Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ RipTide ❯ 3 ( Chapter 3 )

Chapter 3

After putting Vitani to bed, she decided to explore the palace a bit before heading back to her room. There was so much to do. Maybe if she were lucky, the king and queen would let her work in their technical labs. Her mind boggled with all kinds of ideas, especially with all the easy access to metals and parts from the palace; as opposed to digging through scrap metal yards back in the city. She quickly turned to a corner and froze in her place. The Crown Prince was standing in front of one of the large palace windows, gazing outside. He was alone. That last part appealed to her, but she mentally slapped herself for such an idea. She leaned against the wall, watching him.

Suddenly, without looking around, Adrian smiled. "Finally got rid of the Spawn of Satan, huh?" he smirked. Hitomi gave a light scoff, smiling. Then he turned his head to look at her, and his brooding obsidian eyes caught Hitomi directly in hers. "C'mere and check this out. You can see the moon shining on the city really well tonight."
Hitomi looked uncertain of him at first, but then slowly walked up to him, turning to the window, she gazed at the city, lit by the half moon. Her eyes lit up and a smile curled her lips, "It's beautiful."
Adrian merely smiled and said nothing in reply. "So what do you think about life here so far?" he asked quietly after a minute. Hitomi continued to gaze at the moonlit city, "Awkward because I've never lived in a palace and never babysat a princess." She smiled, "Though, the princess is very well-behaved and easy to get along with."

"Oh yeah, she's a real angel," the prince replied in a venomous, sarcastic tone. Hitomi noticed that he had stiffened, and his whole demeanor changed after the praise of his sister.
"The two of you don't get along," it seemed more like a statement than a question.
"No, we don't," Adrian replied softly. "And I don't want to talk about it."
"I wasn't going to," Hitomi replied, understanding. "So, is this what the Crown Prince does on his nights alone?" She wasn't used to having a conversation with a boy, she was too used to avoiding their grabbing hands or just knocking them senseless. But she always managed to handle herself well in a tight situation.
"Sometimes," Adrian said with a smile. He felt the burning sensation ease out of his mind. "Other times I like to head out to the city. My mother doesn't mind me leaving, as long as I come home without any weird symptoms." He grinned. "What would you prefer to be doing?"
Hitomi gave a light scoff, "Working on my inventions. My father actually bribed me into doing this."
"Oh." Adrian didn't quite know how to answer this statement. Finally, he said, "I've never really been good with machinery. Mischief and prank inventions are more my line." Hitomi couldn't help but smile, "Oh yes, I've heard many tales of your pranks. In fact, I remember a line of stink bombs were triggered in one of the barracks for Young Elite. I hear they burned it down because they couldn't get the smell out." That was a funny moment in time, her father came barging into the house, ranting about it last week.
Adrian's grin broadened, and it was apparent that he was proud of his achievements. "I like to have fun," he shrugged lightly. Then he snickered suddenly. "Gohan says that whenever I say that, his tail gets all bushy."
"So he would be the voice of reason between the two of you?" Hitomi turned to him.
"He would say that he is," Adrian said, glancing at her with a smirk. "But no one can resist anything I have to offer."
It was now Hitomi's turn to smirk, "Is that so? And what, pray tell, would you offer a person that they just couldn't refuse?" She looked him dead in the eyes, not even wondering why she was acting so strangely. The moonlight began to shine slightly on the two.
Adrian replied coolly, meeting her eyes with his own intense gaze. "A challenge."
Her smirk deepened, "What kind of challenge?"
"Well," he said softly, "you'll just have to find out, won't you?" Hitomi gave Adrian a cocky, almost flirty, smirk and replied, "I look forward to it."

~*~
The next few days got easier as Hitomi became even more familiar with her surroundings and duties. But on the fifth day of her new job, Vaya met her in the halls as she was walking with Vitani to the courtyards.
"Mommy!" Vitani cried, jumping into her mother's arms.
"Good afternoon, your Highness," Hitomi said with a smile.
"Good morning, Hitomi," Vaya replied warmly. "I'm glad to see that things are going so well with you and Vitani."
"Vitani's a well-behaved princess," Hitomi said.
"Yeah, and I love Hitomi! I want her to be my big sister! We can get rid of Adrian," Vitani said, making a face.
Vaya smiled with a dismissive shake of her head, and turned her attention back to Hitomi. "Well, I came to tell you that we're going to give you the night off."
"What?" Hitomi asked in surprise.
"What?" Vitani echoed.
Vaya squeezed her daughter. "I thought you would like to spend some time with Daddy and I tonight, Tiny. Is that okay?"
"YAY!" Vitani squealed, forgetting Hitomi for the moment and hugging her mother tightly.
"Is that all right with you, Hitomi?" Vaya asked the teenage girl.
Hitomi was surprised, but she shrugged and nodded. "Well, yeah, I guess. Thanks."
"My pleasure. And I think my son already has an idea to entertain you...he wanted you to go to his room so he and Gohan could tell you about it."

