A/N: Hey guys!! I'm back with a brand new chapter!!

So first up is of course to say a big thank you to all the people who took the time to review the last chapter: JeMS7, Aqua Master, Crazedchocolatefan, Cilvanti, gotensgurl97, Shortie01, DBZ maineak, and Shugosha. You guys all rock!!

And to address some questions/issues:

JeMS7: Vegeta's dream is a memory from his past that is set sometime during the 3 year gap.

Shugosha: I'll try to make the time-skipping less confusing (sorry about that!! ), and I'll keep a look out for grammatical errors (or at least get Microsoft word to fix it lol).

Now I think that's everything that needs to be said. Please enjoy the chapter!!

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Chapter Five: The School Camp Trip

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A month had passed by since the earthquake had terrorized the many lives of the Tokyo population. Things were now finally starting to function normally as the infra-structures that were damaged during the devastation was fully restored and the civilians had put the incident behind them. It was as if the earthquake never happened in the first place.

It was now an early Monday morning as Bulma Briefs stood in front of her mirror while brushing her long blue hair. She had been anticipating on the school camp trip for the past fortnight and the day finally arrived. Bulma smiled as she then began to organize the capsules that she had used to store the things she needed for the camp trip. It had been rather difficult for her to decide which things to pack the night before, but she was more worried about what might happen during the week long trip.

Bulma started to feel a little flustered when the thought of a particular young male crossed her mind. She then glanced at the small pink toy rabbit that lay innocently on her freshly made bed. Ever since the Autumn Star Festival, Vegeta had seemed to be keeping his distance. It was not that he was making a considerable amount of effort to avoid her at school, but rather that when she did talk to him, she somehow sensed an invisible wall between the two of them. She was not sure why the sudden change occurred since he had been acting rather kind during the festival. But she came to the conclusion that he had major mood swings that seemed to challenge her own temperament.

As Bulma picked up her bag, she quietly made her way downstairs, keeping note that the glass elevator needed some maintenance. When she stepped into the kitchen, she noticed that both her parents were present at the large breakfast table. They were both sitting on opposite sides of the table doing their own things. Dr. Briefs had been reading a newspaper while Amelia Briefs was reading a women's magazine.

"Good morning," Bulma said softly as she slid quietly into her seat. As soon as she sat down, a maid-bot brought her a large plate of breakfast and a tall glass of fruit smoothie. As Bulma took a few bites of her breakfast, she noticed that her father was looking quite angry. But she decided not to pursue the matter as she did not want to cause any arguments. Halfway through eating her breakfast, however, Dr. Briefs suddenly put down his newspaper and turned his attention to his daughter.

He then questioned her, his voice was filled with a hint of anger. "Tell me, Bulma, what have you been doing everyday at school?"

Bulma blinked and stared at him in confusion. "At school? I don't get the question.."

Bulma flinched when Dr. Briefs' hand suddenly slammed down the table, causing some of the plates to jump. This also grabbed the attention of Bulma's mother.

"Dear, what is with this ruckus? For heaven's sake, it's too early in the morning!" Amelia began to protest to her husband. However, her husband suddenly pointed his finger at her.

"You! Keep your mouth shut! Keep in mind that I also hold YOU responsible for your daughter's behaviour," Dr. Briefs snapped.

Bulma stared at him in confusion. "Dad? What are you talking about?"

Dr. Briefs quickly got out of his seat and took out a letter that was on the kitchen bench. "This," he said while waving the letter in front of his face. "Your school sent it to me out of concern of your grades. You have failed almost half of your subjects. So now it's your turn for an explanation. What is the meaning of this?"

Bulma began to gulp as she thought about her dad's question. "Well, dad.. Maybe I'm not enjoying some of the subjects at school because I don't see any relevance to it so-"

"Relevance!" Her father spat with anger as he interrupted her. "This has nothing to do with relevance, young lady. You are the heiress of Capsule Corporation. I will NOT be made a fool out of having a daughter who could barely pass high school! Do you understand?"

