Disclaimer: If you haven’t heard already, Akira and I are getting married next Wednesday. So, by California state law, I will own half of DBZ. It’s true, oh, it’s true.

Howdy Pardners! Man, I’m sorry ‘bout the lateness of this. It’s just that I just moved to Texas from California and I was too busy being busy. Not much to say ‘cause my mind’s not working correctly right now. Except, do you know how frickin’ hot it is in Texas? It’s like a billion degrees all year long! But, enough about me, let’s get to the story...

Wait, one more thing. I wanna thank those who reviewed last chapter: crazyperson, Babie Blue, Sun Goddess, konton, CatQueen, NightZone, Zekintha, moonsaiyanprincess, and Baby blu. We can all learn from people like them.

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Chapter 5

 

Saturday.

Who the hell goes to work on Saturday when they’ve been out till 3 in the morning the night before?’ Bulma thought, rubbing her eyes again.

Goku took his eyes off the road for a second to glance at her. "Tired?"

"Can you tell?" she asked, yawning and stretching her arms over her head. Goku smiled, turning his attention back on the road. "Makes me wonder…" he said, almost to himself, smiling.

Bulma quirked an eyebrow. "What’s that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, nothing. Just that… you know."

"Not really. Care to explain?"

"Well, you and the boss were out till, what, 2 in the morning? What’d you guys do in those few hours?" Goku asked knowingly.

"Nothing. Unless you want the full count on our running from the cops and almost getting caught. And what the hell do you mean ‘what did we do’? Are you implying something Goku? ‘Cause if you are—"

He rolled his eyes playfully and turned on the radio. ‘There,’ he thought. ‘Much better.’ He switched to a news station.

Bulma got a confused look on her face. "Since when did you start listening to--"

"Shh!"

Bulma’s confusion, turned into surprise. When the hell did he start shushing her?

"…federal investigators are yet to find out who these hoodlums are that have created fear and anger amongst truck drivers in East L.A. Especially those carrying car parts, DVD players, and such. FBI expert Tai Mang says…" they switched to a recording of his voice, "It is interesting how much these criminals know about cars. It would not be a surprise if they have had some experience with these kind of vehicles. Most preferably in the racing or street racing business. Our search concludes…"

Bulma switched stations and looked up at Goku. "Why listen? We know all about it, us being involved and all. Let’s listen to some real stuff." She switched to a station playing Luda. "Now, that’s what I’m talking about," she said, smiling playfully and bouncing her head.

Goku shook his head and pulled into a parking space. They got out of the car, shading their eyes from the sun, and walked across the street to Diesels.

"It’s blazing hot today," Goku said, wiping the sweat off of his forehead. "When isn’t it?" Bulma replied, opening the garage door. Chichi was waiting for them on the other side.

"So, look who decided to show up," she said. "Don’t be surprised if Vegeta gives you hell today."

Bulma winced. "If yesterday wasn’t hell, then I don’t know what is."

"Yeah, and if I were you, I’d work on that bike for a few and act like everything’s normal. You know, keep it low." She turned to Goku. "Now Goku, you can come with me." She turned, walking towards the car parts room (also know as the junkyard) and waited for him to follow.

Bulma walked towards the motor cycle making sure to be inconspicuous. ‘Why the hell do I have to be alert when Goku’s in there making googly eyes with some chick?’ Bulma thought poutily.

She bent down to open the bike, but was distracted by a female voice.

"You’re late."

"Oh, really? What makes you think that? She turned around to face the green-haired woman.

"I could have you kicked out of here so fast, your pretty little head would spin," Rayven spat hatefully.

"What? You going to tell Vegeta? Didn’t know I was so important." She turned back to her work.

"You’re not. You just—"

"Hey! So I finally get to meet the girl everyone’s been talking about!"

Bulma turned to a voice. It belonged to a pretty blonde haired woman wearing cutoff shorts and a yellow t-shirt.

Bulma wrinkled her nose. "Who the hell are you?"

