Note: This is a quieter part and it only tells from Vegeta's point of view.
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Just a smile part 16
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Vegeta stood frozen for a few breaths. But then he suddenly freed himself from Mr Brief's desperate grip.
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"Not so bad," he said and patted the old gentleman on the shoulder. "We still have the Dragon Balls, don't we? Bulma has never been dead so there won't be any problems waking her up."
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For a moment hope shone in Mr. Briefs dark eyes with grief, but this immediately died away again. "She took the radar with her, I bet it was. For her it was also something of a lucky charm, because it was through him that she got to know Gokou and the rest of the group."
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"Aren't you an inventor too? Just build a new one!" Vegeta didn't want to believe that someone like Prof. Briefs could have trouble with it.
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<br />But he just shook his head. "You don't understand ... I could very well recreate one if I had access to Bulma's plans and calculations. But during her fake engagement to this useless boy, she erased all data and plans in one of her few bright moments. Sure exists somewhere a backup but with Bulma's ability to disguise her paths it will take me months to find it and whether the codes with which she saved it can crack is also questionable. Reinventing the radar would probably take years. Er was Bulma's favorite project and she always made a big secret of his functions. "
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Vegeta stared at the inventor. "We can not do anything?"
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Mr. Briefs only looked embarrassed at the floor. New tears gathered in his eyes and ran down his wrinkled cheeks. Loud sobs came from the entrance.
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"Darling ..", Mr Briefs whispered brokenly and staggered to his wife who was leaning against the door frame, trembling.She dropped the crumpled handkerchief and wrapped her arms around him. They both became so aware of their shared pain that they didn't notice Vegeta walking past them to the new training room. Without thinking too much, he set the gravity converter to 100 and began his exercises as if he were fresh and had not already gone through a full training session.
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His muscles and tendons protested, but he pushed the physical pain into a corner of his mind.
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“I love you!” The sound of these words shimmered like precious gold. For a single night its light had broken the numb darkness in which his heart had been trapped.
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For a few hours he had been open, vulnerable and not himself at all. But it had only waited for that, fate and with accurate cruelty tore from him what was most valuable to him.
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Never again, he vowed to himself in this bitter hour, never again would he let himself go like this.Whatever fate would bring, he would know how to protect his soft, vulnerable side.
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He performed a combination of punches and kicks, blocked, danced, and then attacked again. A little later he fell on his knees, panting. As the sweat trickled down his face, his eyes were dry. Using all his strength, he got back on his feet, dragged himself to the gravitation converter and set the regulator to one. As he stumbled out of the room, more dead than alive, soft female arms caught him. A delicate scent of jasmine and roses enveloped him. He raised his head and looked into Ms. Brief's face. The ever-cheerful smile he knew so well was gone. Her puffy eyes reflected the pain he never, never wanted to allow again. "Come on!" Was all she said as she led him into the bathroom and ran hot water for him. Every muscle ached and just taking it off was torture."Don't drown me!" She joked with a half smile before leaving the bathroom for him to wash. His movements were slow and careful, like an ancient man's, and that's exactly how he felt.
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It was a mistake to sit down in the tub and relax, because no sooner did he lean back with a sigh than all the thoughts that he had pushed aside during training rushed into him with all his might.
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Before his closed eyes, the image appeared of Bulma floating alone in space in space. He saw her chest rise and fall more and more frantically, in a desperate effort to snatch a last bit of oxygen from the stale air. He saw the tears run down her cheeks and how her lips formed his name before the light in her eyes went out and life left her body.
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“Damn it!” His fist parted the air and hot water splashed in all directions. "Damn it!"<br />
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Although his body still ached and he felt that a longer soak would do him good, he stood up abruptly and stepped out of the tub. His gaze fell on the black panel that Bulma had put there especially for him. The black stuff got it all rolling ...
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Vegeta stared at it, waiting for all emotions to be swallowed up in anger as it had so often been the case.
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Back then..
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Before Bulma pushed open doors that should never have been opened.
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Back then ..