"But dad!" Bulma protested. "Grades don't mean anything. You've seen my performance in the lab, haven't you? You even said so yourself that I've grasped the technology really quickly. Heck, I've even came up with the designs for-" Bulma stopped mid-sentence when she felt her head suddenly swing to the left. Her eyes widened when she came to terms with what had just happened. Her father had just backhanded her across the cheek.

"Don't talk back, you rude child!" Dr. Briefs angrily said as veins started to pop from his forehead underneath his thinning purple hair.

"Henry!" Amelia gasped as she quickly ran next to her daughter to check the damages made. "She's your daughter! How could you be so callous towards her?"

"This is the reason why she has lost interest in school! You have spoilt her for far too long!"

Bulma's eyes started to brim with tears as she felt her cheek burn and sting. She did not want to be in the middle of this. Not now. She could not comprehend why it had to be this morning, the beginning of a supposed fun camp trip, had to start this way.

"I have to go now," she managed to say weakly with a slight tremor in her voice.

"Bulma.." Amelia began to protest.

Bulma shook her head and gave her mother a frail smile. "I'm fine. I'm going to be late if I don't leave now. I will see you both at the end of the week."

Bulma then picked up her bag and walked out of the house, away from the tainted and crumbling entity that once was her family.

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"So I was doing some research on the facilities last night. The accommodation seemed a little rusty BUT the activities looked fun. Just imagine, we'll get to do some of the stuff our great grandparents did back in the days."

ChiChi rolled her eyes. "But Juu, you're such an outdoor person so of course you'll think it's 'fun'. But me on the other hand.. I don't know.. It kinda sounds dangerous."

"Don't worry, ChiChi. I'll protect you!"

Juu ignored Goku's sudden input and shook her head. "Oh c'mon! Where's your sense of adventure?"

While the two girls were talking about the camp trip, Bulma sat quietly next to the window as she stared outside. It had been almost an hour since the grade boarded the express coach that flew them to the designated camp outside of Tokyo. After the fight with her parents, Bulma's mood had changed to an all time low as she barely talked during the flight so far.

"Hey, is everything okay?" Krillin, who had been sitting beside her, looked at her with concern.

Bulma turned her head and gave her friend a small smile. "I'm fine Krillin, just had a bit of a fight with my parents this morning over my grades. But it's something I'd rather not discuss right now."

"Oh." Krillin had known that Bulma was a little touchy when it came to talking about her parents so he decided to leave it at that. "Hey, how's you and Vegeta getting along?"

Bulma glanced over her shoulder and saw the male in reference sitting one row behind next to Goku. "Well, it's getting a bit better I guess. I mean, rather than being an ass he's actually talking to me in a civilized manner."

"That's good to hear! Maybe you guys should spend more time with each other during the camp trip."

Bulma stared at Krillin. "I don't know if that's possible. I mean, that guy sometimes acts like he doesn't wanna have anything to do with me."

"Give it some time and I'm sure he'll open up to you. Maybe you could ask Goku for advice. He seems like a pretty close friend to Vegeta."

"We'll see what happens. But I don't wanna spend this camp trip worrying over Vegeta. I just want to have some fun!" Bulma then started to smile.

"That's the spirit! Let's enjoy the week with no parents bugging us!"

Bulma couldn't help but laugh at Krillin's enthusiasm, but that was what she liked about him. No matter what situation they were in, he would always somehow brighten her thoughts and cheer her up.

"Do you wanna play my PSP4d? I've got a new game installed that you would like. Tekken: The New Generation!" Krillin held up a small handheld device.

Bulma nodded. "I love Tekken! Let's verse each other!"

Bulma took one of the controllers and the two began to battle in their small game world.

