Among the commotion of it all...

Disclaimer:  Bite me.  (LOL!  Sorry, but I just read this in one of Selenity Jade’s fics, and I thought I was going to die from laughter!  I must have been high on sugar when I read it, or something.  **Shrugs**  Oh well.  Forgive my babbling.)  Oh yes, and the story Iiovana tells actually happened to me and a friend of mine, so I have to give my friend credit.  :-P  Don’t ask.  My friend and me just get a little… stupid sometimes.  ^_^

Author’s Comments:  Well, first off.  THANKS FOR ALL THE REVIEWS EVERYONE!  **sniffs dramatically and wipes a tear away from her eye**  You guys are the greatest!

Note that I didn’t say all the “encouraging” reviews.  Some of you guys are getting all Adolf Hitler like, “commanding” me to finish my story.  >.<  It’s driving me crazy!  Everyone’s like, “Finish your story, or else!!!!!”  And then they hold a dagger in a real threatening way.  **Sighs**  It’s really, really bugging me.  Not to mention scaring me.  So peeps, as a request, keep your murderous and demanding needs to yourself.  The world would be a much better place!  ^_^

This has NOTHING what so ever to do with the story (and everyone asks simultaneously, “So why’d you include it?”), but I have to say it.  The story A Shoulder To Lean On by Stef-chan is EXCELLENT!  And the ending is just… too cool!  You guys can read that while I’m busy finishing up my own story!  -_-

I just read an interesting review.  Some girl asked me if she could post one of my stories on her website.  (But of course, she expected me to email her back with a reply.)  And here’s the answer to her question and for anyone else who might want to post my story:  Sure!  ^_^  But there are three simple things that I’d like for my “website-posting” fans to do.  First, tell me in a review that you’re going to do it, ok?  Second, leave me an address to your website.  I wanna read my work there too!  And third, when you do post my story up, say who it’s by, please.  The penname “Pudgoose” is fine with me.

And uh… well… I can’t think of anything else to say.

Author’s Shout outs:

Veggie-girl:  Tsk, tsk, tsk.  Shame shame!  The language some people use today….  ^_~

Hotohori4life:  First off, thanks for the compliments!  But uh… say, how about I buy you some anti-Adolf Hitler pills?  I hear they come in the colors orange and purple too!

Shateera:  First off, I like your name.  ^_^  It’s cool sounding.  My real name’s Lori.  -_-  I know, really plain and stupid, right?  Secondly, thanks for saying that my story’s really good!  ^_^  Made me happy!  And, um, thirdly… I’m sorry that I’m “pissing you off”, but… I’m trying my best.  And… uh… I think I’ll get you some anti-Adolf Hitler pills too.  You want orange or purple?

ChIbI LeGoLaS and ChIbI FrOdO:  I know this is a stupid question, but are you REALLLLLLLLLY two people?  I don’t know if I could stand having to wait for someone else to read a story before I could review it.  That’d get on my nerves.  But then again, I am a kind of impatient person.  ^_^’’’’’

Aymei:  It’s good to know that you’ve been keeping up.  (snicker snicker, snort snort)  ^_~

Q/A:  Setsunna:  First off, sorry if I confused you with Chi-Chi’s letter-reaction thingy.  I was going to just leave it at her, “Oh… my…”, but thought that would confuse people.  So I put in the “crooked smile” bit to try and clear things up a tad.  Obviously, it didn’t work for some.  Sorry again.  Second, about the Kakarroto/Goku thing.  I know that he’s a bit of a happy-go-lucky, ditsy kinda guy (I wouldn’t love him if he weren’t!  ^_^), but no one ever said he couldn’t be romantic when he wanted to be.  I personally think that’s up to Akira Toriyama to decide, but since I have no real way of asking him, I’m just going to go on the gut feeling that Kakarroto/Goku can be romantic when he wants to.

Whew!  That was a pretty long introduction!  ^_^  Well now, let’s get on with the story!

Steal after my heart, would you?

“The palace,” Chi-Chi whispered.  “Oh I sure hope it’s from Bulma!”

She broke the envelope’s seal, and pulled the letter out.  She unfolded it, her heart beating madly in her chest.

Chi-Chi glanced at the bottom of the letter instantly, and sighed with relief and happiness when she saw that it was from Bulma.  Gosh… Chi-Chi giggled.  She was really having a fit over this.  She must have missed Bulma much more than she thought.

Chi-Chi smiled and sat down on the couch, beginning to read her best friend’s letter.  Her smile only grew larger as she finished it.  She giggled with Bulma’s last quote:

Give my best to Kakarroto and Bardock!  I love and miss you all!

“Well I love and miss you too Bulma,” Chi-Chi whispered.  “And an encounter with Prince Vegeta in the pool?!”  She giggled, and headed over to her desk; she sat down, turned her lamplight on, and pulled a piece of paper and a pencil in front of her.

“Well you won’t believe this Bulma,” she continued, and put pencil to paper.

