A Light in the Darkness - part 40: Who Lives and Who Dies?
by Mia Skywalker & Wataruo

PAIRING: Bulma/Vegeta
RATING: PG-13 (for violence)
WARNINGS: Violence, blood, angst
DISCLAIMER: Neither of us owns any of the DBZ characters or anything about DBZ, but we both wish we owned the Saiyans. All of them. At least all of the ones with hair. These characters are owned by Toei, Viz, Akira Toriyama, and FUNimation, even though the last one is a crying shame. We do own what we've written here, and our specific storyline, just not Dragonball itself. We make no money off of any of these guys, nor off this fic. We just have fun writing it.
SUMMARY: Who lives and who dies? Can someone stop Yamcha and Vegeta from killing each other?
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: Thanks to saiyengerl for beta'ing!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Last time on Dragonball Z: A Light in the Darkness....

Things reach to a head between Vegeta and Yamcha.

Vegeta chuckled as he slowly got to his feet, ignoring the pain in his chest and in his shoulder from where he had connected with the tree, and smiled at Yamcha. "Not bad at all," he commented as he got his breath back. "But not good enough." Vegeta wiped the blood from a large gash on his cheek and started to laugh again. ::I can't believe it, being dead actually made him stronger. But not stronger than me. No one is stronger than me.::

He was not about to let the other man win as he powered up once again. "GALLICK HO!" he shouted to release one of his deadliest attacks.

Yamcha knew that he was severely weakened. The Kikouhou had taken a lot out of him. It was a deadly attack, but it drained the life force of the one using it, and he knew that he needed to do something fast.

Bulma watched in horror as the two men blasted at each other. No matter who lost here, she knew that she would lose as well. She couldn't bear to lose Vegeta, now that he'd told her that he loved her, and now that she knew that she loved him. But Yamcha was one of her oldest friends, and no matter what she felt for Vegeta, a part of her still loved Yamcha, at least a little. She knew that if he died, then some part of her would die as well. "No! Please, stop!" she shouted, but once again her cries went unheeded by both men.

~~~~~*~~~~~

Gohan had gone out to his usual area that afternoon, feeling a little out of sorts. Bulma's mother had told him that Bulma and Vegeta were feeling better, and he was glad about that, but she also said that both of them needed some rest. He wasn't very happy about that. Once again, he had no one to talk to, no one to be with. He'd liked sparring with Vegeta, and he'd thought that Vegeta had been enjoying it, too. But they hadn't done a whole lot of training, and he was beginning to wonder if Vegeta was bored of it. ::I guess I'm just not as good as my Daddy. Vegeta would rather fight with him.::

The little boy had gone ahead and practiced his new Masenko blast regardless, only resting a few times when his ki needed replenishing. He missed Hiya dragon, but didn't want to go home and find him, because he was afraid his mother might make him study some more. He was tired of that; he was on vacation, he didn't need to study ALL the time. But his mother wouldn't let him have any friends, and wouldn't let him play, because she said that he needed to study all the time.

He was about to head back to Capsule Corp for dinner when he suddenly felt two large ki energies at Capsule Corp, one fighting the other. One was Vegeta's, and for a moment he was terrified that the other was his father. "Daddy?" he said softly, and then sensed for his father's ki. To his relief, his father's ki was not there, but partway between Capsule Corp and his home.

Gohan took off, being much closer to Capsule Corp, and caught up with his father and Hakusai. "Daddy? What's going on? What's happening?" he asked, sounding somewhat frightened.

Goku and Hakusai stopped when Gohan had caught up to them. "I don't know, Gohan." Goku shook his head. "But for some reason Yamcha and Vegeta are fighting."

"And Yamcha the idiot started it," Hakusai muttered. She could feel the blasts in the distance and could sense the difference between the two fighting powers. She was beginning to get a little queasy when she realized that even though Vegeta was not at full strength, he was still considerably higher than Yamcha. ::He doesn't stand a chance! Why are you doing this? I don't think you are weak! Stop, Yamcha, please!::  

"We should get going," she urged. "We are wasting time hanging around here."

Goku nodded in agreement. "Let's go." The group took off again towards Capsule Corporation.

~~~*~~~

Yamcha managed to dodge Vegeta's blast, but he was moving more slowly, and once again it grazed him. It hit the same shoulder that the kienzan had damaged before, and this time his left arm hung uselessly. He grimaced, the pain shooting through him, his ki faltering. 

"You're too slow," he taunted the Saiyan. "A mere human is getting the better of you, isn't that too bad?" He lifted his right hand and fired upward. "Sou Ki Dan!" An energy ball released and flew towards Vegeta who tried to dodge it, but it continued to chase him.

Despite Vegeta's best efforts, the ball struck him in the abdomen. The force knocked him over and he collapsed on the ground in pain. ::I am not going to lose.:: Vegeta looked up to see Yamcha bent over and panting heavily, the blast taking more out of Yamcha than Vegeta had first thought. 