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When the grade arrived at their destination, they found themselves in the middle of a rather "tropical" area, or at least as vegetative as Japan could get. The camp area was surrounded by tall trees and bushes while a long lake was situated right next to the grounds. As soon as the group got the main meeting area of the camp, they were quickly allocated their cabin rooms. Bulma, ChiChi, and Juu managed to get an entire cabin to themselves while Goku, Krillin, Vegeta, and Jay shared a cabin next door.

The girls were handed their cabin keys by their assigned camp group leader and the three of them quickly headed to their designated cabin.

"Wow! Look at this room! I feel like I'm stepping inside a vintage movie," Juu commented with excitement as the girls stepped inside their cabin. It consisted of three double beds, a bathroom, and a small kitchen area with a sink, fridge, and microwave.

ChiChi then stuck her head into the bathroom. "I know! Look at the toilet seat! There are no buttons on it! Just this thing you press to flush it."

"And look at this fridge!" Bulma said as she was standing in the kitchen area. "There's only cold and freezing. What if we want to keep our food warm? And where's the electronic memo pad at the front? I thought that was a basic standard!"

Juu then sat down on her bed and leaned back. "This bed is comfortable though. This is going to be one exciting week!"

Bulma rolled her eyes as she began to unpack her things. She walked towards an empty space in the corner of her room and held a capsule in front of her. A hologram of a small closet came into view. Bulma started shifting the capsule until the hologram was in the position she wanted. She pressed a button and suddenly the closet materialized in front of her.

"Wow, your closet is huge! You really couldn't decide what to bring, could you Bulma?" ChiChi asked with a little surprise.

Bulma shrugged. "I figured it was better to be safe than sorry."

Juu gave her watch a quick glance. "Hey, we better hurry up and unpack. We're supposed to meet up near the entrance in 15 minutes for activity assignment."

The girls then began to scramble across the room while trying to de-capsule their belongings as well as sorting out other items.

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Once the gang had joined the rest of the students at the large meeting hall with the camp's head counselor, the students were quickly assigned their afternoon activities.

As Bulma and the rest of the gang headed towards the lake where their activity had been awaiting them, Bulma quickly glanced at Vegeta, who she had been trailing behind. He had not spoken a word to her since they had arrived. She was starting to wonder whether he was somewhat annoyed. She was so caught up with her thoughts that she did not even notice when the beautiful lake suddenly came to view

"Okay, here we are!" the camp activity leader, who was assigned to their group, chirped loudly as they approached the long lake. "Ta da!" The short woman then waved her arms in front of the wharf, which consisted of many canoes. "Now assign yourselves in pairs so we can get the activity started!"

Bulma frowned as the small group of students around her started to shuffle around. It had been obvious that ChiChi was going to pair up with Goku. Krillin and Juu were also an observable duo. Which left her the choice between Jay and Vegeta. Unfortunately for Bulma, Jay was soon out of the question when he quickly paired up with another girl in the group. This left Bulma fuming. It's a conspiracy! ChiChi must have hatched some sort of plan!

"So once again, this leaves just the two of us."

Bulma quickly turned to face a frowning Vegeta. She then gave him an indifferent look and shrugged. "I guess there's no choice. C'mon, let's get to our canoe."

When the two of them reached to their canoe, Bulma started to hesitate as she stepped inside with her shaky legs.

"Is this even safe?" She asked warily.

"Probably not."

Bulma frowned as Vegeta took the seat in front of her. "Well I'm just warning you in advance that I can't swim, so don't do anything rash."

Vegeta turned around and gave her a smirk. "Then you better not fall in, because I'm telling you in advance that I won't come to your rescue."

Before Bulma could open her mouth to respond, the group leader suddenly appeared on the wharf behind their canoe.

"Okay, kiddos, I'm going to untie the rope so hold onto your paddles. This is a game of cooperation so you have to work together as a team to get to the other end." Having said that, the camp leader untied the rope with one quick pull.

Bulma started squealing in terror as the canoe suddenly rushed down the lake, following the swift flow of the current.

