Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Chibi Kappa ❯ Chapter 5 ( Chapter 5 )

Disclaimer: Dragon Ball Z © Akira Toriyama; Chibi Kappa © Vegge's Mate

Warning: Violence and bad language.

Chapter 5

He couldn't understand it. He had always wanted to know more about his sire, to know his thoughts and feel his emotions hidden behind that impenetrable scowl and proud demeanor. Whenever he could, he would spy on him both mentally and physically as he conducted the affairs of a king. There were times where he was fortunate enough catch stray, unguarded thoughts; but such thoughts were never of any real consequence. His father was just never truly caught off guard, hardly ever enraged or emotional enough to be left bare.

Until that day Frieza came…

He had never felt such anger and hatred before in his young life. He never knew it could exist so potently, so terrifyingly. And at the moment he escaped to his room, he was shaken from head to toe at what he felt from his father.

The rage was just on the surface, he realized as the moments passed by. It consumed and obscured everything else. When he began to calm down the desire to know his father seized him. Never would he have gotten a chance to see inside that unreachable psyche. Never.

With great hesitation, though, he had focused his mind and delved into the maelstrom. He was shocked and shaken to the core of his being at what he discovered.

Fear.

Abject and unadulterated fear.

Instantly he pulled away, breaking out in a cold sweat as his mind was consumed with the remnants of what he saw. He could not understand it. Anguish, vulnerability, despair…all spectrums of one dreadful reality.

But this was his father! NOTHING frightened him! NOTHING could shake him!

He slammed against the wall as his breath was knocked out of him. He slumped to the floor, the vicious punch leaving a burning pain in his chest, and his troubled thoughts scrambled.

"Focus, Prince Vejiita!" Nappa yelled. "How many times do I have to tell you?!"

Coughing, the little boy got up, his glare never ceasing. "I-I am not…well today," he admitted, despite trying to seem tough. He was sick of the act. He was a mess and he needed to get out of here.

The huge giant gave him a once over. "You look well to me," he commented despite the cuts and bruises the boy wore like badges of honor.

Regardless of all his brutal behavior, Nappa was genuinely concerned for his prince. Of course no one would know that with how he treated the little boy. His actions, like most of those who understood the threat of Frieza, were in desperation rather than rationality. Their prince had to become strong and unfaltering or else the Saiya-jin race was doomed. And like those elite warriors who were privy with the king, he knew that if it were his fancy, Frieza would eradicate them all in a heartbeat despite their loyal service. Such a notion was hard to live with, and it brought some form of comfort to the tattered pride that their prince would one day rise up to destroy that threat.

There was no question or discrepancy about it, as far as Nappa was concerned, the prince needed to become stronger than all of them if he wished to fulfill the prophecy. Blood, tears, and broken bones were merely the roadmap.

"I'm fine in body but…"

"What is it?" The impatient response was typical.

Prince Vejiita just wanted to get away from everyone; to see his father as the stone fortress he was, to know the man was fearless, to see with his eyes what he hoped his mind belied. And dare he to hope…but to be forgiven…

"I need to see my father."

"He's in council."

"I don't care!" the young prince shouted suddenly, "I need to see him!"

Nappa crossed his arms, taking note of the anguish in the boy's voice. "Well then request an audience with him."

Suddenly the prince was afraid to reach out in mind speech. He did not know how his father would receive him. He had not spoken to him for two days since their fight.

"Well? What are you waiting for?"

It was no secret that parents and children had a telepathic connection. But it was also no secret how dishonorable the prince acted in Frieza's presence. It was one of the reasons why the king was in council. The other was in regards to his mother…

~***~

"Since when was the Queen put on trial?" Tamatasu no Ouhi demanded, crossing her arms as she glared at the twelve members of the High Council from her thrown. She wore a royal blue gown, the slit that went up her thigh exposed more of her leg since it rested across the other.

This was a closed-door session since delicate matters were being addressed.

"We are merely evaluating our circumstances," said one very brazen members by the name of Orach, "and it seems that you wish the Saiya-jin race to become extinct. What good is a weak prince who fawns over his mother?!"

'Don't react - he wants to rile you,' the king spoke softly in her mind, as he sat next her in his royal garb, armor and all, his stoic features unreadable.

"It is our job to be concerned with the affairs of the Royal House," another one spoke up with more respect than her counterpart, her name Lobelia. She glare at Orach, "but we are merely here to advise."

"Yes, and you do your job well Sage Lobelia," Vejiita no Ou spoke up with a dangerously soft inflection, his eyes closed as though in thought. "But Orach, you need to watch yourself. Do not think your seniority gives you leave to dishonor my mate…or my son. You may be allowed to speak freely, since it is important that we know what the concerns of the people are as well as your own, but these are trying times and we need not become enemies. We have one purpose. Let us not forget that."