"Shut up and die, human!" he shouted, suddenly furious. He stood up on unsteady feet and held an arm in front of him and folded the thumb in over his palm. "BIG BANG ATTACK!!!" he shouted sending a tremendous blast of ki towards Yamcha.

"NO!" Vegeta looked up to see a woman he didn't recognize drop down in front of Yamcha and force the blast up and away from him. Vegeta was so stunned by the fact that she was strong enough to divert his attack that he just watched in confusion as the female dropped to her knees and wrapped her arms around Yamcha in a protective manner. "BAKA! I told you to leave him be!" she scolded Yamcha. "But you wouldn't listen."

Bulma recognized Hakusai, and ran over to Vegeta, who looked like he was almost on his last legs as well. "Stop it, Vegeta!" she cried out, and he could see that tears were flowing down her cheeks unchecked. "Please, STOP this! I don't want you to die, I don't want either of you to die!" She put her own arms around Vegeta, and dropped her face to his shoulder. "Please... stop!"

Vegeta was still confused, and was more than a little surprised to see the woman lift her head up to look at him. "Please, Vegeta. He doesn't understand," the strange woman said softly. "Listen to your mate." Vegeta didn't know what surprised him more - the fact that the woman kneeling on the ground with Yamcha was a Saiyan, or the fact that she was visibly weeping. No Saiyan female would ever permit herself to show that kind of emotion.

"Who are you?" he demanded, wrapping his arms around Bulma's waist. He unconsciously began to stroke Bulma's back in an attempt to soothe her.

The Saiyan woman didn't look at Vegeta. "I'll explain later." She looked down at Yamcha's face, and then back up at the couple. "His ki is low. We need to put him in the tank, otherwise he will die." She looked over at Bulma hopefully. "He is your friend isn't he? Then you should help him."

Bulma nodded. "Yes, he's my friend." She wondered why this woman was so upset at how hurt Yamcha was. The woman was crying, so he obviously meant something to her. But as far as Bulma knew, Hakusai had only arrived on Chikyuu a day or so ago. She didn't know why Hakusai felt this way about Yamcha, but she knew that the woman obviously did.

Bulma pulled away from Vegeta and approached her fallen friend. "Can you pick him up?" Hakusai nodded and lifted the human warrior, and Bulma led them to the infirmary. She and Hakusai stripped Yamcha's clothes quickly, Bulma not even noticing the man's nudity as she attached the monitoring connectors. She put him in the harness and moved him into the tank, and then they watched the tank slowly fill with the special fluid that Bulma had created. The fluid should gather up Yamcha's genetic information, then permeate his entire system with that DNA, effectively rebuilding him genetically from the ground up. It should remove any injury, disease, even the scars on his face. Bulma rather regretted the loss of those scars. Although they'd made him less of a 'classical' beauty, it had given him a certain rakish charm that he hadn't had before.

Bulma sighed after the tank was filled. "I'll watch him," she offered, taking a seat. The other Saiyans could see however that she still wasn't fully recovered from her own illness, and was extremely tired.

~~*~~

Yamcha heard voices as he was on the verge of passing out. He thought he saw Hakusai kneeling next to him, and he felt her putting her arms around him. She was saying something, and she was... crying? Why was she crying? ::Oh, she probably realizes I'm dying. But that's all right; I was too weak to fight Vegeta anyway. She was right. I'm just a weak human, and I know I'm not strong enough for someone like her. She needs someone stronger, like Goku or Vegeta.:: The fact that neither of the two in question was available to her was irrelevant to him; he wasn't rational enough to be thinking clearly.

He felt someone pick him up and carry him somewhere. He vaguely sensed that it was Hakusai, and wryly figured she must think of him as a helpless child. ::Where are they taking me?:: he wondered. He felt his clothing being removed, and wondered if they were removing it for burial. ::Maybe they don't realize I'm still alive. Or maybe I'm dead, and I just haven't figured that out yet.:: He felt things being put on his skin, and wondered how he could feel it if he was dead, but when he felt himself being immersed in something like water, he felt like laughing. ::I may not be dead yet, but I will be, if they drown me!:: And then he remembered nothing further.

~~*~~

Hakusai shook her head. "No, I will. You need to sleep. You haven't fully recovered yet."

Vegeta, who was leaning against the wall to keep himself upright, nodded in agreement. "She is right, woman. You are in no condition for this." His eyes narrowed as he glanced back at Hakusai. "In the morning, I expect an explanation."

She nodded. "Hai, Vegeta-san," she said without looking at him. She was studying Yamcha in the tank with an expression of worry. "How long will this take?"

Bulma sighed. "It's hard to say. It varies.... Sometimes it takes days or even weeks, sometimes it takes hours. It doesn't look like he was too badly hurt - other than his arm - so maybe not very long." She sighed again. "I really don't know."

"He was lucky I was not at full strength," Vegeta commented. "You do realize that you interrupted my fight."

