Just a smile
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Part 19
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Bulma, who was about to tear herself away from Bantor and run towards Vegeta, froze. She was as many as she was from a shining peak into a deep abyss.
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How could he ... how could he say something like that? Even consider something like that? Did he trust her so little? Did he think she was a cheap slut?
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It hurt so hurt ...
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Bantor felt how Bulma began to tremble and her lips formed the name of the stranger. No doubt the intruder had to be the biological producer of their child. That she recognized him probably meant that her memory had returned. Bantor eyed the stranger. It should hardly reach his chest, but ... The play of muscles under the black overalls and, above all, the aura that seemed to lead a dangerous life of its own, betrayed that he shouldn't risk an open fight with him.
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But the offense that the ridiculous suspicion had inflicted on Bulma offered Bantor a tiny chance, which Bantor promptly seized. He gently pulled Bulma closer and stroked her hair soothingly. "What else did you expect?", He hissed over her head in Vegeta's face, "We were together for five months. I love her and she belongs to our family."
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Vegeta's face turned into a mask made of ice. Should it be that his suspicions were actually true? If she had been alive all along, why hadn't she contacted you? He could see the intact communicator on her wrist. Its range was long enough that it could have sparkled the earth with it. Obviously, being with the red-haired lover was more important to her than the concern of her parents and, above all, like him, Vegeta. For a Saiyan prince this was an unreasonable humiliation. While his gaze wandered back and forth between the red-haired wardrobe and Bulma, Vegeta was getting angrier from second to second.Before Bulma could contain herself and Bantor could contradict, Vegeta's anger hit her with full force. "So it's true! You didn't give a damn about the fact that we thought you were dead, did you? You obviously felt very comfortable on that smelly garbage chute. It was stupid of me to come here just to put on your spacesuit so that we can wake you up again. Your father picked up your radar for free and recreated it. If I think I was stupid enough to collect the dragon balls ... "
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She couldn't leave it like that, she had to tell him, he had to see, but understand ... "It's your child, Vegeta!" Bulma freed herself from Bantor's grip and walked towards him. "It is your child, for sure! I could not call you because I had lost my memory and therefore no longer knew exactly which new number Papa's new communication console has ... Only when I saw you is the memory come again.How can you be so mean of me to believe that I ... that I ... "She couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence.
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Vegeta's aloof posture relaxed a little. It seemed to be serious and that about the memory loss sounded plausible, actually way too good to be true. His deep-rooted distrust of things that he couldn't control, coupled with the fear of being betrayed, did not allow him to meet Bulma even an inch.
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“What you don't say!” His voice was thick and less sure than before, but the biting irony had hardly weakened. "If you've really lost memory, how could you want to be loyal to someone you didn't even remember?"
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She flinched, struck by the harsh sound of his words. Vegeta took this as an admission of guilt and demonstratively turned his back on her. "I think that says it all.If you want you can stay here and rush into the next sun with this garbage ship and your stinking barbarian, I don't care. "
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"Who is the stinking barbarian here, you black-haired garden gnome!" Bantor threw all caution overboard and stalked towards Vegeta, his fists on his hips threateningly.
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Vegeta, who had actually had a cool exit in mind, with the ulterior motive that Bulma crawled miserably and devastated, spun around angrily. He sensed that this guy, although he must be a big number on this ship, had no energy attacks. Nevertheless, he read flaming pride in his eyes and that won him a certain respect in view of the obvious inferiority of the opponent. If this primitive wanted to bite the dust in the fight for his honor, he, Vegeta, would be happy to help. With a nasty smile, Vegeta cracked his ankles and flexed his muscles."Come on," said his look, "come on and I'll break you down into your individual parts."
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"Stop it!" Bulma pushed herself between the two and stood directly in front of Vegeta with her arms outstretched. Tears sparkled in her eyes. "Please don't do anything to Bantor, Vegeta. You know he can't hurt your hair."
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"Look at it," hissed Vegeta, whose anger was boiling over, "that brings out what is supposedly not true, eh?"