"Your highness," Acanthus said, "but is it wise to continue his rearing so close to his mother? Such a thing was never heard of among the royal family."

"But never in our history have we had a queen so powerful a warrior and wise a monarch!" Elsholtzia said, "Her highness can surly teach the prince what others cannot."

The royal couple did not expect for the council to be divided on the issue. From the last meeting, it seemed all were in their own way against the Queen's influence on their prince. Now it appeared that some had doubts of their earlier views. Why?

As members of the council spoke up in an attempt to have their views heard, voices rose, offensively cutting off their counterparts. Soon the room filled with insulting argumentation.

'This is ridiculous!' the queen spoke telepathically to her mate.

'We must let them have their say.' The king allowed for a hearty yawn and an obnoxious stretch as he sloughed in his thrown, placing his chin in his palm. Bored eyes surveyed the ruckus.

'Do wake me when you are quite finished,' the king spoke gruffly in the minds of the council.

All eyes widened and cheeks flushed.

'That, my dear, was for you.'

'You always know how to knock them down a peg or two.'

They chuckled mentally.

"Sire, forgive us."

"I just want order -" Vejiita Ou abruptly stopped as he felt the tentative call from his son. There were no words, just a feeling of longing. He closed his eyes for a moment, wanting more than anything to reach out. He had not spoken to his son for two days, even though he promised his mate that he would talk to him. He just did not know what he should reveal and what he should conceal.

He wanted to let the boy know that he was not pleased with him by being aloof and not even uttering a word to him while they dinned. He purposely sent Nappa to train him instead of himself for that reason.

But now, to feel his son long for him…it just…

"This meeting is over!"

Exclamations of protest arose but the king paid no heed as he got up and walked the long stretch of the read carpet towards the huge double doors, his queen in toe.

~***~

The prince stood in the training room unmoving as he fretted internally over how to call out to his father, unconsciously doing so just by focusing on him.

"Prince Vejiita," Nappa said after just hearing the command in his mind. As he got the boy's attention, he continued, "The Saiya-jin no Ou summons you."

His wide-eyed expression could not be helped, neither could the burst of anxiety that sent ki blasts ricocheting off the walls of his stomach. In an attempt of regality, he promptly left the huge dome arena. However, within the corridors of the more residential area of the palace, his stride became slower. Once he got to his family's private chambers from where he sensed both parents, he fearfully walked towards the study.

"Please," he heard his mother's voice, "let him understand. He feels horrible for what he did."

"Do not worry yourself, aisai," his father spoke gently, the tender tone was foreign to the prince and he could not understand it.

From hiding just shy of the doorway, the prince saw what he would never have believed possible. The king, his father, held his mother by her waist with his tail. Hers was intertwining his as his hand gently caressed her cheek. Their eyes were locked in a lover's gaze and mere seconds later his lips were upon hers, softly yet devouring as though he was hungry for her.

What were they doing? And why did he feel as though he was spying on something sacred?

Her arms wrapped around his neck as she whispered to him things too unintelligible to make sense of. The king nodded his head and kissed her again. But it was quick. She released him and their tails parted.

The queen turned towards the door only to start as she saw her baby. He was frozen but not because of her; his father's fierce look was the culprit.

His mother came to him and caressed his cheek. "I will see you later, aisoku."

He nodded his head, glad for an excuse to look away from his father. He was not happy, though as she closed the door behind her.

With hesitancy he looked at his father again, the man still scowling. Such an expression was common but with his recent anxieties, the little prince felt himself shrinking inside.

How could he have acted that way towards his sire? What gave him the courage to be so brazen? He put his head down as his shame consumed him. But even more, was his vulnerability and need for forgiveness.

Suddenly he ran to the king. He wanted to hug his legs as he did when he was a toddler but instead abruptly stopped, got down on one knee before him, his head bowed, and his fist to his heart, as he had seen many warriors do, before their king and queen.

"Father," he spoke in a harsh whisper, "Please forgive me!"

Taken aback, Vejiita Ou just stared at his son. Never was there a need for apologies from the boy so this was startling. Snapping out of his stupor when he was assaulted with what Chibi Kappa was feeling, he got down on one knee and cupped the small, flushed face. The little chin quivered and those innocent eyes glistened.

How could he part with such a precious gift? How could any father?

Without preamble, he drew him up in his arms.

The shock quickly melted away into relief as his little hands clinched his father's cape, trembling with the need to suppress his tears.