"It was one that shouldn't have been started at all," Hakusai snapped. She felt responsible for the fight somehow. If she hadn't let Yamcha believe that she thought that he was weak, when it really wasn't the case, then maybe, just maybe, he wouldn't have taken off after Vegeta.

Vegeta's eyes narrowed. "You interfered in something that was not your business."

"It is my business," she said firmly, not looking at Vegeta but focused on the warrior in the tank.

"How so, woman? Are you claiming him?" Vegeta taunted.

Bulma had thought for an instant when Hakusai's head snapped around, glaring at Vegeta furiously, that she was going to strike him, but instead she snorted and looked away. "It's not your concern."

Vegeta looked over at Bulma and gestured for her to come to him. He wondered why he wasn't angry with this woman. He should be. She had interrupted a fight, and Vegeta would have won that one. Instead, he found himself shrugging off the matter and he waited for Bulma to come to him. "Let's go to bed," he told her. "She will watch him."

"I know," Bulma agreed, and followed Vegeta out of the infirmary. Hakusai's concern over her friend puzzled her but didn't alarm her. What did alarm her was how dizzy she suddenly felt, shortly after walking out of the infirmary. If Vegeta hadn't moved swiftly enough to catch her, she would have fallen to the ground.

"Woman?" Vegeta scooped her up in his arms, and looked into her eyes. "What happened?"

Bulma leaned her head against his chest. "I think you were right," she said wearily. "I haven't really recovered. And I wasn't put in the tank to speed my recovery like you were." She closed her eyes and sighed, wrapping her arms around his neck. "I think I'm just tired."

"That could be," Vegeta said holding her against him. "I am putting her to bed," Vegeta announced and strode out of the room with Bulma held snugly in his arms.

"So now what do I do?" Goku asked.

Hakusai looked over to see Goku and sighed. "Maybe you and Gohan should stay the night here. So all hell doesn't break loose when Yamcha wakes up."

Goku scratched his head in confusion. "You think they will fight again?"

Hakusai shrugged. "I don't know, but better safe than sorry."

Goku looked down at Gohan who had taken his hand and sighed. "Come on Gohan. Let's call your Mom and tell her I'll be staying here tonight."

"Ok Daddy," Gohan said walking out of the infirmary with his father.

When they got into the house, Goku quickly called Chi-Chi and told her that they would be staying. She was upset for a little bit, but relented, because she'd seen the look on Yamcha's face when he'd stormed out. She wasn't really surprised to discover that Vegeta had almost killed him; she didn't think much of the Saiyan prince, and this didn't improve her perception of him.

The two Saiyans made their way to their bedrooms, and waited until morning.

Bulma snuggled against Vegeta as he carried her up the stairs. She could tell that he was walking, not levitating, since the movement wasn't completely smooth. She suspected that he was more worn out than he was admitting, as well.

Vegeta opened the bedroom door with his hip then clicked it shut with his foot. He made his way across the room to the bed slowly. He was feeling more tired than he would admit. Although he had not been hurt badly, the fight with Yamcha had taken a lot out of him and it showed when he placed Bulma on the bed, stripped, then climbed in next to her.

"Come here woman," he grumbled at her and finally found himself relaxing when she snuggled against his side. He stroked her back with the palm of his hand until he felt her drift off to sleep and it wasn't too long before the Saiyan prince closed his eyes and dropped off as well.

~~~*~~~

After the others had left, Hakusai leaned forward and rested her head on the glass. "You idiot," she said out loud, even though she knew he could not hear her. She scowled at him. "Are all humans this stubborn or is it just you?" She looked up into his face and sighed as she reached up and touched the glass. "You're wrong. I don't think I am superior to you. I don't think you are weak. I really don't. And when you get out of here, I am going to smack you silly." She sighed again as she moved away from the tank and sat down. "Get better, baka."

She wasn't sure how long she sat like that just watching to make sure he was all right. To make matters worse she was developing a headache that was starting to make her teeth hurt. She needed to clear her mind and decided to meditate.

She slid off the chair and knelt on the floor. When she closed her eyes, she knew she was going to be in for a long day and tried to relax. It wasn't every day that you had to confront your brother and save the man you love in a single move. Hakusai's eyes snapped open when the truth of her feelings hit her. ::Well it explains a lot of things:: she thought as she glanced up at the man in the tank. ::But I don't want to feel this again. I don't want to need anyone like this again, especially when he does not like Saiyans to begin with.::

Hakusai sighed. ::Swell, why me?:: she wondered silently. ::What did I do to deserve this?:: She accepted the fact that she loved Yamcha and wondered how that managed to happen in less than two days' time. She didn't think she was bonded to him, but the attraction she felt was still strong. And if she wasn't careful she could be in for a lot of trouble. Hakusai took a deep breath and closed her eyes again. ::I'll deal with it when the time comes. Right now all I want is sleep.:: And she almost immediately dropped off.

To be continued.....

~~~~~*~~~~~

And in the next exciting episode of DragonBall Z: A Light in the Darkness...  Something about Yamcha that you just won't expect....