prologue






Vegeta groaned inwardly as he watched Bulma bawling out some poor Capsule Corp employee down on Earth. ~Seventeen years, four months, eight days, thirteen hours, forty-five minutes, and some odd seconds and she's _still_ the same as I remember her.~ he thought, smirking and crossing his arms in the familiar pose of the Saiyan prince. ~Baka onna. She would have made one hell of a Saiyan.~ He glanced down at himself and sighed irritatedly. ~I made one hell of a Saiyan! Kuso I hate being dead!~

"Oi, Vegeta!" an all too familiar, yet not as annoying voice called cheerfully, and moments later Goku appeared not six inches in front of the older Saiyan. "What are you doing over here? Checking up on Bulma and Trunks?" he asked, curiously looking over Vegeta's shoulder into the crystalline pool in front of them.

"Hai." Vegeta replied absently, waving a hand in Goku's general direction. "Baka onna, still as loud as she ever was. Although, she couldn't hold a candle to -your- mate, Kakarot." he added, shuddering at the thought of ChiChi's shrieking. Goku winced.

"Yeah, I know." he agreed, shivering a bit as he drew back from his old friend. "I miss her, though. Don't you ever miss Bulma and Trunks, Vegeta?"

Vegeta shrugged, never taking his eyes off the image in the pool.

"Hai. I miss them." he admitted, frowning slightly as the afor mentioned employee went scrambling away from his mate as fast as a human could move. He raised an eyebrow. "I don't miss being yelled at......" Another sigh. "But yes, I miss being with them. Why do you ask, Kakarot?"

Goku shrugged and smiled absently. "Nooooooo reasonnnnnn!" he said, laughing a bit at Vegeta's confused expression.

"Kakarot!" Vegeta hissed threateningly, starting to power up a bit.

"Okay okay!" Goku blinked and stepped away from Vegeta, crossing his arms over his chest. "I know a way we can be brought back to life." he said, quietly so no one else but the Saiyan prince heard.

"WHAT?!" Vegeta yelled, causing several heads to turn in their direction.

"We can use the Dragonballs." Goku whispered, turning to glare at the people watching.

Vegeta facefaulted. "Baka! Kakarot, the Namek is dead!"

"Hai, and so is the elder on Namek, but they've created a new set recently." Goku replied, motioning to the pool as a new picture appeared in it. Vegeta stared at the image of the Neo-Namek-sei's new dragonballs.

"And...... you can use your Shunkan Idou to get us there, right?" he muttered, guessing the rest of the younger man's plan. Goku nodded. "All right. Let's go."

Goku smiled and motioned to a nearby group of people. It of course, turned out to be the other Z fighters plus ChiChi and the Ox King. "Sou ka minna, he's going too!" he whispered, then (as inconspicously as possible) led them all to a more remote spot. "Grab my shoulder, or someone elses." he instructed as he prepared the teleport, placing two fingers to his forehead. After everyone complied, he nodded and they disappeared without a sound.

They reappeared right in front of a young Namek, who yelped in surprise and nearly tipped over backwards. "Oops." Goku chuckled, sweatdropping a bit. "I'm sorry about that, I can't always tell where I'm gonna pop up when I teleport." The Namek blinked and shook his head, confused.

"You're Chikyuu-jin. What-how did you get here?" he asked, picking up the bucket he had dropped and setting it upright.

"Well, we sorta need to use the Namek Dragonballs." Gohan replied, scratching his head in an imitation of his father.

"Oh....... uh...... pardon if I seem rude, but what are your names?" the Namek questioned, hesitating a bit.

"Oh, I'm Goku." Goku replied, smiling cheerily. "This is Vegeta and......" He was cut off by a small yelp from the Namek.

"Vegeta! Oh my gosh! You guys are....... and...... Oh! Of course!" The Namek fumbled around a bit, obviously embarassed. "I'm Dende!"

"Dende!" Gohan, Krillin, and Piccolo chorused, staring at Dende.

"Yes. It's good to see you all again......... even if you're dead." he added, noticing for the first time their halo's. "Gohan, Krillin, I didn't recognize you! It's been so long!"

"Yeah!" Gohan agreed, still mostly in shock.

"Come on, I'll take you to the elder!" They all nodded silently and followed Dende into a house several yards to the left.





Bulma sighed as she brushed her long aqua locks. ~It's been so long... Why can't I just put the past behind me and get on with my life?~ she wondered, staring at a picture of the Z senshi, then glancing at the one of Vegeta beside it. ~Vegeta.~ She smiled lightly as she traced his hard features. ~I never really got the chance to be with you. But I loved you anyway.~ Bulma thought, tears beginning to well up in her eyes. ~I wish you could see our son. He's grown so much, and he looks just like you!~ She giggled softly as the tears slipped down her cheeks and splashed onto the picture she now held in her hands.

Trunks' head popped up in the doorway right then and he knocked lightly on the wall. "Mom? I'm going to go out for awhile, if you don't mind. Don't worry, I promise I'll be fine by myself." he said, winking at her.

Bulma laughed. "Of course, Trunks. Go on, Pan's waiting for you." she replied, winking back at her lavendar haired son. He blushed and took off at top speed down the hall. She shook her head and turned back to the picture she held in her hands. (note: I just inserted Pan because I like her a lot and she fits in later in the story! ) "Well, his personality (thank Kami) is nothing like yours, but all in all, like father like son!"

"I don't know whether to be insulted or if I should take that as a compliment." a deep, rich voice purred into her ear, and his arms slipped down around her neck. "Onna, it isn't nice to talk about people behind their back." Bulma froze in shock.

~Impossible! No, that is NOT Vegeta behind me, all this thinking has finally driven me mad!~ she thought, eyes wide as the arms left her and she felt herself slowly being turned around....... to stare straight into the twin ebony pools of Vegeta's eyes. "Vegeta!" she whispered hoarsely, her own blue eyes starting to water again.

"Onna." Vegeta replied, smirking down at her.

"Vegeta, what-what are you doing here?" Bulma demanded hoarsely, blinking back the tears that threatened to spill down her cheeks. ~It's him, it's really him!~

"Hello to you too." he growled, staring intently into her eyes, reading her every emotion. "Kakarot found a way for all of us to be wished back."

She nodded, smiling shakily. ~Goku... it figures.~ "Oh." Bulma turned away from him and began shoving things back into their places on her vanity table, not allowing him to see her cry.

Vegeta raised an eyebrow at her, knowing very well that she didn't want him to think she was weak. She'd told him several times when he was still alive. "Onna, stop crying so much. You already look like hell." he told her gruffly, smirking when she span around and glared up at him. "Bulma."



chapter 1
Ai No Mirai
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