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Bulma's tears dried up. If he wanted to be stubborn, so could she. Even better than him.
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"Believe what you want!" She hissed. "The truth will come to light when he is born and then you will be sorry that you doubted me. But then neither I nor your black-haired Saiyan offspring will need you!"
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"Black-haired?" Vegeta snorted. "I bet the brat will have red hair, just like its parent," and he glanced angrily in Bantor's direction.<br />
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Bulma felt that Vegeta no longer wanted to fight at any price and dropped her arms. "You were actually looking for the Dragon Balls?", She steered the conversation into a different direction.
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Vegeta frowned. What was she getting at? "Yes, they are with your father. He's just waiting for my sign to call the dragon."
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Bulma did not explain her plans for long, but instead raised her own communicator and swiftly set the connection to earth, which she could finally remember.
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"Papa, hello papa, can you hear me?"
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It was quiet for a while at the other end. Then a stunned voice full of jubilation and tears of joy: "Bulma? My little Bulma? You are alive?"
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“Yes, Dad, I'm alive and I'm fine.” In a few terse words, she told of her memory loss and that she would come home with Vegeta.
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Vegeta raised an eyebrow mockingly at these words.<br />
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"Dad, can you call the dragon and ask something?"
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"That you'll be home sooner?" Asked Mr. Briefs eagerly.
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"That would be too selfish," laughed Bulma, "as much as I would like it. Ask him to make everyone who fought with me against the Antiss healthy again and to bring them back to life. Is that possible?"
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"I can try, child," he sniffed, "although I would like you to stand in front of me and your mother in the next moment. We have never given up hope, my dear."
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"Thank you! I love you both!"
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"We love you too!"
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This ended the connection.
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Bantor wiped his damp eyes. "Bulma, do you mean that Querl?"
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"Yes, Bantor," said Bulma with a smile and tears of joy shone in her eyes, "Querl will live again."
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They both blamed each other for not leaving the boy behind after he was hit in the chest by an Antiss and bleeding to death in their arms.How much Bulma had wished for the power of the Dragon Balls. And now the dream had come true. Thanks Vegeta. No matter how angry she was with him, no matter how much his unjustified suspicions still hurt her, he was there and everything would be fine for Querl, too.
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When she lifted her head and looked at him with that soft smile and with wet eyes "Thank you, Vegeta!", He had to pull himself hard to avoid embracing her. A Saiyan prince could not be easily changed, not after he was so cruelly deceived.
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"It's okay," he grumbled unwillingly. "So if you want me to take you with me, come on!"
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“She won't go without me!” Bantor stepped up next to her and put his arm around her shoulders again.
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"Bantor ..." Bulma searched for words to make him realize that his presence would make it even harder for her to convince Vegeta of his wrong.
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"Bulma," Bantor looked her in the eye."Where you're from there is wind, sun, running water, flowers and trees, isn't there?"
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She winced. What a selfish monster she was. For months the three had looked after her, protected and comforted her. They were a team, a community, almost like their second family, if not in the way Bantor would like to see. And now, just for her own well-being, she would leave the three of them behind like old shoes that one throws in a corner and never looks at again. She would have loved to hide in a dark hole in shame. No, she would keep her promise to the three of them. You should be able to experience the open sky and the vastness of a whole world. Even if that meant that Vegeta would feel encouraged in his wrong opinion.
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Bulma raised her head and looked openly at Vegeta. "Can you take three other passengers besides me? You saved my life and I want to repay what you did for me.I promised that I would take them to a world of sun and rain, forests, mountains and rivers. Please help me keep this promise! "
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Vegeta's mine hardened. So she really wanted to have this red-haired barbarian by her side. The story about the promise sounded nice, but he didn't trust it. It would be best if he saw the affair with Bulma (that was all it had been, right?) As over. Acting like a jealous rooster was unworthy of a Saiyan prince. If he felt like starting a family, then he would fly back to the Saiyans' planet and get a pure-blood mate there, a woman with honor and not a fake, fickle earthly woman. If Bulma wanted to fly some living ballast to Earth, please, she should. It was none of his business anymore.
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