"You are worth more than the trouble you cause, boy…so much more."

The soft gasp was his only response. He was stunned. Never had he heard such words from his sire before. Did this mean his father was no long angry with him?

A moment passed, and the king tried to pull away but his son wouldn't budge.

"Don't father!" he whispered, "please, just this once…"

"Your mother has truly influenced you," he remarked, but giving in to the sweet request as he held him tighter.

Infinite minutes passed as the little prince fell into the comfortable feeling he never believed he could share with his father. The king likewise was overcome by what he felt from his little boy. It was such a crime to deny them this happiness. He reveled in it nonetheless as he brushed his gloved hand through the boy's soft hair.

"Father, I beg you," was the meekest voice he had ever heard, "you mustn't send me away. I'll be good, I promise. I'll take my studies seriously and I'll train even harder. I swear to you! I'll be perfect and you won't ever have to be angry with me again."

Was his father trembling? The growl that ensued was confusing, until he looked up to see his father's flushed face as though he was struggling to control himself.

"Forgive me, father," the boy desperately implored, "Please…don't be angry with me."

The bereavement he felt at being dashed to the floor was excruciating. His father stood with his back to him.

Vejiita Ou could not get a reign on himself quick enough. He crossed his arms viciously, his taut muscles bulging with the strain to hold it together. He thought he hated Frieza two days ago… Was this how it felt to die inside? He believed he was. As the days went by like the ticking of a clock, soon his time would be up and Chibi Kappa would be gone. How could he bear it?

"Father…? I'm…I'm sorry. Please…"

Such innocence…was to be taken away from him. And then it would not exist again. Frieza had a penchant for destroying innocence. He knew. The monster loved humiliating him and his people. That incarnation of evil enjoyed the look of ire on the sovereign's face every time he mention taking his boy and broadening his mind and body, shaping him into a fierce warrior who has no weaknesses.

No weaknesses?

What being has no weakness but one who has nothing to live for?

How could he live with himself after that? After he had taken away his son's pride, honor and…innocence?

"Father…?"

He almost started at the closeness of his son's voice. When he felt the hesitant hand touch his arm, he made up him mind then.

As his father faced him, the cold detached air that became him was not to be seen.

"F-fa-ther," his voice trembled as the man got down on one knee, his strong hands resting on the prince's shoulders.

"My son, there are some things I must tell you."

The young prince nodded his head, thirsting to understand.

"Remember when we were at the observatory and you watched space pods launch with the infants in them to go off to distant planets…?"

"Yes, you told me proudly that one day I would own all that I saw."

"Yes, and you will. But my speech that day was not all that it seemed. Many things about our people have changed in the recent decades, most of which you will not be taught of by Lotsun or any tutor you might have. The education of our youth does not include much of our proud heritage as it used to. Frieza wishes for all Saiya-jin children to have only loyalty to him, the infants sent off world right after birth as well as higher class brats raised in the barracks. So their education is strictly regarding battle and bloodlust. But how can we harvest that without honor and pride to give it meaning?

"It never used to be like this, son. Things are much different from what they used to be since Vejiita no Ou VIII made an alliance with the Kold Empire. It used to be that a few Saiya-jin would enlist in Frieza's army to carry out purge missions or battle the more stronger, more resistant races.

"As time advanced, Frieza became more demanding of us as he began to unlock safely-guarded secrets of our race. He wanted more power and domination quickly and saw that our attachment towards our young was holding him back. With new technology called the incupod, pregnant women had their babies removed from their wombs. In this way, the unborn child would not develop any attachment towards his mother, and the mother would not have any attachment to the child. An added bonus was that she would go back into service sooner.

"With the severance of mother and child it became easier for children to go into the barracks for training at an earlier age. Soon children battled amongst adults, were enlisted into Frieza's army before they reached their early teens, and began to purge whole planets. Who ever heard of such a thing?"

The prince rested his hands on his father's as the man's voice rose. His sire struggled to keep his emotions suppressed.

"But nothing is ever enough for that abomination," he spat, "Two years ago he demanded more, finding out that our infants are stronger than most. He had once believed that infants were as weak as Ice-jin infants and that it took time for their ki to develop. He did not know infants' ki were almost as strong as the mothers'. Because of this he did not even wait for them to reach their sixth year to be put in the barracks, rather just put them in a space pods two weeks after birth and ship them off to a far away planet.

"Does that sound rational?"

"No, father… I did not understand when you mentioned it that day at lunch, and when you explained to me as we watched the departures from the observatory."

