Chapter 10
Chi Chi and 18 woke up to the sound of whirring of engines. What the? 18 jumped out of bed to look outside, Chi Chi following suit. They stared into their backyard and smiled.
�She did it�� Chi Chi whispered. They quickly changed into their armor and ran outside.
Bulma was inside the Gravity Bubble, training in 20 G�s. She could move quickly in here, but attacks seemed to hurt more. She smirked. The more pain, the stronger she�d get.
She paused and looked to the door when she heard a knock. She completely missed the energy ball flying toward her back, which promptly threw her right into the door, which opened right at that moment. She hurtled into a surprised 18 and Chi Chi, and they landed in a big pile near their back door.
�Well, we�re happy to see you too, Bulma!� Chi Chi laughed and knocked her wincing friend off of her legs.
�Decided to work out without us, eh Bulma?� 18 joked and got up.
They all headed toward the machine, and Bulma ran ahead to turn off the gravity. They all sat down in the middle of the floor.
�Now,� Bulma began, �we can�t let the other girls know about this. By law, the Royal Family and Guard are the only ones allowed to use this technology. My Daddy gave it to me for a birthday present two years ago. He made it look like a regular training room so the neighbors wouldn�t get suspicious.�
18 smiled.
�Looks like it worked.�
�Yes, very well. It helped that we hid the gravity controls out of sight and then invited the neighbors to work out in it anytime they wanted. They never expected a thing.� Bulma�s smile spread to Chi Chi.
�Well?� the brown-eyed girl asked. �Are you at least going to tell us where the controls are?�
Bulma smirked.
�Only if you guys promise not to tell a soul about it. My dad could lose his job and we all could be arrested.�
18 nodded and Chi Chi gulped.
�You know you can trust us Bulma. We love you like a sister.� 18 stood up. �Now I�m dressed to train and I want to train. We only have a couple of hours before the �purification� ritual.�
Those hours passed quickly while the girls got used to heavier gravity, showered, and dressed into the robes they had been assigned to wear for the Purification Process. They were tired when they joined all the other girls, but they were wearing the biggest smiles of them all.
The girls lined up shoulder to shoulder again, and watched as a short, fat Saiyan man from the King�s Royal Guard stood up, followed by a Saiyan woman wearing gaudy jewelry and lots of make-up.
�Palace slut�� 18 whispered to her friends, who couldn�t help but giggle.
The woman stepped forward and spoke in a whiny mouse voice.
�Good morning girls.� She had such a heavy accent the girls cringed inwardly and wanted to cover their ears.
�This morning we are gonna work on our walk. The future mate of Prince Vegeta must have the correct shoulders and stagger. Now, all watch me.�
All the other girls watched and waited eagerly as the woman began to walk. Bulma sucked in her breath, 18 growled, and Chi Chi stared with her mouth open.
The woman had suddenly transformed from the slutty wench she was into a graceful, er, wench. Her shoulders back, head up high, hips swaying suggestively, the woman took on a look of peace. How could walking affect someone that much? The girls wondered and watched.
Vegeta laughed as he watched the procession of his future mates try to imitate the walk of the woman, whose name was Bionca. He was amused as he noticed a couple of girls actually taking notes.
�Don�t they look funny Prince Vegeta?� Krillin asked from his left side. He heard Kakkarot laugh from the right, and he looked over at the tall Siayan. He traced his line of sight to the black haired freak who was getting up off her butt. Many of the girls were not used to the high heels Bionca insist they wore.
He heard Kakkarot sighed. Yuck. He was hopelessly tied to that girl, Vegeta thought. He was glad he wasn�t showing such emotions about Bulma. He turned to Krillin and noticed that his gaze frequently landed on the blond one, 18 he thought her name was. 18? What kind of a name is that?
He saw Krillin�s eyes glaze over and watched the hugest smile he had ever seen spread across his friend�s face. Ugh. Could they possibly be as smitten with those two girls as he was to Bulma? Maybe he should ask�
Bulma cursed as her ankle turned again in the death shoes Bionca was making them wear. She hated this! This was such a waste of time. She wondered how much Vegeta really cared if his future mate could walk well in freaking spiky shoes. I could be training!
She helped 18 back to her feet and concentrated on her walking. She had to get this right. The sooner the girls accomplished this task the sooner they could move onto the next one.
