-Chi out of the bordello," Dr. Briefs continued.

"Well, you certainly can’t blame her for that. That poor girl, how did she end up there in the first place?" Mrs. Briefs said.

"She was poor, that’s how," Rukin muttered. Kakkarot sent him a dark look that he missed.

"Yes, well, we’d prefer to just pay for the ball. We have a long way to go to return it," Vegeta said shortly. The whole conversation was driving him up the wall. Her parents obviously loved her and were worried about her, but they were willing to give her over to a man who would destroy her.

"Oh, please, won’t you reconsider? She’s been missing for months and we’re all out of our heads with worry!" Mrs. Briefs pleaded.

"Yes," Rukin agreed with a small nod. "We’re all frightened for her." ((Yes, I’m sure you are.)) Vegeta thought, his dark eyes glinting death.

"We’ll. . .think about it. We need to confer. We’ll tell you our decision when we have one," Vegeta said, and stood. Kakkarot followed him, and they were shown out of the house. They grabbed Auroris and Horushu and headed down the street, intent on getting back to Bulma and Chi-Chi.

"Can you believe that bastard?" Kakkarot muttered.

"‘Break’ her? Put out her spirit? I’ll break him before he’ll ever get near her again!" Vegeta cursed hotly underneath his breath.

"So what will we do about the ball?" Kakkarot asked as they tried to retrace their steps.

"I’d rather kill him than bring him Bulma," Vegeta said. "We can offer him the money one more time. . .or just tell him who we really are and threaten him with imprisonment." Vegeta smirked at the thought. Kakkarot let out a mirthless chuckle. The streets were emptier now, and by asking some of the remaining people, they found a quicker way back to the woods.

 

Mrs. Briefs washed a few dishes quietly as she thought of their unusual guests. Rukin was certain they were poor ronins and nothing more, but they hadn’t held themselves or acted like ronins. There was something else, too, but she wasn’t sure what.

"Vegeta. . .I feel like I’ve heard that name before," she said to herself. She thought about it long and hard until she remembered - and proceeded to drop the dish she was holding back into the water. "Oh, my goodness!" she gasped. "Vegeta is the name of the emperor and prince of the Vegetasei Province! But if he was the prince, why would he be going around looking for stolen property? Unless. . .it was stolen from his palace!" Mrs. Briefs pressed her hands to her cheeks in a moment of panic. "Or, it could just be a coincidence," she observed, and went back to her dishes.

 

The sun was near to setting and the wind had turned cold, and Bulma and Chi-Chi built themselves a small fire to keep warm. It was only a few burning twigs, since they didn’t dare build anything big enough to be seen, and provided little light and warmth. They ate some of the food they’d been left and waited nervously.

"Why have they been gone so long?" Bulma mumbled.

"KapuKopu is a big place. . .maybe they got lost," Chi-Chi whispered.

"I hope not. I want to leave," Bulma sighed.

"Yeah," Chi-Chi said in a breath.

"Well, well! What have we here? The two runaway women!" the man appeared so suddenly from the darkness that he took both women by total surprise.

"Get homesick, ladies?" a second man, less than two feet away from Chi-Chi, asked.

"Must have, they weren’t here before," a third man, close to Bulma, said. Bulma and Chi-Chi jumped to their feet with Vegeta and Kakkarot’s katanas out, and prayed quietly the men couldn’t see the trembling in their hands.

"Katanas? Where did you steal those?" the first man asked with a laugh.

"Fancy ones, too - look at those hilts! They must have done something really right to get their hands on those!" the second man said.

"Stay back!" Bulma warned, waving the katana. She only knew a few moves with it, and she could only hope they’d be enough. The first man took a step forward and received a quick, painful cut on his cheek as his reward.

"Bitch!" he spat as he stepped back. Bulma and Chi-Chi felt a small wave of triumph that was quickly shattered on the rocks of reality. Two more men came from behind them and grabbed them. The man holding Bulma slammed her wrist against a tree, making her drop her sword. The other man simply pried Chi-Chi’s sword from her fingers.

"Looks like tonight’s our lucky night, boys!" the leader laughed. "I knew we’d find you sooner or later. We’ve been searching practically all of Japan for you. We finally come home, smell some smoke, and there you are! If we’d known you were coming back, we wouldn’t have left!" Both women spat on him in anger, fear, and disgust. He growled and the men holding them twisted their arms behind them. "Come on, let’s take them into town."

"NO! NO! NO!" Bulma and Chi-Chi screamed and howled as they were roughly drug out of the woods and onto the road, where their cart and horses were waiting. Two of the men scooped up the katanas and their sheaths to sell later and walked behind their friends with their catch. They flung Bulma and Chi-Chi into the back of the cart, three men got in with them, and the other two got into the drivers seat and urged their horses forward. Bulma and Chi-Chi tried to push past the men to jump out of the cart, screamed, cursed, hit, and kicked them violently in their desperation to get free.

"Damn, they were right - these two do have too much spirit!" one man, a youth in his late twenties with pale green eyes, said as he backhanded Bulma.

"Hey, I bet the bordello would pay us extra if we broke her spirit a little," the second man, a big, middle-aged man with a scar down his face, said, motioning to Chi-Chi.

"I wouldn’t mind sampling them both," the third man, the same age as the second with a thick black beard and a nearly bald head, chuckled. "With those nice new kimonos and the swords, they must be very talented whores."

"KEEP AWAY FROM US!!!" both women shrieked.