"Stop the screeching, woman! Help me paddle so we don't crash onto the edge," Vegeta suddenly ordered.

"Yes, sir," Bulma muttered sarcastically as she grabbed her paddle and began moving it across the water. She stared at the sun blazing over their heads as she let out a quick sigh.

Unknown to Bulma, ChiChi and Goku's canoe was not far behind.

"Look at those two lovebirds! When are they going to just admit their feelings for one another and get together!" ChiChi cooed as she spied from the distance. She had seemed to have forgotten where she was as Goku sat behind her with both paddles in tow and desperately trying to move both at once.

"Yeah, ChiChi. It would be good. Saves us from having to watch all the drama," Goku managed to reply through his struggle.

ChiChi let out a deep sigh. "I was actually confused as to whether it was Yamcha or Vegeta who would make a better match. But then one night I came to the conclusion that what mattered was who she actually loved. And we all know it's Vegeta." ChiChi then began to frown as she got no response. She turned around. "Goku? Are you alright?"

"Yep, I'm fine." Goku's breathing was starting to sound laboured. "But I don't think I can take on the current alone."

"Oh!" ChiChi gasped as she took her side of the paddle. " Sorry Goku! I guess I got a little carried away."

"It's fine, sweet-peas," Goku said before giving his girlfriend a quick cuddle from behind with his now free arm. His facial expression suddenly turned to confusion. "Why aren't those two wearing their life vests?"

"Hey, you're right! They probably forgot that it was underneath their seats," ChiChi replied as she leaned back a little.

Several minutes later, Goku began to frown as he started squinting his eyes. "Hey, ChiChi, they don't look like lovebirds anymore."

ChiChi looked at Goku's direction and saw the angry expressions on both Bulma and Vegeta's faces. "They seem pretty pissed off. I wonder what they're suddenly arguing about?"

Meanwhile..

Bulma began to stop paddling as she gave out a frustrated growl. "You're so annoying Vegeta! Quit trying to demoralize me all the time!"

"I demoralize you? I'm merely suggesting that you paddle at the right pace so our canoe isn't going in zigzag," Vegeta responded as he turned his head to face her with a frown.

"I already told this is how hard I can paddle! I'm not used to such strenuous activities! What do you expect?" Bulma glared back.

"Strenuous? Well aren't you quite the princess." The last word was emphasized with a sarcastic tone.

"Shut up! I don't care! I simply give up!" She then threw her paddle onto the side.

"Since when did you give up so easily?"

Bulma's eyes slightly widened as she wondered at Vegeta's question. Although the question did not have any other agendas, it still reminded Bulma of junior high for some odd reason. So instead of giving him an answer, Bulma simply evaded the question by folding her arms. "Well you know what? I just can't do it. I can barely see what's in front of me! And I blame your stupid hair!" Bulma then began to stand up.

Vegeta was alarmed as the canoe started rocking a little due to Bulma's poor balance. "Woman, what the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Switch positions with me! I just can't see anything when I sit behind you!" Bulma demanded.

"No! And you're going to sit down right this minute! It's dangerous!"

"Then stop trying to argue with me and just switch places!"

As the two continued their verbal sparring match, the canoe started to rock more violently. Suddenly, Bulma lost her balance as she fell to one side.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!"

Bulma's entire body then toppled over the canoe and came crashing down into the icy water.

"I was serious when I said I can't swim!!!" she screamed as she began to struggle in the freezing water.

Vegeta's eyes widened in horror when he saw Bulma slowly sinking beneath the surface. Without thinking twice, Vegeta quickly stood up from his seat and swiftly dived into the water.

As Bulma continued her thrashing about, she felt that she could no longer keep her body above the surface. She began to cough as water started to slowly enter her mouth. Fortunately for her, a pair of strong arms grabbed her around the waist and began hoisting her back above the surface.

