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It shot through his heart, a feeling like the plucked string of a bass. 'No, it can't be.' Vegeta didn't have time to think about how he could feel the beginnings of growth in his lungs as Cell reappeared and shot a ki blast through his future son's chest. There was still a fight, a fight that needed to be won, now without Kakarot. 'But what's the point? I'm going to die now regardless of Cell obliterating us. No! He cared about this world! He cared about his friends! If I'm going to die from my unrequited feelings then before I go to Otherworld I'm going to show him my damned best that I would have been worth it!'
Vegeta didn't notice the second blast from Cell until it was too late for him to try to dodge. Vegeta convinced himself that he'd endure the attack but before the blast hit a purple and blonde blur appeared between him and the blast. Gohan, in his new transformation, had protected him during his fight with Cell.
The battle continued, Gohan getting pushed back at every point while the Z fighters could only watch on as nails on the coffin of the planet slowly but surely were getting hammered in. Vegeta coughed. He spat a single yellow petal into his hand. Quickly burning it he looked back to the fight to see Gohan with new resolve in his eyes. The boy stood up, his better arm raised in a bastard kamehameha. Back and forth the battle raged, the perfect weapon against the son of Earth's savior. Vegeta stood up. 'I'm not going lay here like I'm useless! I may not have the strength to beat Cell, but I refuse to die now!' He flew up, the massive clash of kamehamehas made and almost impassable barrier, but the prince would not, could not, accept defeat now.
On the other side of the blast he saw the rest of his comrades getting blown away from the intensity of the struggle. Putting everything he had left into one final attack, Vegeta fired a ki ball at Cell.
And then it was over. Cell was gone. Vegeta, still being the closest to the action, was the first to make it to Gohan. He picked the boy up, mindful of the arm he all but lost taking the hit for the prince earlier. Piccolo was there a quick second later, but saw the determination in Vegeta's eyes and merely lead him and the rest to the Lookout.
Vegeta laid Gohan at Dende's feet, wordlessly demanding the Guardian to heal the new savior of Earth. Now that he was out of battle, Vegeta focused on his own wounds and his new development. He coughed again, more yellow petals and a few specks of blood. Again he burned them away.
"Vegeta, I'm done with Gohan, now all he needs is rest. Sit. Let me heal you. I feel there's more than meets the eye with your wounds." Vegeta did as he was told out of exhaustion more than anything else. His cuts and bruises would heal easy but he knew this new ailment would be his demise. After a minute or two Dende stopped and looked at the Saiyan in confusion.
"I don't understand, I've never seen this before. What is this?"
"Ignore it, you can't fix it."
"But what is it?"
"None of your business. And don't you dare mention it to anyone else." Vegeta jumped off the edge of the Lookout and flew back to Capsule Corps. The Guardian of Earth watched as the prince left, wondering and wishing he could help the last Saiyan.
It was dark, a time of night no decent person would stay awake long enough to reach or one would rise early enough to catch. All time had lost its meaning to Vegeta, his only measure of its passing being the breaks between coughing fits. When he found himself awake during the night he wandered the empty halls of Capsule Corps. He didn't care where he went, anywhere or nowhere, his life passed before him in a daze, an internal clock counting down to his death at the hands of his greatest adversary.
A light clicked on. Vegeta looked around him. He had apparently wandered back to the family wing and found a living room. The woman, Bulma, sat on one of the couches, her feet tucked up under her and a steaming mug in her hands.
"Come sit with me Vegeta." Bulma hadn’t looked up from the mug she was gently swirling as though she could find the key to the universe in its depths. She patted the seat beside her.
Vegeta stood still, not knowing how to react having never been interrupted in his aimless wanderings before. Bulma spoke again, ignoring his lack of response.
"It's been five years, can you believe it? I can still remember meeting him like it was yesterday. I hit him with a car and he thought I was a metal monster trying to steal his food. He was naïve like that, you know? He wasn't stupid: a bit naïve with a single track mind, sure, but not stupid. He always had his heart in the right place, even if he didn't make the best decisions." She paused, finally taking a sip of whatever hot beverage she had. She patted next to herself again. "Come on Vegeta. I've given you all that I could but none of it's helped so far. Sit with me and let's remember him and maybe you can tell me what happened that changed you that day."
He stepped forward, not fully knowing what drove him to do so. The second step was easier, maybe things wouldn’t change, but how better to honor Kakarot than to remember him with the one who knew him longest? Vegeta sat on the edge of the seat, his knees bent, ready to stand again, his exits found and secured.
"You put any machine in front of me and I can have it working better than ever in a matter of hours but I can't fix people anymore than I can stop the world from turning. I can't fix you Vegeta and while I know this, it frustrates me to no end because he wouldn't have wanted to see you suffering like this. I don't want to see you suffering like this. Since he died you've been listless, as if you had a sword hanging over your head that you were just waiting to drop." A sudden chuckle startled the both of them. Bulma turned to Vegeta, his outburst making her face him for the first time since the lights turned on.