"Guys, we’re in town," the driver, who was also the leader, called back to them. "Now, what’s the quickest way to the bordello and the Briefs’ house?" he muttered. He looked to be in his late thirties, with thin brown hair and brown eyes. The men moved to look around and decide the quickest path, and Bulma and Chi-Chi dove past them and onto the street. They ran as fast as they could, which, due to their kimonos, wasn’t fast enough. The men caught up with them and dragged them into an alley.

"Rotten bitches!" the man with the scar spat as he struck Chi-Chi upside the head. "You need to learn your places!" With that, he pulled the top of Chi-Chi’s kimono open.

"NOO!" Chi-Chi screamed as the man painfully fondled her. "KAKKAROT! KAKKAROT!"

"Shee-it, a body this nice shouldn’t be wasted on just one guy, anyway!" he said. The bearded man all but tore the sash-belt off her while the other two began stripping Bulma. The apparent leader just watched with a cold glint of amusement in his eyes.

"STOP IT ! STOP IT! VEGETA! HELP!!" Bulma howled as she was pushed against a stone wall and her legs forced open.

"What’s your problem? You’ve been doing this for months!" the fourth man, who had short black hair, mocked her as he stroked her inner thigh. "And speaking of great bodies. . ."

 

Vegeta and Kakkarot noticed the empty cart by the gate with mild curiosity. They would have moved on, if they hadn’t seen their katanas sitting in the back of the cart. Auroris and Horushu began twitching their ears and neighing as Vegeta and Kakkarot took a closer look at the cart.

"This is my katana," Vegeta said.

"And mine," Kakkarot agreed.

"Then, where is. . .?" Vegeta started, and then they heard the women screaming.

 

"I’ve always wondered what it would be like to have a high-class woman like you, Ms. Briefs," the green-eyed youth holding Bulma laughed mockingly as he forced his hand over her curves. Bulma sobbed and screamed.

"Remember, boys, minimal marks. Especially on Ms. Bulma - even if she has been selling herself to survive, her fiancé will want her to still look untouched for the wedding," the leader chuckled. The other men chuckled in turn as they began removing their own clothes. The next second, two of the men fell over dead, their heads falling to the ground a few seconds ahead of their bodies. Vegeta and Kakkarot, their blades out and bloody, stood before the dead bodies as blood covered the ground.

"Vegeta!" Bulma croaked, reaching for him.

"Kakkarot!" Chi-Chi choked out. The remaining bounty hunters turned from the women, who pulled their kimonos back over themselves.

"You disgusting bastards," Vegeta growled.

"How dare you!" Kakkarot hissed.

"What the hell do you think you’re doing?! They were some of my best men!" the leader snarled. "These women are our bounty! Go find your own!" Vegeta and Kakkarot wasted no breath replying, and simply attacked. The narrow ally made for a poor battle ground, there was little room to maneuver; but there would be no moving out of it. The swords clanged and rattled as they collided, Vegeta and Kakkarot fighting all three men at once. Chi-Chi began inching toward the mouth of the alley to get out of harm’s way, but Bulma was trapped by the fighting. Vegeta went into a deadlock with the leader, making a long enough pause in the movement of the swords for Bulma to try and run. The leader saw her move, and broke away from Vegeta to swing at her. The blade was just a flash of silver to Bulma’s eyes as it flew at her and cut into her flesh. She stumbled backwards and received a small cut to her arm from one of the other men as they dueled with Kakkarot. Vegeta ran to her and caught her before she could fall. He looked her over quickly; the wound was ugly, but not deep. She’d survive if she got help at once. He turned to look at the leader, a small, cold smile touched his lips for a second before vanishing. He now had every right in the world to kill this man. Kakkarot stood at his prince’s side, and the three remaining bounty hunters glared at them. Vegeta suddenly turned and went to Chi-Chi, very gently handing Bulma to her.

"Get her to a doctor, the roads are nearly empty now. We’ll be behind you shortly," Vegeta told her, leaving no room for questions. Chi-Chi’s eyes darted to Kakkarot, who nodded, and she took her injured friend and ran.

"What. . .?! They’re getting away!" the bounty hunters started to follow, only to find cold steel in their way. The swords began flying again, only now, with their women out of the way, and fueled by blood-boiling rage, Vegeta and Kakkarot unleashed their full strength and skill. The two henchmen fell quickly, leaving the leader alone. The leader was sweating as he looked at the bodies of his fallen comrades.

"Who the hell are you? What do you want?!" the leader barked as he lunged forward again. There were three sharp clangs as metal met metal, then a choked gag from the man as he stared at the sword through his stomach.

"Prince Vegeta of Vegetasei," Vegeta hissed to the man’s dying ear. "Bulma is mine."

"Samurai Kakkarot," Kakkarot added. "All I want is Chi-Chi." Vegeta then pushed the man off his sword. They wiped their swords off and sheathed them, then ran out into the street to find Chi-Chi and Bulma. They were a little surprised, but not very, to discover Horushu was gone. Auroris was pacing back and forth and tossing his head in agitation. Vegeta grabbed his stallion’s reigns and noticed a small trail of blood on the ground. He swallowed down a lump in his throat and followed it, Kakkarot at his side.

 

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So, why come up with a new character to be Bulma’s would-be fiancé when I could just use Yamcha? ‘Cause I needed the guy to be a total S.O.B., and I didn’t feel like bashing Yamcha. I’ve got nothing against him. Just ‘cause he was too much of a wimp and a flirt to keep Bulma. . .*ahem*, yes, well, I decided a new character would be better.


Chapter 4
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