"Keep calm, I'm not going to let you drown." She heard a deep voice in her ear as she shivered through the cold water.

Vegeta tried to swim to the edge as quickly as he could but it was rather difficult with the strong current pushing against their bodies.

"I'm sorry." Bulma's voice was barely a whisper.

Vegeta looked down at the shivering girl in his arms and saw that tears started to soak through her eyes. It seemed that she had finally realized the consequences of her action.

"We'll be on land soon." Vegeta tried to sound as reassuring as he could while tightening his grip around Bulma's waist. He soon felt her tension start to diminish.

A few minutes later, Vegeta finally got to shore as he lifted Bulma onto the soft grass before climbing up himself. He was breathing heavily as he took off his soaked shirt and glared at the sun above him. It was only the first day of the camp trip and disaster had already struck. He wondered how the rest of the week would turn out.

A sneeze suddenly snapped Vegeta out of his thoughts when he noticed the blue-haired girl beside him was trembling. Vegeta quickly gathered her in his arms as he gently swept a few strands of wet hair from her face. "Did you catch a cold?"

Bulma gave a weak nod. Her eyes began to expand as she realized that her head was now resting against his bare muscular chest. Bulma smiled as she felt the warmth of his body radiate towards her. Soon, she started to feel the warmth completely engulf her. Deep down inside, she had wished that this moment would last forever. Still smiling, Bulma began to close her eyes and drifted into a feverish sleep.

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Bulma was bed-ridden for the next few days as she had come down with the flu from the canoeing incident. After the camp's head counselor had discovered what had happened down by the river, Vegeta, much to his dismay, was sent to the counselor's office and given a lecture of the dangers of not wearing life vests during water activities. After Vegeta had stepped out of the office, the rest of the group noticed that his mood had turned sour. And his disposition had remained unpleasant for the next few days as he barely talked to any of his friends. Nobody could figure out why.

As for the girls, they often thought about possible theories explaining Vegeta's mood swings.

"Knowing Vegeta, he's probably angry with himself for what happened to Bulma, especially since it could have been prevented," ChiChi suggested as she carried a tray of food in front of her.

Juu, who had been walking beside her, nodded with agreement. "But I just don't understand why he has refused to see her. They're still friends after all. He should pay her a visit at least once."

When the two girls arrived outside the dorm, Juu opened the door and peered inside.

"Bulma, are you awake? We brought you some dinner."

The room was dark but Juu could see Bulma's dark figure from the dim glow of the moonlight. Bulma was sitting up on her bed and staring outside the window next to her. Bulma turned her head and smiled at them. "Hey guys, thank you for stopping by."

"How are you feeling at the moment?" ChiChi asked as she gently set the tray down on the table next to Bulma's bed.

"Much better, the doctor said that my fever is gone and it would be okay for me to join in with the activities starting from tomorrow." Bulma then gave her friend a sad look. "But I've already missed out on so much. I mean, we'll have to return back home in 2 days time."

"Don't worry, Bulma. We can still have lots of fun in the remaining few days," Juu said in a reassuring voice.

"Yeah, and it's not like you missed out on all that much. That one day hike was sort of torturous if you ask me. And whoever invented rock-climbing must have been one crazy person," ChiChi added as she stuck her tongue out at Juu.

Bulma smiled. "Damn, I did seem to miss out on quite a bit. What is everyone doing tonight?"

"I'm not sure actually, but apparently there's going to be some sort of activity outside the main hall," ChiChi responded.

"If you're feeling up for it, you should really consider joining us later," Juu added.

Bulma nodded while giving her friends a small smile. "Thanks guys. By the way," Bulma paused a little before continuing her question. "Do you think that Vegeta is still mad at me?"

"Oh sweetie, don't get so caught up into thinking that. Me and Juu were just discussing this earlier. We think he's more mad at himself than at you," ChiChi said in a soothing voice as sat at the edge of Bulma's bed.

