Daddy's Princess

Chapter 4: Goten Has No Idea

" I love you," a husky voice whispered, undeniably belonging to a man. Bulla shyly brought her hand up to hide her giddy smile. The curtains in the room were closed, barely any light filtered in through the cracks, and it was difficult for the human eye to clearly distinguish the two figures laying entangled together on the bed, covered by a white silk sheet. Just who exactly was that man in the bed with her, Bulla didn't know.

Well, Bulla assumed that her dream self knew the man on the bed ( she wasn't the type who'd hop into bed with a random stranger), but she didn't know him. She didn't know his voice, that gleaming white smile, the soft wisps of hair on his chin and jawline. The way he gently kissed her shoulder and trailed his rather rough fingers across her skin felt foreign, but wonderful. Oh, how Bulla wished she knew this man!

Desire warmed her blood. She didn't say those three little words back to him, but he gladly parted his lips and accepted her aggressive kiss. In waking life, Bulla felt herself blush and her heart race as dream Bulla and the mysterious man descended beneath the silk sheets. Before the dream came to an unwanted end, Bulla glimpsed the foggy surface of the vanity mirror across the room, and the smiley face drawn on the corner of its surface.

Bulla felt as if someone was tickling her all over when she woke up from the recurring dream. She hugged her pillow tightly and rolled back and forth on the bed, giggling like a little girl. It was the third night in a row she had the same dream, and Bulla wasn't complaining. It did, however, leave her feeling a little depressed and lonely through out the day. She'd never had a boyfriend before, and wasn't about to hear some cute guy say he loved her anytime soon.

"I must be watching too many romantic TV shows," she reasoned, pushing the dream to the back of her mind. Groaning, she slipped out of bed, shuffled across the room to her closet where she took out her school uniform, and snagged a fresh pair of clean underwear from her dresser drawer before heading into the shower.

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Bulma and Trunks were rushing around the kitchen when Bulla came downstairs for breakfast. Hundreds of papers with condensed text, charts and graphs that meant nothing to Bulla, but everything to Trunks, were scattered across the dining table and kitchen counters. Bulla gently lifted a stack of papers from one of the chairs and moved it to the table before sitting down.

"Don't touch anything!" Trunks snapped, abruptly stopping in front of the coffee pot. His suit jacket was missing, some of the buttons on his shirt were buttoned wrong, and his tie draped loosely over his neck like a scarf. Most noticeably, he had dark circles under his eyes and carried the strong scent of coffee. " Mom! Have you seen my glasses? They're not by the sink where I left them!"

Bulma's heels clanked against the hard floor as she rushed from one side of the room to the next, gathering certain papers and stapling them together. She didn't look up from what she was doing. "They're in the front pocket of your jacket, sweetie."

Trunks scratched his head and surveyed the room. Bulla glanced around, too.

His suit jacket wasn't in sight.

"I'm...going to eat breakfast at school today." Bulla slowly got up from her chair, careful not to disturb any of the papers, and threw her leather backpack over one shoulder. For once, she was grateful that their father had chosen to meddle in her life and insist she follow in his footsteps and train like a maniac. If being the CEO of Capsule Corp meant waking up to the aftermath of a tornado hitting a filing cabinet every morning, then no thank you.

"Have a good day," Bulma said, stopping to kiss her daughter on the forehead on her way to a stack of papers at the table." We need the car today. You can use the bike, the jet, or any of the vehicles in your dino caps pack. I know you only have your driver's permit and not an actual driver's license, but if you get stopped for some reason, just remember to cry. Traffic cops almost never give pretty girls who cry a ticket. It always worked for me."

Bulla smiled." Thanks, but the weather is so nice out. I think i'll walk to school today."

She had studied too hard and put in too many grueling hours into passing her driver's test, and she wasn't about to do anything stupid - like, driving without an licensed adult's supervision- to jeopardize her chances of getting her driver's license ( which would officially come in the mail a few months after her birthday).

Trunks looked over his shoulder at her, and smiled. " You know, you could always fly to school if you wanted."

Bulla stared intently at the shiny linoleum floor. Her faint reflection stared back. Of course Trunks would bring up the subject of flying, knowing full well why she chose not to fly. Ever.

"Um, bye," Bulla muttered, quickly shuffling out of the room, then straight up bolting down the hall once she was out of sight. She was nowhere near as fast as the other half-Saiyans in her family, who ran like vampires at a blurry speed the human eye couldn't detect, but Trunks insisted she could be as fast as them if she wanted. She just needed to apply herself.

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West City Arts, a private school for children from wealthy families and/or celebrities, was located a little ways outside West City, and sat ominously at the base of King Furry's Valley Mountain. With its pointed castle-like roofs and acres of blood red maple trees lined along both sides of the road leading up to the school, it had acquired the nickname "Dracula's Castle" from the kids at other schools. It was rumored to be haunted, but Bulla had never come across anything paranormal in the few months she's attended the school.