~*~*~

Bulma swallowed and straitened her posture as the prince headed over to her.  She couldn’t believe how worse this was, compared to the modeling thing, that is.  However, Clark seemed to be fully enjoying himself, bouncing around the room like a child in a candy store.

They were doing something slightly different from yesterday.  They still had to try on different dresses and apply makeup, but this time, instead of modeling one at a time for the prince, Prince Vegeta walked around them all, studying them up close.  He would sometimes even whisper in the girls’ ears, causing them, to his delight, to blush heavily.  He hadn’t done that to Bulma yet, but she didn’t mind, having already had more than enough for her taste.  While they were trying on bathing suits for him (why the Sayian Queen would have to wear a bathing suit was beyond her comprehension), she had been assigned, to her utter dread, a tiny thong-strapped, bikini-like piece.  Prince Vegeta, just as she had thought he would, had much fun with the little garment, and had actually pulled on one of the straps lightly, letting it slap back against her thigh when he let go.  Bulma had felt her cheeks and ears grow extremely hot, and it took all the control she had not to slap him stupid right then and there.  The Prince had walked away with a smug, devilish smirk on his lips.

“Well if it isn’t Miss Thing,” he muttered as he neared her ear.  Bulma blinked.  She didn’t think he’d speak to her.  He chuckled lightly, and corrected, “No.  Wait a minute.  Miss Thong.”

“Shut up and… and just get this over with, stupid,” she whispered back to him, feeling stupid, and a tiny stain of pink crossing her cheeks again.  He chortled and walked behind her.  The “charming” Prince Vegeta leaned his head over her shoulder, rather close to her own face.

He made a small grunt of acknowledgement, and nodded once.  He looked over her other shoulder.  Bulma had an odd feeling that he was staring directly at the tops of her breasts.  Or maybe she was just afraid that he would.

Clark was bouncing on the balls of his feet, biting his bottom lip.  As Bulma looked up at him, Clark gave her a reassuring wink.  She smiled weakly, but her gaze was cut off as the Prince walked directly in front of her, his arms crossed.

He motioned to her with a small gesture of his hand, and Bulma lifted her arms up, shoulder-length.  He slowly circled her several times; Bulma almost felt like a trapped animal, and that the beast was circling for its kill.

The other girls watched as Vegeta stopped in front of her, grabbed her chin in his hand, and lifted it roughly up for her to face him.  She winced slightly, and stared into his beautiful black eyes with the most hatred she could muster, suddenly forgetting her former embarrassment.

He studied her face for any blemishes or mistakes with her makeup.  She blinked, catching his attention to her eyes.  He noticed that her long, beautiful, and dark eyelashes showed off her aqua-like eyes in a heavenly manner.

The Prince hastily let her go, and strutted over to the next girl in line, Madonna.  Bulma looked after him, startled slightly at his rough, hurried retreat.  But her surprise didn’t last very long, and she stuck her tongue out at his back childishly, before crossing her arms and lifting her nose in the air.

~*~*~

Lunch went along pleasantly enough, as Madonna decided to eat with Cleopatra and Zoë today.  And Bulma successfully avoided Phoenix’s watchful eye.  That was a plus.

“So… are you heading back to the pool today?” Iiovana asked as they entered their dorm room.

Bulma sighed, thinking.  That question had entered her mind more than once while she was eating, and every time she couldn’t answer it.

“I… don’t know.  I don’t think so….”

“Why not?  You coming with us to the gym?”

“Hn.”

Iiovana cocked an eyebrow and filed through her clothes, looking for training clothes to wear.  “So you don’t know?”

“No.  Maybe I can just stay in here, or something.”

“Stay in here?”

Bulma nodded, thinking.  That might be the easiest and most enjoyable thing to do.  Or she could explore the palace some more.

“You sure?” Iiovana repeated, removing her shirt and reaching for the tank top on the bed.  Bulma nodded once more.

“Yea.  It’d be cool.”

Iiovana sighed.  “Okaaaay,” she said slowly.  Bulma laughed once.

“Why are you acting like that?!”

Iiovana giggled.  “I myself just couldn’t stand to sit still that long.”  She giggled once more.  “I think I’d go crazy!”

Bulma smiled.  “Well then, I think I’m going to go wander around blindly.  See you.”

“You realize that that’s about an hour and a half of “wandering around blindly”, don’t you?”

“Yup.  I’ll find something to entertain my busy mind.  Maybe I’ll visit the technology wing, or something.”

Iiovana did a double take, and her already large eyes widened.  “Technology wing?  Why?!  You’ll be bored to death!”

“I like science and mechanics and things like that,” Bulma said simply, slipping her feet into a pair of comfortable sandals.  “One might call it my ‘passion’.”

Iiovana stared at Bulma as if the blue-haired female had a deadly disease, and Bulma couldn’t help but snicker.  The beautiful-eyed Sayian had the funniest look on her face.  It looked like the baffled expression a young child would wear when he had just broken a toy after beating it around some.

“Bye!” Bulma said, and exited the room, Iiovana’s face still captured in her mind’s eye.