Bulma gave her best friend a sad smile and slowly shook her head. "I wish that was the case, but I think I know the real reason. He's angry at me because I started it. I was the stubborn one who refused to cooperate with the whole teamwork concept. And that probably offended him somehow. Back in junior high, we were the ultimate team who topped all our class activities with our joined efforts. But now we can't even row a stupid canoe together. And that's probably why he's so pissed off."

"Oh." Both ChiChi and Juu looked rather awkward as they did not know how to respond to the new information they had just received.

Bulma let out a sigh as she slightly frowned. "It's okay guys, I think that eventually he'll get over it. So anyway.." Bulma paused as she picked up a plate of food from the tray next to her bed. "Thanks for bringing dinner over. But right now you guys are missing out on your own so you two should head back to the dining hall."

ChiChi gave Bulma a worried look. "Are you sure you're okay eating here by yourself? We don't mind staying here for longer to keep you company."

Bulma shook her head and gave her friend a smile. "I'll be fine, seriously. You guys don't have to check up on me that much! I feel bad. I really need to take a shower after I eat this anyway.

I'll probably see you guys later."

ChiChi nodded and gave her friend a hug. "Okay, we'll head back now. We'll see you in awhile."

Bulma nodded as she waved goodbye to her two friends. After they left, Bulma decided to quickly finish her meal so she could take a much desired hot shower.

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After Bulma had stepped out of the bathroom, she heard a loud knock on the door. Quickly putting a cropped jacket over her short summer dress, Bulma walked towards the door and opened it. Standing in front of her was a tall boy holding a drink in his hand.

"Oh hi Jay, what's up?" Bulma greeted with a smile.

Jay smiled back as he took a sip from his can of cola. "I just wanted to check up on you. Juu said you were feeling better now so I thought you might wanna come to the main hall of the camp. They're having a bonfire outside if you're interested."

"Thanks for informing me! I might join you guys later. But right now I need to clean up my part of the room first. It's a complete mess!"

Jay gave her a thumbs-up. "No worries, man. You're feeling better, right?"

Bulma nodded. "Yeah! By the way, I'm really thirsty right now. Give me a sip." She then took the can from Jay's hand and took a deep gulp. However, as soon as her taste buds picked up the flavor, she almost choked. "What the heck is this?" Bulma questioned as she stuck her tongue out slightly in disgust.

Jay gave out a loud laugh before giving her a wink. "Booze."

Bulma glared at the boy in front of her. "You had the audacity to sneak alcohol into the camp?"

Jay nodded, giving her a smirk. "Yep, so if you ever feel the need to get hammered, just pop by my cabin."

Bulma raised one eyebrow as she gave him a strange look. "Sure.. Umm.. thanks for the offer."

"Well, anyway, I'll catch you later! Come by soon!" Jay gave a quick wave before turning around.

"Alright, I'll see you guys soon!" Bulma waved as she watched Jay leave. She was about to close the door when she noticed a dark figure sitting by the porch of the cabin next door. One closer look revealed that it was Vegeta. He was staring up at the moon, which cast several shadows on his well-defined face. Bulma held her breath as she caught herself being mesmerized by how handsome and tranquil he looked. From his facial expression, he had appeared to be deep in thought.

Without knowing why, Bulma walked down the steps of her own porch and began strolled towards the boys' cabin. Vegeta sensed her presence but did not look at her direction as he kept staring at the moon.

"Hey," Bulma said quietly as she sat down next to Vegeta. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with the others at the bonfire?" Vegeta did not even blink at her questions.

"I did not feel like going," was the only retort she received.

Bulma frowned as she followed Vegeta's gaze and stared at the starless sky. "Are you still mad at me for what happened during the canoeing activity?" When she got no response, she continued. "Look, I'm truly sorry for that day. I admit that it was completely my fault. So please don't be mad anymore. You saved my life and I'm really grateful for that."

Vegeta slowly turned his head towards Bulma, looking as if he had not been listening to what she had said.