Bulla stopped running when she came to the road of blood red trees. She didn't want to appear like a total nerd who couldn't wait to sit through chemistry lectures to anyone who happened to spare her a glance through their car's black tinted windows. No, she would walk. Walking meant it would take her forty minutes to reach the school, with zero time for breakfast, but at least she wouldn't stick out ( kind of a hard thing to do for a girl with blue hair).

"What? NO BREAKFAST?" Her stomach seemed to cry as it cramped and twisted into knots, rejecting that idea wholeheartedly.

Bulla winced, reaching out for the trunk of the nearest red maple tree to steady herself. The pain was worse than menstrual cramps. For several minutes she didn't dare move. "Uhh, it hurts! I seriously regret not stopping for a quick bite to eat at Taco Hell. I'm so hungry I can eat out of a trash can. " Bulla's legs buckled as the hunger pains got worse. No, she definitely wasn't going to make it to lunch. Maybe flying wasn't such a bad idea after all...

A black car passing by suddenly came to a screeching halt. Bulla momentarily forgot her hunger pains as she watched the car make a U-turn and double back to where she was leaning against the tree. The windows were too dark for her to see inside.

"Can I give you a ride to school?"

A girl wearing an identical uniform to Bulla's stepped out of the backseat of her car. She had black hair cut into a bob, deathly pale skin, and although her skirt and blouse was the same as Bulla's, the color wasn't. It was against the school's rules to alter the uniform, but the girl had dyed her pink skirt a deep black, leaving the blouse white. Had Bulla seen this girl around school before?

"Thanks, I would love a ride."

The girl motioned for Bulla to follow her into the backseat. Bulla had barely just shut the door when the driver took off, making another U-turn in the direction of the school.

"You really saved me back there. I didn't think I was going to make it," Bulla laughed. To the girl, it must've looked like she was on the verge of collapsing from exhaustion instead of hunger. Bulla's face started to turn red with embarrassment. She stuck out her hand." I'm Bulla, by the way."

The girl's emotionless black eyes pointed down at Bulla's hand, arching a brow at the gesture. " I know who you are."

Bulla dropped her hand into her lap. 'She's knows who I am? Oh, boy. It's going to get super awkward when I ask who she is.'

The girl crossed one leg over her knee and shifted her body so she could lean against the door and stare out the window." Capsule Corporation must be doing worse than I thought if they can't even provide transportation to their young heiress."

The driver, a man old enough to be Bulla's great-great-great-grandfather, with eyes so small it looked like he was driving with them closed, snorted." What did they expect would happen after hiring an inexperienced, young boy as their CEO? It wont be long now before the company goes belly up. We really should've left the girl where she was, maybe it would've knocked some sense into that family if she'd come home with blood blisters all over her feet."

Bulla didn't appreciate being talked about as if she wasn't in the car with them. She really didn't appreciate the way they were talking about Trunks. They had no idea how hard he was trying, how exhausted he looked everyday. She wasn't about to sit quietly while a couple of snobs talked badly about her brother right in front of her face!

"I don't know who you think you are, but you obviously don't know who I am. How dare you talk about my brother like that!" Bulla felt her long hair whip around as her ki started to boil to life with her anger. Her arms trembled as she struggled to resist blowing everyone in the car to bits. Her father would be proud of her, but her mother and Trunks would be horrified if she killed those humans. Bulla directed her anger away from the two humans and kicked the top of the passenger seat, knocking it clean off and shooting it straight through the roof. In the mirror, the driver's saggy face lifted with shock, his eyes becoming larger, more fearful.

Bulla crossed her arms and patiently waited for the car to stop. The two humans would either run out of the car screaming, or they would angrily demand she get out of the car. She hoped for the latter. There was already dozens of cars driving behind them, how would she explain herself if those two ran out of the car screaming? That a bee flew in through the hole in the roof? A hole she didn't have any part in creating?

The girl burst into a fit of laughter, infuriating Bulla even more.

"Am I a joke to you?" Bulla growled.

"No, no," The girl gasped between breaths. She was laughing so hard that tears sprung from her eyes and she had one arm wrapped across her stomach. She pointed at the driver." It's Grandpa! Oh my god, his face! I wish Grandpa could've seen his face! He looked so scared, haha!"

The girl's grandfather's face was still contorted. His eyes were so small that it looked as if he was sleeping earlier. Now, his eyes were as large as an owl's, and his hands were shaking so badly that he couldn't drive straight. The fact that he was keeping most of his attention on the scary blue-haired girl they'd picked up instead of focusing on the road didn't help. Bulla's nose wrinkled as she caught a whiff of an unpleasant scent. The poor guy had also peed his pants.

"You can drop me off here," Bulla said, feeling a little sorry for the grandfather.

The girl stopped laughing. "Are you sure you want to walk? If this is about what happened, don't worry about it. Grandpa will have the roof fixed by the time he comes to pick us up."