~*~*~

Bulma watched keenly over a scientist’s shoulder.  He was flipping through files of Vegetasei’s historical documents, and, much to Bulma’s amusement, pictures and foreign works would flash up randomly on the computer screen.  She leaned in even closer as a very interesting picture popped up.

“Will you stop that?!” the scientist shouted, gently shoving her behind him.  “Your presence is annoying!”

Bulma straitened herself, crossed her arms, and huffed.  “I’m not annoying anyone.  Until now, I haven’t even said a word!”

“But you’re just—” he paused, and glanced at her curvaceous figure, “—distracting.”

Bulma sighed and rolled her eyes.  “Men…” she muttered.

He turned back around in his computer chair.  “Don’t you have somewhere you’re supposed to be?”

“No.”

“Yes you do.  You’re one of Prince Vegeta’s contestants, are you not?  Your life should be as scheduled and orderly as a library.”

Bulma didn’t respond.  Instead, she glanced over his shoulder again.

“What are you looking for?” she asked him.

He sighed.  “Nothing that you’d understand, or find interesting for that matter.”

“I might!” Bulma protested.  “Tell me!”

He sighed again.  “Looking for information on the great Battle of Leewth.  Seeing what tactics we used that were useful, and seeing which ones looked like a total improvisation.”

Bulma blinked.  “What’s an improvisation?”

“Told you so.”

“Told me so what?”

“That you wouldn’t understand.”

Bulma fought back the urge to slap him across the back of the head.  It was then that she heard a familiar, male voice.

“No, no,” it said.  “We tried that last time, remember?  The Ghees are smarter than that.  We can’t repeat ourselves, general.”

Bulma looked up, a smile on her face.  She spotted the familiar male, and waved at him.

“Hi!” Bulma shouted cheerfully.  King Vegeta looked up from his conversation, and, upon spotting her, smiled warmly.  He excused himself from the general, and approached her.

“Well hello there, Miss Briefs,” he greeted, slightly nodding at her.  She bowed deeply for him.

“Your Majesty,” she said softly.

The scientist whom Bulma had argued with was watching the two with wide eyes.  He cleared his throat, and stood up.  King Vegeta glanced at him.

“Yes?”

“Your Majesty,” the scientist said, bowing.  “Is there anything your majesty wishes or needs?”

The King smiled wryly, his eyes twinkling.  “Well, spare the notes from the Battle of Leewth, nothing.”  The scientist blushed ever so slightly, and bowed quickly again.

“Yes your majesty.”  He sat back down in his seat, and began busying himself with his work once more.

“So, Miss Briefs,” the King said, turning back to Bulma.  “What brings you here?”

“Curiosity,” Bulma replied simply.

The King smiled, and nodded.  He stared at her for a few seconds, looking her directly in the eyes.  Bulma almost began to feel uncomfortable, when he suddenly asked, “Care to take a walk with me, Miss Briefs?”

“If Your Majesty wishes that it is so,” Bulma replied, bowing.  He smiled wider, and gestured with a wave of his hand for her to follow him.

“So…” he said after a minute or two, the pair strolling down a deserted hallway.  “Are you enjoying yourself here?”

“Oh yes sir,” she said, momentarily forgetting, in the King’s aura of peace, her troubles with Phoenix.  “Everything’s just lovely here.”

“And you’re getting along well with the other girls, I suppose?”

Bulma hesitated, a thoughtful look on her face.  “Yes… yes, I guess everything’s fine.”

The King glanced at her, an eyebrow quirked up slightly.  “You guess?”

Bulma nodded.  “It’s just like school.  There are some people who I feel just drawn to become close friends with, and others that I’d just like to avoid.”

“Whom do you feel drawn to?”

Bulma smiled.  “Iiovana,” she answered.  He chuckled softly.

“Yes… I know that girl faintly.  Isn’t she a little ball of energy and happiness?”

“She’s nice,” Bulma said, nodding.  “And she seems to have the ability to stay on the good side of everyone.”

King Vegeta nodded his head slowly.  “Some people are born with that talent.  Others can develop it.”

Bulma looked up at him with thoughtful eyes.  He was watching his feet as he walked, his hands behind his back.  Gosh… it was amazing how much he looked like Prince Vegeta.  Well, body-and-looks wise.  But his eyes were much calmer, much more peaceful, and not as naïve.  She fought back the urge to hug him tight.  He seemed so much like a father to her….

“My son,” King Vegeta suddenly said, tenderness in his voice.  “Vegeta… don’t judge him too quickly.”

Bulma cocked an eyebrow.  “Judge?”

King Vegeta waved slightly to a passing Sayian.  The Sayian stopped and bowed, before quickly heading off.

“Yes, judge,” he said, glancing at Bulma and smiling.  “After all, it is natural for most beings to do so.  They primarily do it to seek for any sort of danger, or to find sanctuary in the person.  But upon doing so, some get carried away.”  He sighed.  “I can understand perfectly if you’d get carried away with my son.  He’s not exactly… as polite and kind as I’d like him to be.”