Feeling a little uneasy, Bulma asked, "What's wrong?"

"Tell me, what happened to you?" Vegeta's voice was icy cold.

"Huh?" Bulma stared into Vegeta eyes with confusion, somehow hoping that she could find some sense in his question. But instead, his dark pupils only glared intensely back at her.

"You've changed. I want to know why." Again, his question was direct and his voice was cold but soft.

Bulma however, was a little taken aback by the question. "Well.. I guess I have changed quite a lot since three years ago. I think I've just grown up."

"You have not grown up, you are spoilt and selfish."

Bulma let out a loud gasp at his cruel words. "I am not spoilt! Nor am I selfish! Yes, I admit I own better things than the average person. But that doesn't mean I'm either of those things!"

Vegeta's facial expression did not alter. "You cannot accept the black truth, woman?"

Bulma started to feel the anger boil inside her. "Who are you to make those sorts of judgments? You don't even know what I've been through! You think my life is so perfect? You don't even know what my parents are like behind closed doors!"

Vegeta gave her a confused look. "Your parents?"

Bulma nodded as her face began to sadden. "I've never really talked about this with anyone. But the truth is, my parents barely acknowledge my existence. Ever since I was a little girl, they have always been too busy for me. They had always prioritized work over me. They never attended anything for my sake or gave me the emotional support I needed. They always left me alone to fend for myself, something I hated so much but had no choice. And now they think they can keep me happy by giving me whatever I want. But it's not that easy."

Vegeta raised one eyebrow and gave her an odd glance. "Oh? And am I supposed to sympathize with your juvenile story?"

Bulma bit her lip to control her anger. "I don't need your pity, Vegeta."

Vegeta frowned. "I don't pity you. But I do wonder, what exactly do you expect from your parents?"

Bulma's eyes narrowed as she glared at Vegeta. "What are you trying to say? That I deserve this?"

Vegea shook his head. "No, but from what you've told me, your parents just sound like very busy people. Sometimes adults are too ambitious that they lose sight of their family's needs. Perhaps your parents worked really hard so they could provide a living for you?"

Bulma slightly frowned. "Yes, I admit that they've gone a long way. But look at what they've achieved overall? They weren't even willing to take one minute out of their busy lives to acknowledge my existence. To even ask me how my day was. To tell me they were proud of me. But at the expense of a broken family, tell me, is it worth it?"

"I think your parents realize that somehow. And they are trying to compensate for their lack of involvement in your life. What more do you want?"

Bulma shook her head. "I thought that if I could ask them for anything I wanted, it would somehow make up for all the wrongs in the past. But no matter how much money is being spent, it can never replace a parent's love. I spent my whole life trying to gain their acknowledgement of me." Bulma swallowed hard, trying to hold back her tears. "I only wanted to hear them tell me how proud they were. Just once. But they never have. Not once in my life. No matter how hard I tried, whether it was getting extraordinary grades or improving some of my dad's designs. I realize now that they will never acknowledge that. And what I really want in this world, money cannot buy. That's the cold harsh truth of this bitter world."

"So what are you going to do instead?" Vegeta questioned.

Bulma shrugged at his query. "I really don't know. I tried to cope with all that, by building up this picture perfect image of myself so I could make-belief that my life was really something to envy. I thought that it would somehow make me feel better. By blocking out the negative things in my life, I thought that's how I could get by."

"Then why don't you stop running away and just accept your life as it is?"

Bulma's eyes widened when she heard Vegeta's suggestion. It was not that the suggestion itself brought upon an epiphany, but rather that he had said it in such a matter-of-fact tone. It seemed almost.. Unsympathetic. Yes, Bulma had come to the conclusion that Vegeta did not seem to care at all about her parental situation. He just thinks I'm some stupid bimbo girl whose problems hold no worth. Bulma was angry at the thought. She quickly stood up and walked in front of Vegeta, her face was full of rage as she glared down at him.

