Akai Tsuki: The Red Moon chapter 4: The Wager

Chapter 4: The Wager

When Bulma came back to the temple, Dende immediately attended to her and told her how worried he was when he found out that she was gone yesterday night. Bulma said she had to walk in the forest to get some fresh air and got lost.

"What happened to you?" Dende asked anxiously. "You look like a mess. Oh, is that blood?" he eyed her pink tee that was bloody. Bulma looked down to see her body all body from her chest down to her feet. She looked like a ghost or something as if she has murdered someone... or she has been murdered.

"I-ah... slipped in the mountains while I was walking... I kind of fall down from a high cliff or something... Don't worry. I'm fine. It's just a little blood." she told him awkwardly. The monk raised a brow at her. From the way she looked, it isn't just a little blood.

"Don't you feel a bit dizzy or something?" Dende asked.

"No, I'm fine, really." Bulma replied. It was true, actually, and it was really strange that she don't feel any nausea or vomiting or anything. "Monk, can I use your shower? I need to wash myself and change clothes before I leave."

"Okay, sure." Dende said. "But can I ask you one more thing?"

"What is it?"

"Did you happen to see or meet someone in the mountains with dark brown flaming spiky hair?"

Bulma shook her head lightly. Vegeta had warned her not to tell anybody she saw him or she will die. Why does he even threaten her to do his bidding? "No," she lied. "I never saw anyone in the forest."

The monk seemed to believe her façade so he let her do her shower and change of clothes. Bulma had her lunch in the temple before she left. She thanked the monk for helping her and he told her to have a safe trip back to Metro West City. He watched her as she left the temple. He was worried that the Legendary Destroyer might come for her for some unknown reason, however he could not sense Vegeta's ki presence around. Maybe the Saiyan Prince had hid his ki so that the monks won't be able to find him.

Soon after Bulma had left, a silver, Nissan pathfinder stopped by the temple and a tall, handsome man with purple hair that was cropped short and blue sharp eyes came out from the driver's side. The monk greeted him as he met him up.

"Toran! Oh, Toran, you came!" Dende cried.

Toran Kazaki politely greeted the monk, bowing down shortly before him to show him respect. "Good afternoon, monk Dende. How are you doing?" and he smiled in a very polite way. "I saw a girl in my way, did she came from here?" he asked.

"Yes, she was an overnight visitor."

"I see. So how are you monks doing?"

Dende bit his lower lip. "Well, we have a huge problem here."

He took Toran to the destroyed main shrine and showed him the mess that has happened after Vegeta was freed from his seals in the sacred jar. Toran was one of Goku's disciple's descendants and he was trained to be prepared in case the seals that kept Vegeta under control were released. He's also trained to stop the monster in case he lose control of his dangerous, horrible powers that would surely destroy the planet.

"Since when did this happen?" Toran asked.

"Just yesterday evening," Dende replied.

"I see. So that earthquake and thunderstorm was caused by the release of his power, not to mention that it was full moon yesterday. So it was true after all that he's incredibly dangerous and powerful just as the legend says. Though he hasn't released his true full power yet- not until the red moon rise up."

Dende shrugged. "We have to fin him before the red moon rise or else- The entire earth would be in grave danger."

Toran noticed a phone by the mess and asked Dende whose phone was it. Dende said it could belong to the girl and Toran suspected that the girl is the key where the Legendary Destroyer is.

While Toran drove back to his home in the city he thought as he looked at the phone, Bulma's phone is his hand. "If I fix this phone then I might be able to find you. What are you really planning and you want to go after that girl?"

When Bulma finally arrived back to Metro West City, she found out that she has lost her phone so she decided to use the pay phone to make a call but she noticed Vegeta sitting by the bench a few feet away from the phone booth. She was initially shocked to see him. "J-just what is that boy doing in here?"

Someone threw an empty tin can of soda by the trash bin next to the bench and the boy stared at it, probably wondering what it was. He silently cursed to himself as he took the can in his small hands and observed it for a few seconds before he put the lid into his mouth and shook it. Not a single drop came out of it. He put the can down in disappointment and rubbed his growling stomach. "I'm hungry…" he mumbled.

Bulma let out a sigh as she put the phone down and walked towards the boy. Vegeta looked up from the tin can to her face. "What are you doing here?" she asked. "And most importantly, how did you get in here?"

"I used the subway." He replied. "And I'm here because I needed to stay near you until you're fully healed. " and then his stomach growled loudly, making the boy's face flush red and the human girl laughed at his face.

"You're hungry, aren't you?" Bulma asked, trying to stop herself from laughing.

Vegeta made a pout and snorted as he blushed. "I'm not."

"Oh yes you are!"

"I'm NOT!" the boy hissed at her.

"But I heard it-"

"Shut up!"