“Oh, that’s ok,” Bulma said, and continued with a lie,  “Don’t worry about it.  I haven’t judged him too hard yet.”

The King smiled wryly at her, almost as if he could see through her.  Bulma blinked.  “That’s good,” he said.  She smiled, swallowed, and turned her face down to the ground.  She suddenly felt very stupid.

“But… you’ve just confessed that you’ve judged him already, have you not?” the King asked her.  She looked up at him blankly for a few moments, but he continued.  “What have you seen in him so far?  Do you like him?”

Bulma swallowed again.  “Well, he’s handsome,” she said, it being the first thing to come to mind.  The Kind nodded slightly.

“Yes.  Anything else?”

“He’s…”  Bulma bit her lip.  What would she say to him?  That she thought his son was a total jerk?

“It’s ok,” he said suddenly, as if reading her mind.  Bulma looked up at him.  “Tell me the honest truth.  What do you think of him?”

Bulma nodded.  “Well… he’s got a sense of humor,” she said slowly.  “And he’s proud.  A little… a little too much pride if you ask me.”

“And I did ask you, so your answer is fine with me.”

“O—k.”

King Vegeta nodded.  “Yes, my son certainly does have a lot of pride.  And I’ve tried all I can to break his spirit.  Just a little,” he added quickly at Bulma’s questioning gaze.  “Just a little.  I’ve thought about it for quite a number of years, and it seems that the only way anyone will be able to break him is for someone to defeat him.”  He sighed.  “How… I can only begin to imagine.  He’s already the strongest on this planet, and the strongest person I’ve ever met, for that matter.  It seems that—”

“Father!” the Prince’s cry interrupted, and King Vegeta and Bulma both stopped.  King Vegeta seemed to lose his father-like aura in the blink of an eye, and was replaced with a more respectable one, one that someone would present to a crowd.  The two turned around to see the Prince rush up a flight of stairs, still calling his father’s name.  As soon as the Prince caught sight of his father and this female, he stopped, bewildered.

They stared at one another for several long, tense moments.

“Yes son?” King Vegeta finally asked, his deep voice booming.

Prince Vegeta blinked.  Twice.  “Uh… I… Raditz…”

“Spit it out!”

The younger Vegeta looked up at his father.  “Raditz said he needs you.  Immediately.”

King Vegeta took a step foreword.  “Why?  Where is he?”

“I’m not sure, but I think it has to do with the planet Retaw (That’s water backwards.  ^_^  Another creativity point for Pudgoose!).  He says it’s really urgent!  And he’s in the Control Room.”

King Vegeta growled low in his throat, and Bulma looked up at him in shock.  She never thought a sound so cold as that could emerge from him.  “They’re probably rebelling…” she heard him mumble.  King Vegeta looked up sharply.  “Alright!” he said.  “Vegeta, take this young woman back to the gym.  Then meet me in the Control Room, just in case I need you.”

The two Vegeta copies nodded at each other, and they hurried past one another.  King Vegeta practically flew down the stairs Prince Vegeta had just come up; at the same time, Prince Vegeta grabbed Bulma’s hand tightly, his expression not changing.

“Why aren’t you in the gym anyway?” he fussed at her, leading her in very quick strides down the hallway.  Bulma scowled at him, having to do something between a hurried walk and a jog to keep up.

“Slow down, would you?!”

“I cannot slow down for the likes of you!” he spat.  “I slow down for no one.  I make it easier for no one.  I break for no one.  And especially not for a human female.”

Bulma glared at his back, suddenly reminded of King Vegeta’s speech on his excessive pride.

“What’s up with you?!” she shouted at his back as he sharply turned a corner, jerking Bulma’s arm behind him.

He growled.  “You and your stupid human phrases.”

She sprinted suddenly, hurrying up to his side.  He looked at her, a shocked expression on his face for the briefest of seconds, before glaring at her.  She sneered back at him.

“So who’s this Raditz guy?” she asked, having to run to keep up with him.  To her slight surprise, Prince Vegeta let her hand go.

“Head of the Military.”

“Oh.”

“Right.  Stop with the questions.”

“Why are you talking like that?”

“Like what?”

“Saying everything so curt and snappy.”

Prince Vegeta hesitated before he answered, the pair descending a flight of stairs two at a time.

“Cause I’m the Prince.”

Bulma laughed once, and shook her head.  A sharp pain in her side reminded her of how tired she was becoming, and of how all this running was hurting her.

“Can we please slow down?” Bulma panted.  Vegeta glared at her, a look so cold that it almost made Bulma look away.  Almost.

“I have a mission by my father, and I will fulfill it.  Your pitiful whining will not stop me.”

“But I’m tired!” Bulma protested.  Vegeta sighed impatiently, and to Bulma’s surprise, stopped.  For a fleeting moment, she actually thought he was consenting to her.  But then, in the blink of an eye, she found herself being lifted up, and rudely thrown over his shoulder.

“Vegeta!” she shouted as he took off again, but this time, the world seemed to rush away from her.  “Vegeta, put me down this instant!”