"Yes, well such things are difficult to explain when they disgust and repulse you, not to mention the complete illogicalness of it. But then again, I was never one to be cold-hearted or ever treated our race like killing machines without heart and soul."

The king released his son and stood up. He walked over to the very elegant navy blue couch situated in front of the fire place and sat down, crossing his legs. His son followed and sat next to him.

The elder monarch watched at the crackling fired. It was colder around this time of year, though not much for their usually arid planet. And although the palace was regulated to comfort, the king enjoyed the heat that can only come from fire. It reminded him of the time he spent with his mother's tribe in his youth in the western jungle at firelight.

He hoped he would be able to take his son there sometime. He hadn't yet because the boy's training was too important to shirk; and with the way he had been training him thus far, he feared it would not benefit him.

'Perhaps, though…perhaps that might change.'

"Vegeta no Ou X would not allow," the king continued, "for his son to be taken from his mate's womb and placed in the incupod. Since he was his future heir he did not want him to be vulnerable to sabotage or tamper. Then it was made law that none of those from the royal family would be born with the incupod."

"So mother was allowed to keep me?"

The king smirked, his gaze not leaving the fireplace. "Yes, she was…but it never used to be this way. Our people had pride and principles. Family meant something to us, the bonds we shared… We thrived on battle and in many ways we are superior to other races. We are legendary warriors. There aren't any races in existence who share our thirst for battle, our pride in might, in strength, determination, none who strive with vigor to conquer our weaknesses or make them our strength. Battle meant something to us, the challenge, the thrill. Where is the honor in bloodshed? There is none. Frieza has no honor. He will try to make you like him, strip you of your pride-

The thought made his throat burn, but he pressed on.

"Pride is in the heart of a warrior for what he stands for, for the bonds he shares with his kinsmen and that of his mate. Pride is the bloodlust that consumes us at the light of the full moon, during the hunt, or during battle. It is our heritage, of where we com from, who we are, and what we will become.

"Pride is our way to attain greatness and the legacy we leave behind. Pride is not loosing ourselves in our ambitions that we became depraved and dishonorable…"

The king's head bowed as he tried to compose himself, his crossed arms at his chest moving to cover his stomach, as though pain came from his gut, though his back was stiff.

"Father…?" The prince looked at his sire anxiously and fearfully. His father never lost his composure or ever looked any way but regale.

"I would never willingly give you away, least of all to that ignominious, vile feign but my back is against the wall. I have duties towards not only you and my mate but towards our people. Frieza wishes to test my loyalty and this is one way to do so. He finds it simply amusing to play with our lives. But I think he is also interested in having your complete loyalty. He knows Saiya-jin monarchs well. We are very untrusting…especially to sick fucks like him."

He balled his fist, in an attempt to stop hugging himself. He released his hands altogether and stood up, placing them on his hips.

"Your mother and I care for you deeply and only want the best for you. It has been difficult to decide which way would be best for that. Your mother wishes to show you affection unbounded. She believes it is necessary for you, for what you will have to face in the future. And in some ways, I believe she is right. But I have not taken this course. Instead I have done the opposite and acted towards you as my father has acted towards me, and his father has acted towards him… It is tradition for monarchs to be detached towards their children, and to only train them in the art of battle and in their role as sovereigns.

"I made a promise to her in your regard, though, to tell you what you need to know and not be so…aloof," Vegeta Ou paused. He hated these emotions he let himself feel. It was not so much that he thought they were weaknesses; that was far from it. It was only that when he did, he would become consumed by them and the last thing he wanted was to be stripped in front of his own son.

He turned towards the little boy and got on his knees before him. "I am nothing if I am not a man of my word. I will honor your mother's request because I see the necessity of it and the truth she rendered."

"Father, what…?"

"I don't want to give you away, boy. Why would I when you are such an excellent sparring partner?"

"R-really?" the prince broke out in a disbelieving smile.

"Yes, a very formidable warrior. You'd probably give Frieza's men hell. In fact, I demand it."

The little boy laughed, his sire smirking devilishly.

~~<@>~~

Japanese Translated:

Aisai: beloved wife

Aisoku: beloved son; cute boy

Chibi: little, small

Kappa: water demon

Onna: woman

Ou: king

Ouhi: queen

Ouji: prince

Names:

Acanthus: Any plant of the genus Acanthus having large spiny leaves and spikes or white or purplish flowers; native to Mediterranean region but widely cultivated

Elsholtzia: Any of various aromatic herbs of the genus Elsholtzia having blue or purple flowers in one-sided spikes

Lobelia: Any plant or flower of the genus Lobelia

Orach: Any of various herbaceous plants of the genus Atriplex that thrive in deserts and salt marshes