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When there was nothing but a desire to get stronger and stronger.
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Back then..
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When life was easy.
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Back then..
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Before there was a light that could go out and leave an even greater darkness.
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Back then..
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...
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But now...
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Now ... there was no anger, no anger. It was quiet inside.<br />
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Quiet, empty and cold.
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"Vegeta ?!"
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The voice of Bulma's mother roused him from oblivion. "Yes?"
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"Dinner is ready!"
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"I'll be ready soon!"
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He straightened up and took a deep breath. She was dead. He was alive. That should be enough. That had to be enough. Otherwise there was nothing. Not for him. No more...
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Vegeta pushed back her damp hair and stepped out of the bathroom. Frau Briefs had put fresh clothes on the washing machine for him. Vegeta stroked the soft, summer-scented jumpsuit. It felt good, almost as good as her hair ...
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When he finished and went into the kitchen, Frau Briefs looked at him with a sad half smile.
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* She will hate me *, he thought and nodded calmly to her, * I can't cry for Bulma, I just can't. * He looked around for Bulma's father.
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"He buried himself in his work," sighed Ms. Briefs, who had noticed Vegeta's searching look."I brought him a tray of sandwiches and he made a solemn promise to eat them."
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Vegta sat down and picked up the chopsticks. The food smelled delicious as always and there was more than enough there. He couldn't prevent his gaze from sliding to the empty chair that was directly opposite him.
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"You're going to eat everything, Vegeta, aren't you?" She asked and sat down at Bulma's place.
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"I'm not a kid anymore," he growled and began to feed as if winning a dinner contest against Kakerott. Bulma's mother slowly raised her mug to her lips and sipped the tea. She didn't take her eyes off Vegeta's face for a second.
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"Did you make love?" She asked without warning.
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Vegeta almost choked on a pickled plum. He gasped for air. Frau Briefs stood up helpfully and patted him vigorously on the back. "So you did," she stated."I hope you made my girl happy."
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Vegeta sucked in a sharp breath and looked to the side. Still, he couldn't hide his bright red cheeks.
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"Then it's good," came softly from behind. Frau Briefs sat down again and finished her tea. She filled up the empty bowls and waited patiently until Vegeta was so full that he could no longer.
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Then she began to wash the dishes in silence. Every now and then her gaze slid to the window, where Vegeta's face was reflected in the pane. She suppressed a sigh and suppressed any further remark.
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Vegeta had long since disappeared into his room, when Ms. Briefs went to the console, wiped her still damp eyes dry and dialed the number she expected most ...
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.............
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The next day began as "normally" as the last had ended. Vegeta woke up before dawn and went to the training room for the first lap.Still feeling the aftermath of yesterday, he only set the converter to 80 before starting the warm-up exercises.
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When he appeared in the kitchen after a few hours, sweaty and exhausted, he stopped as if struck by lightning.
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"Kakerott?"
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The black-haired Saiyan turned to him and mumbled a greeting that was barely understandable as Kakerott's mouth was full.
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"Sit down!" Said Ms. Briefs to Vegeta. "I've cooked enough for both of you."
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Since Vegeta hated that Kakerott was ahead in something, he didn’t allow himself to be asked twice, but rather struck that a viewer could get scared.
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Finally both of them could only push the empty plates aside.
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"Ahh, that was maybe good!" Kakerott praised. "Even Chichi doesn't cook better." He paused and added quickly, "But please don't let her know that I said that."<br />
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"Big word of honor," said Ms. Briefs with forced amusement and even managed a wink. "I'll wash the dishes quickly, Vegeta, why don't you show Gokou your training room?"
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"Oh, you have a new training room?" Gokou asked interested.
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"You can take a look at it," Vegeta growled, not exactly friendly. After all, Kakerott was his arch-rival, and showing him this room also meant putting a trump card on the table early.
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Vegeta led Kakarott to the room. He was duly impressed: "The Reger can be turned up to 100 without the house collapsing, really great, I could use such a part at home, but we don't even have space for a