Bulla put her hand on the door's handle. She narrowed her eyes at the girl." What makes you think I want to ride home with you after what you said about my brother and our company? I'd prefer to walk barefoot through fresh horse poop then get into a car with you again."

The girl smiled." I like you, Bulla Briefs. I like that you're not afraid to say what you're thinking." She turned in her seat and bowed." I'm sorry about what my grandfather and I said about your brother and your company. I hope you'll forgive me. And I hope..." She lifted her head." I hope you will be my friend, or at least sit with me at lunch."

Bulla's stomach squeaked at the mention of lunch. They were already halfway to the school. Bulla would have just enough time to eat breakfast once she got there, so the morning wasn't completely devastating.

The car pulled to the side of the road, and Bulla hesitated before getting out. "Fine, i'll have lunch with you. But if you talk badly about my brother or anyone else in my family, it won't be the back of a chair I'll kick. It'll be the back of your head."

The girl gulped, then nodded.

'Such a strange way to make friends,' Bulla thought as she got out of the car. She hadn't expected to make any friends at West City Arts, and certainly didn't expect it to happen this way. Of course, the only real friends she's had were family friends, like the Sons and Chestnuts (Krillin's family).

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By the time lunch came, Bulla had already hacked into the school's system and had done a quick Google search on the girl, digging up as much information she could so she'd know what she was getting into.

The girl's name was Lima Bens, daughter of a fashion designer well known for designing costumes for popular fantasy films . Sixteen years old. Sophomore at West City Arts. Only child. Allergic to cats. Most importantly, her family didn't have any business affiliation with Capsule Corp, so there wouldn't be any uncomfortable business favors from one friend to another.

Bulla felt confident as she strode into the cafeteria at lunch time, easily spotting Lima's black skirt out of all the pink and white uniforms. She'd pegged Lima as a loner desperate for a friend, and wasn't expecting to be met with the curious gazes of two guys and one other girl, whom was the most popular girl at school, actually. The famous teen pop star, Filet.

Lima pulled out the empty chair beside her, and Bulla hesitantly sat down.

"Guys, this is Bulla, the girl I was telling you about this morning." Lima pointed to the boy with messy blond hair and a sweet smile." Bulla, that's my boyfriend, Peanut."

Peanut gently waved his hand." Hi."

Lima pointed to the boy sitting next to Filet. He had a strong chin, broad shoulders, warm brown eyes that matched his hair, and heart-melting dimples. He was the school's treasured wrestling player, and looked great in the teams singlet uniform.

"Hi, I'm Almond, but everyone calls me Al. My family supplies different materials to Capsule Corp." Al stuck out his hand, and Bulla a little too eagerly shook it.

"My brother handles all the business stuff," Bulla explained, giving her most friendliest smile." But it's nice to meet you, Al."

Al dipped his head." Likewise."

"The one texting on her phone and giving everyone the stink eye is Filet," Lima continued." She's a total bitch and the reason why everyone has to wear pink and white uniforms instead of the traditional black. The only reason she's sitting with us is because she's dating my childhood BFF."

Filet looked up from her phone and gave Lima the middle finger. It made sense that Almond, the most beautiful boy at the school, was dating the most beautiful girl. Filet had long bright green hair, perfect makeup, smooth skin, and a womanly body. Her voice was bitchy and filled with attitude when she talked, but Bulla could listen to it all day. Filet was one of her favorite singers.

Filet looked Bulla up and down disapprovingly, like Lima had just brought in a soggy blue dog to sit at the table with them.

"Hey, doesn't your boyfriend drive that rusted white car? You know, that guy that picked you up a few days ago. He's that famous martial artist's son and always hangs out with Trunks at parties, what was his name again?"

"Um..." Goten was famous? Since when? That was news to Bulla." Are you talking about Goten?"

Peanut's eyes enlarged." YOU'RE dating your brother's best friend? How did a guy like that score a hot girl like you? I must know his secret!"

Lima elbowed her boyfriend - hard- in the ribs, and reminded him that he already had a hot girlfriend sitting right beside him. He put his arm around her and pulled her in close. Al did the same thing with Filet.

'They're so lovey-dovey it's sickening.' Bulla internally groaned. This was exactly why she had left Orange Star High School, because Pan had ditched her for a boyfriend and she didn't want to be the third wheel. It looked as if she was destined to be a third wheel no matter where she went.

"Yeah, Goten is my boyfriend." Bulla lied." We're keeping it a secret until I graduate, so my brother and parents don't know." Bulla nervously laughed, adding."He texts me all the time. We're soooo in love."

Everyone had boyfriends, and Bulla couldn't outright say that Goten was her martial arts teacher preparing her to annihilate alien threats that may never invade the planet. That sounded too crazy. Of course, if they knew her, claiming that Goten was her boyfriend sounded even crazier.

What harm would it do if she pretended Goten was her boyfriend for a little while?

Vegeta and Bulla reunite in chapter 6, so sit tight. ;)