“Shut up woman!” he growled, his tone of voice just the slightest bit softer.  Bulma’s eyes widened as she listened to him.  “Just be quiet and relax.  I’m taking you to the gym.”

So Bulma sighed, deciding that she might as well try and make the best of it.  She glanced down, hoping to get a good, up close look at his alluring rear end, but found that his cape was annoyingly in the way.  Now that she thought about it, that wasn’t quite fair.  He got to put his hands on her, got to look at her ass all he wanted, but she couldn’t look at him.  Bulma crossed her arms, and huffed, wondering if he was actually looking in that direction.

She was bluntly pulled from her daydreaming as she felt herself being dropped to the ground.  She landed on her rear with a bit of a “clomp.”

She looked up at the irritable Prince to find that he was looking down at her, his face slightly flushed.  Bulma blinked.

He gave her a single grunting note, then turned, and rushed up the way they had just come.  Bulma stood up, her backend sore.

“Bastard,” she mumbled, watching him go.  She turned her head to find that he had left her right in front of the gym’s doors.  She sighed, and pushed the doors open.

The girls were fighting with each other, it seemed.  Zoë and Cleopatra against each other, while Iiovana and Madonna were dukeing (is that even a word?) it out.  Cleopatra looked up as Bulma entered, was violently punched in the jaw, and thrown several feet back.  Bulma watched in horror as the injured Sayian landed on the wooden floor, and skidded across it with the worst squeaking sound imaginable.

Zoë looked up as well, and cocked an eyebrow.  “What brings you here Bulma?” she shouted, a keen and curious look in her eyes.

“None of your business,” Bulma replied smartly, not exactly eager to tell the witch that she was carried about half of the way here.

“Bulma?” Iiovana said, looking up.  Madonna politely stopped for the brown-eyed Sayian.  Bulma looked up at her, and waved.  “What are you doing here?”

“She just said it’s none of our business,” Zoë answered.  “So we might as well get back to ‘our own business.’”

Both Iiovana and Bulma chose to ignore the rude female.  The large, brown-eyed Sayian rushed over to her friend.

“I thought you were visiting the—” she shuddered, “—technology wing.”

Bulma chuckled lightly.  “I was… but… I just decided to come back.”

“So you wanna spar with me?!” Iiovana asked excitedly.

“Wanna what with you?” Bulma repeated, appalled and confused.

“Spar!  Like what Madonna and I were just doing.”  Bulma made the perfect shape of an O with her mouth.

“So do you want to?”

“No thanks,” Bulma replied.

Iiovana nodded, and went back to ‘sparring’ with Madonna.  Bulma watched them in wonder for a minute, crossing her arms.

“Hello Bulma,” a male voice mumbled in her ear.  Bulma stiffened.

“Get away from me….”

Phoenix chuckled, and laid a hand on her shoulder.  Bulma stiffened even more, if that was even possible.  Phoenix cocked an eyebrow.

“Why don’t you relax around me?”

“Three reasons.  Because you’re filth.  Because I’m better than you.  And because I just plain despise you.”

The corner of Phoenix’s mouth twitched, but he still kept his devilish smile that, normally, would make any girl melt.  “You’re forgetting a reason, Bulma,” he said.  “I think you’re afraid of me.”

Bulma glared at him out of the corner of her eye.  “I’m not afraid of you.”

He smirked.  “Oh yes… yes, I think you are.”

“I’m not.”

“Are too.”

“Am not.”

“Are too.”

Bulma growled, and turned to face him.  “I am not afraid of you, you bastard!” she shouted, poking him in the chest.  “You’re just so… ugh!”

“But handsome,” he said softly, silkily.  Bulma stopped poking him; she glared at him with all the hatred she could muster, and sneered.

“Whatever,” she brushed off, lying to herself as well as him.

“Tell me I’m handsome Bulma,” he breathed into her ear.  “Tell me I’m stunningly erotic, sexy, seductive…”  She jerked back, her sneer increasing.  Phoenix’s smile faded, and he glared down at her, giving up on the politely suave approach.

“I’d wipe that disgusting look off your pretty little face,” he said slowly; he snorted.  “Or else your face might stick like that.”

“Go suck eggs, you perverted weasel,” she spat back.  “And I will look at you however I please, thank you very much.”

“You’ve got a feisty little attitude there, bitch.”

“Damn strait,” she cursed back.

They stared at each other, an eerie look in Phoenix’s eyes, and an angry one in Bulma’s.  She was determined to be brave, determined to be mad.  If she was mad, then she wouldn’t be scared, and Phoenix wouldn’t catch on to anything.

Bulma unfocused her eyes as she looked at him, trying to keep herself from blinking as long as she could.  It was stupid, she knew.  Why not blink?  Maybe it gave her a feeling of power, telling her that she was greater than him if he blinked first.

But he wouldn’t blink.  He was serious.  And determined.

His watched beeped, breaking the nerve-racking tenseness.  Both of them looked down at it, though Bulma couldn’t read the foreign-looking figures.  One was, however, oddly shaped like the mixture between a six and a nine….