"Oh, I guess what Vegeta said is true. You are a bitch," she said, laughing lightly. She held out her hand. "Name’s Juu. Probably one of the only sane people in this joint.," she said in a monotoned voice.

Bulma took her hand and shook it. "You probably already know this, but I’m Bulma."

"Yeah, you’re right. So, now that we’re done with all the getting to know each other bullshit, I guess it’s time I show you around. Courtesy of Vegeta of course."

"He showed me the ropes yesterday."

"Oh, no. That was strictly procedure. More of a ‘don’t touch this or I’ll kick your ass’ type thing. This is pure social." Bulma nodded.

"Where to first," Juu asked herself, rubbing her hands together. She grabbed Bulma’s arm and dragged her towards 2 men and what looked like a small child. A green man was working on a red Honda while the other two were busy on a blue one.

"You guys," Juu said, "I want you to meet Bulma. Bulma…." She waited for a last name.

"Briefs," Bulma answered.

"Bulma Briefs. New kid on the block." She gestured to the men. "B, that’s Picollo, Tien, and Chiaotzu."

Bulma nodded, wanting to get as much info as she could about this place. The green one spoke up.

"We finally get someone new. Maybe this one actually knows how to do her job," he said in a deep voice.

"Ouch. That hurt," Juu said, feigning offense. Picollo chuckled, getting back to work on his Honda.

Tien waved at her. "Good to meet you Bulma. You’ll like it here, won’t she Chiaotzu?"

Chiaotzu nodded enthusiastically.

"Well, B, time to get on with our little social outing," Juu said in her normal sarcastic voice. She led her to a group hovered around a junk racer. Bulma could tell that they were prolonging the time until they had to work again.

A woman with long blonde hair was sitting on the roof of the car, while a dark haired, well built man was in front of the open hood pretending to do some actual work. She saw Yamcha and some bald dude spraying each other with water bottles.

"Looks like we’re getting some classic work done here guys," Juu said scaring them all half to death. They pretended to get to work but stopped when they realized who it was.

"Damn babe. Thought you were someone important. Like Vegeta or something," said the short man.

Juu looked offended. "I’ll let that slide Krillin. I’ll just have to punish you later." Krillin smiled, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Great, now I’ve got to listen to my best friend and sister, talk dirty. Please spare me." This came from the man working the hood.

Juu punched him lightly on the arm. "Real funny Jay. You’re just a basket full of laughs. Anyway kids, this is Bulma. Bulma that’s Jay, my twin brother unfortunately. That right there is Krillin, the chick over there is Tien’s girl, Launch, and that’s Yamcha, who I’m sure you’ve already met."

They each nodded, smiled, or waved in time to when Juu said their name.

"Well Juu, you sure do look like the regular tour giver today," said Yamcha playfully.

"Yeah, well you sure do look like the regular asshole."

They all laughed, knowing that she was just joking. "I guess you guys should get back to ‘work’. I gotta show B the rest of you nutcases."

"I’ll come with you," said the woman, Launch, Bulma thought her name was. "I’ve gotta get my meds from the car anyway. Allergies actin’ up again."

"And we all know what a bitch you can be without ‘em," said Jay, which made the others nod in agreement, trying not to laugh. She jumped off the roof of the car giving him the finger.

Bulma almost smiled. They were a cool bunch of people. Too bad she had to bust them.

"So, where to ladies?" Launch asked, grabbing them by the shoulders.

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"Goku, could you hand me those Piston rings? I think I need a few more good ones."

Goku grabbed a few, passing them over to her. "So, how long you been working here," he asked by way of making conversation.

She looked at him suspiciously. "A few years. Why?"

"Hey, no one’s forcing you to answer. If you don’t want me to know, then don’t tell." He went back to rummaging through the junk, looking for anything that wasn’t broken.

She sighed, putting the rings aside. "Been here for 3 years. Back when Vegeta wasn’t running the place."