"Oh if only you knew how right you were." It slips out before he can pull his defenses up, her melancholy complimenting his own in ways he couldn't understand but knew none the less. Vegeta stiffened, feeling the roots move around his lungs, shifting to release more petals. He coughed, his whole body shuddering as the flowers took more of his life. He spat out some small blue flowers along with a few orange and yellow petals.
"What kind of sickness is this?" The dull tone Bulma had been using fell from her voice as she looked at three different flowers in Vegeta's hand in surprise.
"A sickness of the heart," he said, clenching his fist and burning the foliage with ki.
"Is it a virus?"
"A disease. It's genetic, no need to quarantine me or be concerned. I hope this is something of mine Trunks does not inherit. Or the rest of the half breeds for that matter."
"What does it do?"
"Plants are growing in my lungs, I can feel them. They'll grow until they block my airways and finally I'll die choking."
"Is there anything you can do to stop it? We could gather the Dragon Balls…" Bulma trailed off as Vegeta shook his head.
"Even if you could fix this, and I've heard of ways to do so, I'd rather live and die from this than get rid of the feeling."
"You like the feeling of flowers growing in your lungs?"
"I like the feeling of being in love. I haven't had many good emotions in my life, and if I have to die to have one…"
"You're confusing me again."
"Being in love caused this. I told you, it's a disease of the heart. Symptoms start to present themselves when you realize you're in love and you either die like I described or the object of your affections returns your love."
"It must not be me then." Bulma couldn't hide the bitter jealousy in her voice as she continued. "Who could you love enough to let them destroy you like this?"
"Who else has beaten me at every turn so far? And don't take this to mean that I don’t love you or Trunks. You taught me what love was and I do love the both of you."
"You're just not in love with me. Though I can't blame you, everyone loves Goku and he's well deserving of it. With him not coming back…"
"He can't return my feelings regardless of if he would or not."
"Do you know how much time you have left?"
"From what I remember hearing about it as a child, the person suffering would survive a year at the longest. Most succumbed within the first three or four months."
"But you've lasted-"
"Five years, I know. I could drop dead choking tomorrow or I could live another 20 years at this rate. No one knows."
"Are you thinking of asking someone to help you if, you know, it gets too bad?"
"No, when the day comes I'll say my goodbyes and face my end as gracefully as I can."
The conversation trailed off, neither knowing what else to say. Bulma finished her drink and pulled Vegeta further back on the couch. She laid her head in his lap and stayed that way til morning, neither sure of when the light turned off or when they fell asleep.
He hadn't felt better in years. Ever since Kakarot died he'd felt himself withering away but now? Now he had Power. Power like never before and for the first time since meeting the third class he finally felt like he could beat him. They were out in a wasteland, Vegeta knowing he wouldn't get the fight he wanted if they had stayed at the tournament. There in all his golden glory stood Kakarot, the man who had made his last seven years a living hell. The two Saiyans fought tooth and nail, neither one letting up for a moment. This was the fight they had been waiting for.
Vegeta pinned Goku to a cliffside, using ki bands to keep him in place.
"You know Kakarot, I had wondered why I lasted as long as I did, but it all makes sense now. You can't stay dead and gone even if you try, so of course I couldn't die from your absence. Tell me Kakarot, how do you feel about me? Now after I killed all those people? After I received this power from Babidi? How do you feel about me? Do you hate me Kakarot? Do I make your blood boil in disgust? Do I make you regret coming back?" Each question asked was punctuated with a blow to Goku's stomach.
"Go ahead, tell me you hate me, I know you do, I'm everything you detest so go on, tell me! Prove me right after all these years I've been withering and weak! SHOW ME THAT I SHOULD HAVE BEEN DEAD ALL THIS TIME!" Vegeta could feel Babidi fighting him for control of his body but nothing would stop him now that he had Kakarot where he wanted him.
Kakarot coughed up some blood and something else, something more solid than blood.
"I can't hate you Vegeta, never have and never will. I hate that you've been driven to these extremes to get what you want, but ultimately nothing you've done so far is irreparable. All you have to do is gather the Dragon Balls and it will be like today never happened. But if Majin Buu is released then whole universe will be doomed, Otherworld along with it. Everything will be destroyed and there's no coming back from that. Fight Babidi, regain your control, help me stop this before it's too late!" Goku implored.
"You really don't hate me?"
"Like I said Vegeta, I could never hate you."