Phoenix looked up at the other girls.  “Ladies!” he shouted.  They all looked over at him.  “Time’s up!  Let’s get a move on!”

“Ok!” they all called back, picking up their towels and things, and heading over to the two.  Phoenix looked at Bulma, snorted, then left the gym, Bulma’s glare on his back the whole way.

“Phoenix is such a geek,” Bulma whispered as soon as Iiovana appeared at her side.  The brown-eyed Sayian blinked, and giggled stupidly.

“I like the word geek!” she said happily.  Bulma looked at the bouncy Sayian female, and shook her head, choking out a laugh.

Bulma and other four girls headed up to the Prince’s quarters thirty minutes later, having washed up and changed into casual clothes.  They were chatting merrily with each other, preparing themselves for the two and a half hours of modeling in near-silence they’d have to do.

“And then this other time,” Iiovana continued to babble in a blissfully ignorant way, “me and a friend, we were at her house, were sparring in her training room, when all of a sudden we heard this big BOOM!  It, like, shook the house and stuff.  Well her parents and sister were gone, I forget where they went, so we were all alone.  And it scared us to death!  We locked ourselves in her kitchen, listening to the booming sounds along the house and wondering what it could be.  She was calling all her friends and stuff, which I totally can’t understand ‘cause I need silence when I’m scared.  Well anyway, I was eating an apple, about to pee in my pants with fear, and figuring that some cereal killer had, like, come to kill us.”

Bulma smiled, listening.  “And?”

“And it turned out that those booming noises were a result from fireworks.  And the loud noises were making the house shake.  We’d forgotten that Vegetasei was celebrating its birthday.”  Iiovana smiled wide, looking like a total imbecile.  Bulma burst out laughing.

“How old were you when this happened?!”

“Uh…” Iiovana scratched her head.  “I think it was last year.”  Bulma laughed even harder, clutching her side.

“That’s so stupid!  Why didn’t you just go see what it was?!”

“Shut up you two!” Zoë interrupted, looking at them.  Iiovana blushed, but Bulma merely sighed and shot the bird at the beautiful witch.

“Bitch,” Zoë whispered as Madonna knocked on Prince Vegeta’s door.

“Bitch times two!” Bulma hissed back.

Zoë opened her mouth to reply, but just then, the door opened, cutting her off.  Clark stuck his head out the door, smiling softly at them.

“Sorry girls, but the Prince is busy at the moment,” he said with a fake, feminine lisp.

“Why?” Zoë asked.

“Oh but girl, haven’t you heard yet?” Clark asked, slightly shocked.  Zoë shook her head, as did the other three Sayians.  Bulma kept silent and still, figuring that the Prince must still be in the Control Room.  “Are you girls just sheltered or what?  For shame!”  Clark rubbed one of his index fingers with the other, as if trying to brush something invisible off it.  The girls giggled, and he smiled.  “Well come in and I’ll tell you!”

He led them all inside, and sat down on the main room’s carpet.  He patted the floor next to him.  “Don’t be shy!” he said.  “Sit down next to me and we’ll make circle.”  The girls did, smiling at one another.  Clark was so… cool.  Bulma couldn’t think of another word to describe him.  He was just cool.  Or gay.  Gay would be a good word to describe him too.

Clark then began to tell the other girls that basically Prince Vegeta was in the Control Room, and that he didn’t really know when his royal highness would be back.  Although, Clark did have some “rumors” that he figured he must tell, and soon, almost all the girls were buzzing with what they thought the prince was doing in there.

“What if he has to leave?”

“Will the competition be canceled?”

“What if he dies?!”

At this comment, Cleopatra burst into tears, and Clark gasped, covering his mouth with a hand dramatically.

“How can you think such dreadful things?” Clark chided.

Bulma watched in silence at the scene playing before her.  She didn’t know what to think of the whole ordeal.  Would the prince come back?  He had to.  King Vegeta had told her quite plainly that he was the strongest person he’d ever met.

It was kinda funny, now that Bulma thought about it.  All the girls seemed to be more than panicked.  Even Zoë looked like she was about to go crazy with hysterics.  Bulma began to snicker.  It was funny watching that girl, who was usually so laid back and cocky, almost weep with misery and anticipation.

“Well,” Clark said after most everyone had put out all the rumors they could think of, “that’s enough gossiping for one day, I suppose.”  He looked at his watch, and whistled.  “Woo… seems we’ve been at this for thirty minutes!  So… for the next two hours, you girls are free to do whatever you want, I suppose.  I’d be more than cruel to just keep you all locked up here for two more hours.”  Bulma smiled at him, and he winked good-naturedly back at her.

“Thanks, Clark,” Bulma said.  He lifted a hand.

“No problem, girlfriend.”

Bulma and the other girls smiled, thanked him once more, and left; their cheerful mood coming to Prince Vegeta’s room was replaced with a worried and anxious one as they left it.  Bulma much preferred the former to the second one.