"Why are you so heartless?" Bulma suddenly demanded.

Vegeta looked up to meet her glare, his eyes were filled with a hint of confusion. "Me? Heartless? I'm simply giving you some advice on your situation. You tell me that your parents do not care about you, yet they give you everything a girl your age could possibly want. Why don't you accept that not all parents are what you want them to be? Woman, this only proves how selfish you really are."

Bulma's mouth dropped open. She was so furious that she wanted to kick him hard and hurl insults at him but refrained herself. "So this is what I get for pouring my heart out to you? Well, that's the LAST time I'm doing that! Fuck you, Vegeta! You're too cold-blooded to see anything skin-deep! Just 'cause you have nice parents, you wouldn't understand where I'm coming from! You don't even know how to put yourself in someone else's shoes! It's because you're too simple minded! Not everything works as easily as you put it!"

Bulma quickly took a step back when Vegeta suddenly stood up. She gulped as she watched him scowl and he glared at her so callously it made her shiver. Bulma wondered if she had gone too far with her little outburst.

"You accuse me of being too simple minded and you judge my life. Based on what? Your foolish observations? For your information, I moved back to Tokyo alone. Without my parents." He then took a step forward and leaned down to Bulma's ears, his voice was dripping with hatred. "You could not even fathom the reality of the real world, let alone survive it." Having said that, Vegeta then walked off, brushing past a shocked Bulma as he made his exit from the cabin area.

Bulma did not budge from her position as her mind was trying to come to terms with the information he had exposed to her. Vegeta said he moved here alone. I didn't even know.. And I said all those horrible things to him. So many questions popped up in her head and she knew they were going to be left unanswered for awhile. After a brief moment, Bulma decided that she was too tired for any activities for the remainder of the night and wanted to avoid Vegeta for as long as she could. Bulma then walked back to the cabin to rest and prayed that she could take her mind off Vegeta.

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Later that evening, a few hours after lights off was announced throughout the camp, all the students were asleep in their designated cabins. A sweat-filled Vegeta was found tossing and turning on his bed. Although he was not awake consciously, his mind was filled with terror as it was blazing with haunting memories.

The body hit the floor hard as blood spluttered against the white walls. Vegeta stood there in shock as he stared at the crimson speckled surroundings. He then took a step forward, closer to the disfigured body that lay at his feet. With an outstretched arm, Vegeta leaned forward to sweep the long strands of hair but paused when something that glistened under the moonlight caught his eyes. Vegeta froze as he saw the silver bracelet wrapped around the corpse's fragile wrist. A trinket was also attached to the bracelet. A silver padlock.

Vegeta's eyes widened.

"No.." The words barely escaped his mouth. He did not want to believe it. How could it be possible?

With trembling fingers, Vegeta swept the figure's long hair to the side..

And then he saw her face.

Vegeta's body shot up as he looked around his room while breathing heavily. He then noticed his three friends all sound asleep on their respective beds. Realising it was another one of his nightmares, Vegeta slowly lied back down onto his pillow and stared up at the ceiling. He did not know why the memories of his past still haunted him. He thought that he had suppressed all the terrible emotions but the dreams appeared as vividly as ever. It was as if he was reliving the moment.

Vegeta scowled as he began tugging at his hair in frustration. He thought that when he packed his things and moved back to Tokyo, he could face his demons and moved on.

But instead, he found himself running further away.

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A/N: So once again the chapter ends with Vegeta's scary nightmare. So now we learn that there are in fact TWO bracelets that are identical. How does it relate to Vegeta's reason for leaving Tokyo? And how does it link back to Vegeta and Bulma's love?

You'll only have to wait and find out!!

Please be a nice reader and write me a review!!!! I love getting feedback from people!!!

Coming up next chapter: How does Vegeta really feel about Bulma? Will he show his true emotions when Bulma and Yamcha grow closer?