Chapter Nine
Chichi came to the hospital all day every day for three weeks. She wasn't bothered by it since she didn't do much else, anyway, and she felt committed to helping Bulma through the ordeal. Bulma was extremely grateful.
On the first day of the fourth week came Bulma's relief.
She was chatting with Chichi, when she heard a little sort of sighing noise from Vegeta. She looked at him, quite startled, for she hadn't heard a single noise from him in nearly a month. As she was looking at him, one obsidian eye cracked open. Bulma was near tears now, and Chichi was smiling warmly at her good friend. Bulma did have tears when Vegeta spoke. His voice was so low and quiet, barely above a whisper, that she could just make out what he said.
"Hey, Bulma."
"Vege-chan…"
Chichi watched, amazed. She had trouble understanding that there was a true bond between the two, but as she looked into the couple's eyes as they gazed upon eachother, Chichi understood. It's almost magical, Chichi thought, that such a monster could be tamed by a woman. He's not a monster anymore, though. I can see the reluctant good in his eyes.
"How long have I been sleeping? A week?"
"No, Vege-chan, a month."
"What?! What happened?"
"You were worse than we thought, to say the least. Chichi and I have been here every single day since you came here. Every single day, Vege-chan."
"Chichi? Huh? Isn't that…isn't that Kakkarott's mate?"
"Yes. She's a very good friend of mine and don't you dare curse at her or call Goku a baka in her presence, got that, vegetable head?"
"Hmmph. I can call you a baka, though. Baka."
Chichi almost laughed out loud as she listened to the two's gentle teasing. I guess they're made for eachother. They're both as stubborn as asses, have too much pride, and start fights alot.
"So, how much more time do I have to spend in this prison cell?"
"Another month."
"Another month? Kuso…"
"Oh, kuso yourself, shortie."
"Don't call me short, that's baldie's title."
"Hmph. I'm a lady and I'm three inches taller than you."
"Baka ne…go boil your head. I'll light the flames for you."
"Put a sock in it, hairboy."
"Go chew on Oolong, little woman."
At this, Chichi erupted into the fit of laughter. "HEHEHEHEHEHE! Mmhhhmhmhmhmhmh! That last one really was funny ............... phhhffHAHAHAHAAAHAHAH!"
"Chichi, you're not supposed to laugh at his jokes...heh heh..." Bulma scolded as she almost burst into laughter herself. Vegeta was wearing a proud smirk on his face and chuckling quietly to himself. Secretly, he was relieved to be alive, and doubly relieved to know that Bulma was there with him and had been there the whole time, making sure nothing went wrong. Kami, how he loved that woman.
One month later, Vegeta was finally released from the hospital. All of the doctors and nurses were relieved, because the strange, short little man with tall, spiky hair in room 224 had been cursing at them and jumping out of bed when he wasn't supposed to for around three weeks. The minute Vegeta got to the CC with Bulma, they flew to her room and made out. Then Vegeta raided the refrigerator, leaving only the frozen vegetables (which he didn't know how to heat up and were rock hard) for everyone else. Bulma scolded him, but halfheartedly.
"Hey Bulma," Goku said and he entered the CC, "Can Vegeta spar today?"
"WHAT THE HELL? Goku, you baka, he just got out of the hospital two days ago. You want to rip eachother apart AGAIN? No way! He's still very sore, even though he won't tell anyone that. If that's all you came to ask, go away," Bulma yelled.
"OK, Bulma. See ya later!" Goku called as he soared into the sky. I guess Goku is immune to yelling because of living with Chichi for so long, Bulma thought. She then went to check on Vegeta, who was, of course, sparring with himself in the gravity room.
Bulma watched him for a while, as he darted back and forth, throwing punches, kicks, and ki beams every which way. For a while, he actually went so fast, Bulma couldn't see him. When he reappeared, he was wincing and holding his chest. What a darn baka, Bulma thought to herself.
Bulma was about to enter, when she noticed that the gravity was set at 250x. She realized what a fatal mistake she almost made. She would have been squashed flat against the floor or something. She turned the gravity room completely off, and entered.
Vegeta looked over at her and frowned. "Why are you interuppting my training, woman? I'm busy…" Vegeta winced quietly again, then looked away when he saw Bulma's upset face.
"Vege-chan, you shouldn't be training so hard, you know. Don't take your injury so lightly," Bulma scolded gently.
"I'll train when and as hard as I want to, hear? And if you try to say otherwise, be prepared for a dissapointment," Vegeta snapped. Bulma was shocked and stepped away at Vegeta's sharp tone.
"Vegeta, wha-"
"Don't do that sentimental crap on me anymore. That's what made me so soft in that spar with Kakkarott, you know. You did, with this terrible mushy nonsense of yours. Go away, I'm busy," Vegeta practically spit the words at her.
"I…I…but…how…" Bulma was completely crushed. Tears started to drip from her eyes, unnoticed. "Vege-chan, why?" Bulma sobbed.
"DON'T call me chan!!!!" Vegeta yelled. This scared Bulma, and she ran out of the gravity room, screaming with sobs and slamming the door to the room behind her. Very quickly on her way out, she set the gravity to 400x, and to her horrified pleasure, she heard a loud thump from the gravity room as Vegeta fell to the floor.
After three hours, Vegeta was still struggling to lift himself from the floor. He had only been able to lightly move his fingertips since Bulma raised the gravity. He was beginning to get spooked, as everyone who knew him was used to him going unseen and training all the time, and would not get worried if they didn't see him around.
His chest had been burning with pain for about two and a half hours, and it was starting to get worse. Also, his whole body was twitching in agony as the gravity worked its magic on his muscles and bones. As the pain intensified Vegeta cried out and once again tried to lift himself. He worked his eyes over to the green screen which told the gravity level. He coughed out a horse sob as he read 400. He knew he would never be able to lift himself in that kind of gravity, and came to the conclusion that he would die, from a destroyed body if not first from lack of food and water. He blinked several times as he felt the pressure on his brain and things started to go a little fuzzy. Just as he got his vision straightened out, he screamed as a sudden tear of pain ripped through his whole body.