“Do you think he’s ok?” Iiovana asked Bulma in a hushed whisper.  Bulma nodded.

“Yea.”

Iiovana cocked an eyebrow.  “You seem laid back.”

“That’s because Bulma’s an insensitive bitch!” Zoë growled, close to tears.  Bulma rolled her eyes.

“Get a grip Zoë.  You’re going to get a wrinkle if you keep worrying so much, and goodness KNOWS we don’t want that!” the blue-haired female snorted, and stalked off toward the Post room, leaving the others behind.  A letter from Chi-Chi would cheer her up; she could only hope that a letter was there.

Bulma headed down a hallway with hurried steps.  She was nervous; she couldn’t deny that.  But what about?  King Vegeta had already told her that his son was the strongest person he’d ever met, so… so if there was a revolt going on, he’d be safe, right?

She frowned.  Why’d she care anyway?  It wasn’t as if the jerk was ever nice to her, or deserved her kindness.  Bulma sighed.  Maybe it was just that female instinct of tenderness kicking in.  Yes, that must have been it.  Her imagination was lit by those damn rumors she heard the other girls swap, and now her instinct of motherly tenderness and protection was hoping that the bastard was all right.

“Damn female instincts,” she muttered, turning a corner.  She moaned and stomped her foot, turning around to head in the other direction.

“Why Bulma!” an amused voice called out.  Bulma cursed under her breath, not stopping for the man.  Phoenix jogged up to her, a stack of papers under one arm.

“Hey there!  What are you doing?”

“Why is it that I always seem to run into you?” Bulma growled softly, before realizing that she was heading in the opposite direction of the Post room.  She stopped, turned on heel, and headed in the other direction.  Phoenix watched her in confusion for a moment, before hurrying back up to her side.

“I don’t know,” Phoenix said suggestively.  “Maybe it’s because we’re meant to be together.”

“Then my destiny sucks,” Bulma spat back.  Phoenix frowned.

“What are you doing anyway?”

“None of your business.”

“You headed to the Post room?” he guessed.  Bulma didn’t respond, so he smirked.  “Bulma, if you’re looking for a letter to you, then you’re not going to find one.”

Bulma stopped, and turned to look at him.  “Why not?” she demanded.

“Because the mail’s already been checked, and any letters addressed to you five girls have been collected.”

“Where are they?”

Phoenix blinked.  “What?  The letters?”

“No shit, pea brain.  Where are they?”

Phoenix snorted, and motioned to the papers under his arms.  He pulled out a single letter from within the stack, oddly knowing exactly where it was.

“There’s only one letter for you,” he said, waving the letter in front of her.  Bulma reached out to take it, but he jerked it back, laughing with amusement.  Bulma growled.

“Give it to me,” she hissed analytically.

“Hmmm,” said Phoenix in mock consideration.  “I suppose… but for a price.”

Bulma paused and swallowed, but, other than that, kept her face strait and impassive.  “What price?”

“Kiss me,” he said readily.  Bulma sneered at him.

“You are perverted, and only getting worse!”

“Just kiss me Bulma,” he said, taking several steps towards her, and Bulma taking several steps back.  “Kiss me, and you’ll get your stupid letter.  One little kiss.  Come on.  Just one.”

“No!” Bulma shouted at him, crossing her arms.

Phoenix growled, and, with his free hand, pushed her back against the hallway wall in a manner that, for Sayians, would have been semi-gentle.  Bulma, caught off guard, hit the back of her head hard.

Phoenix looked like he was about to advance on her, but a soldier luckily came running down the hallway.  He seemed relieved to see Phoenix.

“Thank goodness you’re here!  The King requests your presence in the Control Room, right away!”

Phoenix growled, but quickly made up the decision in his head.  He had to leave her.  “Take your stupid letter,” he hissed, thrusting the note out at her.  Bulma took it, wondering if she should report Phoenix to the soldier for acts of violence.  But the question was, would the soldier believe her?

It didn’t quite matter anyway at the moment, for no sooner than Phoenix had given her the letter had he and the soldier rushed off.

Bulma sniffed, stopping herself from crying.  Instead, she looked down at the letter and smiled softly, heading back to her dorm blindly.  She was glad to have Chi-Chi there.  She really didn’t know what she would have done if she were sent to this horrid planet alone.

Bulma opened the envelope’s seal, and pulled the letter out, glancing up momentarily to see where she was going.  She then turned her attention back to her friend’s note.

Hey Bulma!

Wassup girl?!  Good to hear from you again!  Kakarroto, Bardock, and I have been just fine here, and I hope you’re having fun in the palace, lucky you!

And being caught in the POOL with Prince Vegeta?!  Girl, you must have a rabbit’s foot hanging around your neck, because, you said it yourself, that you thought he was good-looking.  Woo!  I think I would have dropped dead right there if I was caught in a pool with a dark, sexy Prince!  (AN  Wouldn’t we all?  **sigh**)

I’ve got a story to tell too!  Kakarroto took me to this really fancy restaurant last night!  It was SO cool, and he was just as romantic as ever!  Gosh, my heart’s fluttering about in my chest for just THINKING about it!