The woman blinked at the harsh sound of the annoyed snarl that rumbled within the boy's chest. "Hey, just relax-" Bulma told him. "-I mean, come on… I'll treat you something for your hungry stomach instead of you picking up some trash like some beggar."

Vegeta scowled at her last words. But decided to go with her because he was so hungry.

~At some grill restaurant called Tom's Grill~

Bulma stared wildly and in total shock and disbelief as she watched at the boy eat a huge pile of grilled steaks in the table in front of them. She just could not believe on how could such a small child like Vegeta eat this much and that fast as if he wasn't chewing large slices and bite sizes of steak. She only recovered from her disbelief when the sight in front of her had become considerable to herself.

"By the way, Vegeta. Where are your parents?" Bulma asked.

"I don't have any" Vegeta replied in between mouthfuls.

"Really?"

"Thay had died a very long time ago."

"So, so you actually lied by your own at the mountains."

"No, told you I was sealed inside that stinking jar, right?"

Bulma grinned awkwardly. "Yeah… You did…" she muttered, still not convinced of the boy's story.

And the boy had finally finished his servings. "You still don't believe me, do you?" and Bulma didn't respond and Vegeta let out a long sigh. "Belive whatever you want."

After Bulma paid the bill, she was annoyed that she paid so much money for his food and she wanted to end it with him.

"Alright then, I'm leaving you here, bye." Bulma said as she gave the kid some money. "Here, you use that to return home, okay?" and then she ran away in a hurry to be away from the boy. Vegeta just glared at her trail angrily.

Meanwhile, Toran just came back home after he had Bulma's phone fixed. He searched through it and found the lst people she talked with before it went out. He dialed the last phone number and Marron picked up.

"Ya! Bulma Briefs, what happened to you yesterday?" Marron shouted.

Toran grinned to himself and apologized. "I'm sorry but I needed to meet with MIIS Bulma Briefs immediately. My name is Toran Kazaki and I wanted to bring her phone back. May I asked where I could find her?"

And Marron told the stranger where Bulma exactly lives. Toran thanked the kind girl (and stupid) before he hanged up. He sat down his sofa bed inside his gorgeous condo unit and stared at the ceiling. "Metro West City, eh? And you're even after the heiress to the world famous Capsule Corporation, Bulma Briefs. I can't belive it. You're such a clever, naughty boy, aren't you? But soon I will find you and stop you from your evil plans for the human girl and the earth… Proud Saiyan Prince, Vegeta." he thought.

"Tickets, please." The Lady conductor said, waking Bulma up from her nap. She immediately gave the bus ticket the lady wanted and went back to nap but-

"Only one ticket?" the lady ased.

"Yep," Bulma muttered groggily.

"But how about this boy?"

Bulma's eyes flew open to see Vegeta sitting beside her and was also in a nap.

"Stop at the nearest police station!" she shouted.

She dragged a drowsy, dazed and disoriented Vegeta out of the bus down into the police station. "What else do you want with me, kid? Didn't I just feed you and gave you money to go home!"

And Vegeta snapped. "How many times do I have to tell you that I'm not a kid and that I needed to be with you so that you would be healed, remember. You needed my ki energy around for that."

"You've got to be kidding me, kid! Look at me, I'm perfectly fine, ALIVE!" she exclaimed.

"You're just alive because of me. You feel perfectly fine because of me. And you don't feel the pain of your injuries because of me! I gave you my blood, woman. I gave you a chance to live a second life!"

Bulma rolled her eyes and laughed at his words dryly and the boy's eyes narrowed. "You know what, Vegeta. You're crazy! You're just a crazy little kid!"

That does it.

Vegeta's eyes narrowed even wider with visible slits of anger that made his body quiver. Dark flame igniting his coal black eyes. "W-What?" he said in disbelief.

"I just said that you're a crazy little kid!"

The boy's features turned real deadly. "You… will regret calling me that, woman." He said through his teeth.

"Oh, yeah! What are you supposed to do?"

Vegeta's trembling hands clenched into tight fists but he tried his best to control his anger. Or else he might lose it… "You…I will prove to you the truth aout my real existence when I find you on the night of the rise of the red moon. I… will always follow you and yet, you will never know my presence around. You will see and regret to insult me, woman. On June sixteenth." He said as he looked up into the sky.

Bulma snorted loudly as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Whatever, kid! Caew to give a wager on that? I'll bet a million zennie that you're really crazy!"

Vegeta became amused with that challenge and he chuckled darkly. "Of course. So you want a wager, huh? Fine with me, then, but I don't want a million zennie as my dealing prize if I win."

"What do you want then? I can give you anything you want!"

"If I proved myself wrong, I'll leave you alone as you wished. But if I proved myself right, I want you to deal with me with your entire life….

"I want your death." And he gave out an evil, sadistic and bloodthirsty grin that made Bulma quiver in sudden fear.

To Be Continued...