18 dusted herself off and tried to walk again. She looked over to the left at the dozen girls who had already finished and who were pointing and laughing at the ones who couldn�t even stand up less than walk. They were the kind that had grown up in dresses and spear-like shoes, so they knew the whole gist of everything.
And Bionca wouldn�t let the girls practice out of sight from the Guards! This was so humiliating! The men were laughing their heads off and even had the audacity to point. Her eyes searched the court for Krillin, but she couldn�t see him.
No wonder�he does only come to my waist. She paused, shocked. Why am I even looking for him? She shook her head and promptly fell on her butt again. She sighed and looked over to see how Chi Chi was faring, and burst out laughing.
The look on Chi Chi�s face alone had sent the girls nearest her limping away, and Chi Chi herself just stood there, staring at her feet as if she had never seen them before.
�Why the hell is this so hard?� Chi Chi muttered as she put one foot in front of the other. She stopped, concentrated, and moved her other foot. She had done it! She had stepped five feet consecutively! She felt like clapping until she fell forward on her face. All her weight was on her toes! And they were cramped to death in the tiny little shoes!
�That is it!� She cried, levitating up to her feet again. She flew so her feet were about half an inch above the ground and began to imitate walking, not ever touching the ground.
Bulma sent a look at 18, and the girls both put their hands above their mouths to hide their laughter at their friend.
�Miss Chi Chi! Please keep your feet on the ground!� Bionca�s voice rang through the girls. Chi Chi cringed and fell to her knees. She felt like crying, but she wouldn�t in front of everyone else. She stood back up.
Kakkarot laughed as he heard Chi Chi get chastised in front of everyone. He saw Vegeta regard him with a weird look, but he ignored it and continued watching the girls below.
�Kakkarot?� Vegeta asked, irritated enough to finally ask them.
�Yes?� he answered, his voice dreamy.
�How do you feel about the black-haired frea-� he paused at the glowering look the tall guard sent him. �Chi Chi,� he corrected himself. It wasn't like Kakkarot to chastise him�
�Why Vegeta? Do you like her?� Kakkarot almost seemed nervous. As if Vegeta would like that harpy! Though she could cook�
�Of course not! I will make my decision at the end of the year. And I will ask the questions, Kakkarot.� Vegeta growled, and Krillin turned a laugh into a cough.
�Well, I like her a lot more than some of those girls. She knows how to fight too,� he smiled, rubbing his jaw. �And she sure can cook! Yummy!� He rubbed his stomach and grinned wildly.
�Kakkarot, you always did think with your stomach!� Krillin joked, laughing at his friend and poking him in the stomach.
�What about you, short-stuff?� Vegeta turned to Krillin. �I seem to notice you watching the blond frea-18, more than the other girls.� His voice took on a taunting tone as he smirked.
�Yeah, Krillin. Do you like 18? Huh?� Kakkarot laughed as his friend blushed.
�No! It�s just hard to miss her blond head in all that black hair! She sticks out like a�like a blond Saiyan!� Krillin crossed his arms and willed his blush away.
�But I saw her looking for you Krillin! She looked all around and when she didn�t see you she sighed. I saw it!� Kakkarot laughed as he patted his friend on the back.
�She did? You�re not pulling my leg, are you Kakkarot?� Krillin asked anxiously.
Vegeta just laughed and turned away from them both, planning to go work out in the Gravity Bubble.
�Wait Vegeta!� Krillin began, grabbing his arm. �Which girl has caught your fancy? Huh?� The guard was smirking from ear to ear, Kakkarot right behind him, grinning like an idiot.
�Not one of them! I�ll be forced to choose one of them at the end of this year, unfortunately, and not a moment before that. They are all undeserving of my �fancy� as you put it.� Vegeta stood there, glowering at them both.
�You�re blushing Vegeta�� Krillin crossed his arms, mimicking the Prince.
�I am not!� Vegeta countered, dropping his arms and feeling the heat that had been on his cheeks spread to his nose. He heard Kakkarot laugh.
�I�ll bet it�s Bulma!� Kakkarot said, punching Vegeta in the arms. �Ever since she kicked his Royal ass yesterday, he�s been smitten!�
�I�ll bet you�re right Kakkarot.� Krillin agreed, nodding his head. �It�s Bulma.�
�No it is not!� Vegeta growled, his voice low with warning. �I will choose my mate on the full moon in exactly 364 days. But right now you two will follow me to the Gravity Room so I can royally kick your asses!