I hope you’re doing well in the contest thingy-mo-bob.  And I hope that you’re beating Zoë by a landslide!

Well, it’s late as it is, and I’ve got school in the morning, not to mention tutoring tomorrow too.  So, I better stop.

Miss you bunches!  And don’t hesitate to tell me about anything else interesting!

Chi-Chi

Bulma smiled.  Good ol’ Chi-Chi.  She could easily cheer up just about anyone.

But a part of Bulma was… disappointed.  Had she expected Chi-Chi to be worried?  Had she expected her best friend to be distressed that some pervert was practically stalking her?  Bulma sighed.  She didn’t include anything about Phoenix in her letter, and now that she thought about it, she realized that not telling her might not have been such a good idea.  When she was writing her letter, she didn’t want to worry or bother Chi-Chi; but now… she felt quite the opposite.

Bulma sighed and looked up, realizing with a bit of shock that her feet had carried her back to her room.  She opened the door, entered her room, and shut it behind her, wanting to lock out the rest of the world.

~*~*~

“Ok,” Chi-Chi said, smiling at her slightly stupid ‘pupil’.  “If I were to say, ‘Yeeh tok sret moh?’, you’d say… what?”

“Uh… yes?” Kakarroto guessed, a goofy smile on his face.  Chi-Chi sighed and shook her head.

“No!  Wrong!” she sighed.  “Kakarroto, I just asked you when your birthday was.”

Goku blinked.  “You did?”

Chi-Chi nodded.  “Yes, I’m quite sure.”

“Oooooh.  I thought you were asking me if I liked my shoes.”

Chi-Chi sighed and smacked her head just as Bardock entered the room, several test papers under an arm.

“How’s the foreign languages coming?” he asked, smiling at the two.  Chi-Chi sighed again.

“Not too good.  Kakarroto here seems to think that our teacher will be more interested in our shoes than in our birthdays.”

The loveable Sayian laughed, and scratched the back of his neck.  “Guess I’m not to familiar with foreign stuff!”

“I’ll say,” Chi-Chi muttered, smiling wryly.  Bardock looked at his watch.

“Well, you have about thirty more minutes,” Bardock informed them.  “So I’d try to get him to learn what he can during that time.”

Chi-Chi nodded.  “Right, Commander Bardock.  I’ll get right on it.”

Bardock gave her a lady-killer smile, and headed off into the kitchen.

~*~*~

The next day went along quite uneventfully in the palace.  That morning, Phoenix had informed them all that the Prince would be gone for the day, and that they had the day off.  He said that the modeling segment of the competition would officially be over by the time the Prince got back, and that the girls should be prepared to work on the manners and class portion next.

So Bulma and Iiovana had worked on their manners and class all day: how they presented themselves, how they greeted each other, and how they would act around Prince Vegeta.  It was actually pretty funny, and more than once did they go into laughing fits.  Bulma had to admit she had a good day; better than most, at least.

Chi-Chi’s day went smoothly enough.  It was a Thursday, and she didn’t have to tutor the lovably ignorant Sayian.  Although, he did ultimately fail his foreign languages test, but Chi-Chi had expected that all along.

After dinner, Bulma and Iiovana came back to their rooms to find an information sheet tacked up on their door.  It read that Prince Vegeta was back (both Bulma and Iiovana had sighed in relief at that), that the test was still on for tomorrow, and that they were going to have something of a ball at 10:00 AM, eating, dressing up, dancing, the whole enchilada.  The ball would continue until 8:00 at night, when they would be excused to their rooms.

Bulma and Iiovana looked at each other momentarily, before shaking their heads and heading for bed.  After all, they’d need some rest for tomorrow’s “event”.

~*~*~

Bulma checked herself once more in the mirror, but couldn’t find any sort of flaw.  She smiled and giggled excitedly.  Iiovana peered into the bedroom.

“OOOOO!” the wide-eyed Sayian female squealed, bounding over to Bulma.  “Don’t you look nice!  You look good enough to eat, Bulma!”

Bulma laughed nervously.  “Well please don’t,” she said shiftily, remembering a Sayian’s voracious appetite.  Iiovana laughed.

“Don’t worry!  I won’t!”

“Well… shall we go?”

Iiovana smiled.  “Lets shall!”

Aaaaaaand… it stops there.  For now, anyway.  Please don’t hurt me!  **Runs into a corner**  I’m sorry there wasn’t as much B/V action, but that chapter just had to be that way.  The NEXT one will be great, with lots of B/V, as I’m guessing you’ve already figured.  ^_^  But for now, toodles and review!

OH!  And I just remembered!  You guys might want a general date to check back for Chapter 13, so… I’m guessing… Sunday?  Maybe sooner.  Tuesday at least.  I’m really going to work hard, seeing as how I got the whole week off from school!  ^_^

Thank goodness for Easter Vacation.  ^_~  I hope you guys enjoy your own vacation!  (That is, if you get one.)