Goku turned to face her. "It was run by some asshole we used to call Mr. Cell. What a bastard. To make a long story short, he was arrested for assault and a number of other things and Vegeta took his place just about a month ago."

"And out of all the places to work, you choose Diesel’s?"

Chichi raised an eyebrow defensively. "Is there something wrong with that?"

"No. It’s just that a smart chick like you…"

She shook her head and sighed once more. "Pass me a screw driver."

He did, and she turned back to her work, leaving him to do the very same thing.

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"And this, my friend, is the entrance to Jared’s amazing computer crack house," Juu stated sarcastically. Launch laughed as she opened the door. Jared was sitting on the computer, a big man was looking over his shoulder, to the screen.

"I want this ride done by Wednesday Tinker! If it’s not done, it’s your ass!"

Jared nodded absently. "Sure Nappa, Wednesday. Whatever."

Nappa trudged passed the girls and out the door, muttering something about no respect.

"Who’s the big beefy dude?" Bulma asked.

"Oh, that’s just Nappa," Launch explained. "Don’t pay him no mind. He’s almost as bad as Vegeta. Note key word, ‘almost’."

As if on cue, Vegeta slammed open the back door to the messy room, a serious look on his face. "Hey Tink, you got the layout yet?" Jared looked up from the monitor. "Yeah bossman," he said, clicking on various things. " The ’02 speedy black Corvette. All we have to do is put it in the making and it should only take a few weeks."

Vegeta nodded and noticed three figures to his right.

"What the hell are you broads doing here?"

"Oh, Vegeta," Juu said sweetly. "We’re always happy to see you." They brushed their way passed him.

"Speak for yourself," Bulma said, loud enough for him to hear.

Vegeta just rolled his eyes. "I bet you get a rise just thinking of me," he countered, eager for an argument.

Bulma rolled her eyes right back. "Only in your wet dreams Vegeta."

The other three held back laughs. It was a no-no to laugh at the boss.

Juu turned to Jared. "So Tink, now that you’ve done everyone else’s homework, care to check on mine?"

"No problem," he said, clicking on the file that said "Juuhachi."

A three dimensional figure of a racer popped up. It was only half done. The other four nodded their heads in approval.

"Green, shiny, and just the way I like it," Juu said, halfway enthusiastic. "Say, Tinker, you think you could slap a number 18 right on the side there?" she asked, making a slap motion with her hand.

He took off his beanie and scratched his head, thinking. "Yeah, sure, no problem. Just give me a design and all that, and consider it done."

Juu nodded. "Now that we got that done," Juu said, "time to get to the joys of work."

Bulma and Launch groaned.

"I’d suggest you get your asses on the job before I get in the mood to fire someone," Vegeta said.

Bulma walked passed him, patting his cheek lightly. "You wouldn’t fire me, Vegeta. I’m just too valuble.

He watched her walk out after the other two, and followed after her.

"You know, Bulma," said Launch, "a few of us are going to a hangout joint by the Ginyu part of town tonight. Wanna come?"

Bulma shrugged. "Why not?"

Vegeta snorted. "Great. Harpies night out. Might as well stay home tonight."

"Yeah, I bet you could find much more interesting things to do home alone," she said, putting enough innuendo into her words.

"There goes your dirty little mind again."

She rolled her eyes, walking back to the motorcycle she had been working on earlier.

You can’t even begin to imagine what’s going on in my mind Vegeta. You can’t even imagine.'

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Phew! Sorry ‘bout the crappy ass chapter. I just had the biggest case of writer’s block that I’ve ever had. But I promise, the next chapter will be mad dope! And who the hell says that anymore?? Just sit back, relax, and review dudes! Like totally review live! Just do it for me, it doesn’t hurt to make my ego just a little bigger than it already is.

Oh, and who can guess why they call Jared, Tinker? I thought it was funny at the time, for those of you who are groaning and wondering how I come up with these stupid jokes.

Peace and chicken grease!

-Scrambled Thoughts


Table of Contents
Chapter 4
Chapter 6