"Fine, let's take care of this Majin Buu nonsense, it's not like you'll give me a proper fight if you're worrying about him. But after this we will fight and I will defeat you once and for all Kakarot." Vegeta coughed and he felt the plants grow again, faster than ever before. 'I've run out of time, I suppose some part of Babidi's magic did something to the flowers. I'll be lucky if I make it another hour much less long enough to fight Kakarot further. Maybe we'll meet in Otherworld.' Realizing how little time he had before the love disease took his life, Vegeta attacked Goku from behind, knocking him out when his guard was down.
"I hope I get a chance to explain myself to you, but if I don't, know that I've done this for you Kakarot."
Vegeta flew to where he felt Majin Buu's energy, finding his and Kakarot's sons minutes away from the monster.
"Trunks," he said as he landed, "I've never been the best father and I'm sorry you only knew me while I was sick, but know that I am and always have been proud of you. Take care of your mother and tell her I'm sorry that I'm not as graceful as I said I'd be." Before Trunks could respond Vegeta chopped his son's neck, knocking him out like he had Kakarot. He quickly did the same to Goten and passed both their bodies to Piccolo who had shown up moments after he rendered the children unconscious.
"Take them far away as quickly as you can."
"I won't pretend to understand you Vegeta, but if this is what you must do…"
"Kami's still a part of you right? Will I meet Kakarot in Otherworld?"
"I'll save you the platitudes, these last few years can't make up for a lifetime of evil and Goku dedicated his life to protecting those he loved. You'll likely be sent to hell as a formless spirit until you go through the soul cleanser and are reborn. Maybe in another life you'll meet Goku, but never again as you are."
"I'd say I could live with that but we both know I haven't much time left. Take care of the boys like you always have, they'll need a good role model with me and Kakarot gone and I'll be damned if anyone else tries."
"Goodbye Vegeta." With that Piccolo flew away with his charges, leaving Vegeta to whatever he planned to do against Majin Buu.
Vegeta turned to where he felt Majin Buu's energy come from and watched the bubblegum pink monster crest the final hill between them. He didn’t waste any of his fleeting time mocking the thing, merely powering up until he felt his body giving way to the energy he couldn't contain. 'Looks like I won't get a chance to explain to you Kakarot, but I love you and that will never change.' Vegeta got as close as he dared to Majin Buu and released all his stored energy in one final attack.
There was a moment of silence after Kid Buu stopped screaming. The massive energy of the Spirit Bomb and the dust dissipated and settled while everyone waited on bated breath. Nothing remained of Kid Buu. The eons old evil was dead.
"We did it." After the near deafening battle, the quiet admission of mixed disbelief and relief went almost unheard. Kakarot looked down at Vegeta's comment and rushed to him. Earth's savior wrapped his arms around Vegeta and lifted him up and spun around.
"We did it 'Geta!" Kakarot repeated, pulling him closer to his battered chest. Vegeta looked up only the have their lips meet. Vegeta froze. His perception of reality boiled down to this one moment. Finally, what he'd been dreaming and fantasizing of was actually happening. He could feel the stalks and roots shriveling and dying in his lungs. Vegeta pulled away as he and Kakarot started coughing up wilting flowers.
"They're gone. Vegeta, do you know what they were? I just started coughing up flowers after I died and now I just- hey, you coughed them up too. What's wrong with us? Were we sick?"
"Kakarot, how do you feel about me? Fully and truly, it's important."
"Not this again Vegeta, I already told you I forgive for everything you did while you were being controlled by Babadi. What does this have to do with the flowers? Why did we cough them out when we kissed?"
"I couldn't begin to tell you why our bodies do this, but for whatever reason our bodies collect and store pollen from the air we breath. Usually this doesn't matter and has no affect on a Saiyan's life, but on the off chance a Saiyan develops… feelings for someone and they aren't reciprocated, plants start growing from the pollen collected by our lungs. As the plants grow it gets harder and harder to breath until the Saiyan dies. The only way to reverse the growth is for the feelings to be returned or to have the flowers surgically removed, but that procedure often renders the patient incapable of feeling love afterwards."
"Love? You love me?"
"How could I not? You were the first person that ever treated me with an ounce of respect that wasn't from fear or misplaced loyalty. You spared my life when by all rights you should have been the first in line to want me dead. You always believed the best in me even when I showed you time and time again that you shouldn't have. You challenged me in ways I wasn't and couldn't have been challenged before. You've always been more than I ever could have asked for and it took losing you for me to see that. What could you have possibly seen in me for you to feel the same?"
"You also challenged me. You had me on my toes since the moment we met and every time after. You have effortless confidence in everything you do even when you know you're out matched. When you have a goal you don't let anything get in your way. I got to watch you grow from being so angry you killed your only ally to you sacrifice yourself in hopes to save those most important people to you and you've amazed and impressed me every step of the way. I love you Vegeta, I love you so much."