~*~
Needless to say, Hitomi was surprised by the prince's invite, but decided to check it out anyway. She would've had her suspicions were it any other guy, but the prince was so different from them. She smiled, recalling their conversation that one night. She eventually reached his door and pressed the comm.
"Your highness, I was told by the queen that you wished to see me."
"Yeah, Hitomi, come on in," came the reply.
As soon as Hitomi opened the door, she was hit with a blast of loud pounding music. It must not have affected the sensitive ears of Gohan and Adrian, because they were running around the prince's bedroom like chickens with their heads cut off, bumping into each other and flinging clothes. Gohan seemed to be searching for a shoe, while Adrian was looking for a shirt. Hitomi came to this conclusion based on the fact that they were lacking these two items. She couldn't help but giggle and walked over to the booming stereo, finding the "mute" button and pressing it.
"Was this what you invited me over for?"
"No. Actually, we -- mmrph," Adrian started until Gohan chucked a black shirt at him, catching him around the face. Apparently, Adrian preferred casual clothes to formal ones, because he had abandoned his usual black spandex with red and gold armor, for an all black outfit of jeans, socks, sneakers, and his newfound shirt.
"We wanted to know if you wanted to come with us tonight," Gohan finished for his friend, hopping around in circles as he tried to put on his other shoe, which was under the bed.
Hitomi gave the prince a funny look, "Tonight? Where?"
"To the Dragon's Lair," Adrian replied in a muffled voice, pulling the T-shirt on over his head.
"The most popular nightclub in the city," Gohan grinned. "Wanna be our date?" he joked.
Adrian gave Hitomi a smirk. "C'mon, it'll be fun, I promise." Hitomi had an untrusting look on her face. She had heard about the Dragon's Lair. Heck, everyone had. That's what made her hold such a tense look on her face. It was well known for its loud music, good food, nightly club fights, and unruly men. She had been to the club once and had regretted it ever since. Some guy had come up to her, trying to hook up. She had turned him down and in turn, got stubbornness. He continued to flirt and try to convince her to go home with him, up to a point where she was fighting to get him off of her. She was thankful that her ki was higher. But not all women were lucky. The men at the Dragon's Lair were full of elite as well. Especially, the horny kind. What would she do if she came across one of them?
"I don't know."
Gohan shrugged indifferently and dropped onto the bed to tie his sneaker. But Adrian was gazing steadily at her, almost as if he was sensing her thoughts. Then he gave her a small, but genuine smile.
"Come on," he said softly. "I'll take care of you."
Hitomi looked at him with a mildly surprised expression. She paused for a few seconds, "All right."

~*~
The boys gave Hitomi time to get ready, and she eventually came out dressed in some black knee-length boots and a long black jacket covering her clothing underneath. Then they headed by air to the club.

~*~
The Dragon's Lair was shaped like a huge cave, but the entrance resembled an open dragon's mouth. Once inside, the music became louder and pounded the floor to the ceiling. The floor was green marble, and there were several levels. The upper levels were for tables, and were only about an aisle wide, running around the walls of the room in a circular fashion. There was a stage and a DJ, and behind the stage were stairs leading back up to private rooms. Dragon murals covered the walls, and exotic plants were everywhere. The place was already crowded with people, most of whom were on the dance floor. As soon as the group of three teenagers entered, half the people waved and cheered for Adrian and Gohan. Adrian, unlike his father, did not wish to be treated like royalty outside of duties.
"Now, if you get tired or you just need a break, the Royal Suite in the back belongs to me," Adrian explained to Hitomi on the way in. "Just tell them who you are, the guards should let you back. And if you have any problems, you just tell me. Unless, of course, you think you can handle it," he added with a smirk.
Hitomi came back with a smirk of her own, "Oh, I can handle it. Or do you doubt my capabilities, your highness?" And with that she took off her coat, dressed in a short black, form-fitting dress with long sleeves that flared out at the elbows. The neckline was slightly low and she wore a necklace with a lacy gold choker around her neck. She gave Adrian and Gohan another smirk and then walked off into the club. She wasn't going to let the prince think she needed babysitting. Hitomi might've preferred inventing to fighting, but like all saiiyans, her blood raced at the mere thought of a challenge.
Adrian nodded, then flicked his head at Gohan, and the two of them walked into the crowd.
"You think she'll have problems?" Gohan asked.
Adrian shrugged. "All I can say is that the Elite better watch themselves."
Gohan grinned. "I think somebody's getting protective."
Adrian elbowed his friend, but grinned back. "You know me," he said sarcastically.

~*~
Hitomi had only been to a club a few times and really didn't know what to do here, so she merely walked around, earning the stare of every available male she passed. A group of five guys were watching her very intently as they leaned against the wall, muttering inaudible things to each other. She eventually walked up to the bartender's table to order something to drink. As she did, two of the guys got up and approached her from behind.

~*~
"Wow, you're Prince Adrian, aren't you?" said a slender black-haired Saiyan female, coming up to Adrian and staring at him admiringly. Her friend accompanied her: a girl with short red-brown hair.
Adrian gave a small half-smile that he had picked up from his mother. "Yeah, that's me. And this is my best buddy, Gohan."
"Cool," the redhead giggled. "Wanna hang out with us?" She latched herself onto Gohan's arm, while the first girl rubbed against Adrian.
Adrian and Gohan raised their eyebrows. "Sure."

~*~
"Aw, come on baby," one of the guys said as the two of them sat at each of Hitomi's sides at the table they had followed her to, now both blocking her ways out. She sighed, "I told you I wasn't interested."
"Come on, isn't that why you came to the Dragon's Lair? To have some fun?" one of them asked, trying to snake his arm around her. She quickly stopped him by grabbing his wrist and non-too-gently pushed it against his stomach.
"I can easily have fun without getting laid," Hitomi said before finally hopping over the back of the cushioned seat and walking off. Both of the guys were a little surprised, but then got up and continued to follow her.

~*~
"You guys must be able to get into places like this for free," the black-haired girl giggled. The four of them were dancing in the large crowd of people. Despite their preference of fighting, Adrian and Gohan were surprisingly good dancers.
Adrian shrugged. "Sometimes."
"Unless you count damage," Gohan put in with a snigger, and Adrian playfully punched him. The girls giggled again.
"We heard that you two are the best pranksters on the planet," the redhead purred. "That must be so exciting..."
"You have no idea."
As the song ended, Hitomi could be heard in the distance.
"I thought I said no! Now let go of me!" Hitomi could be seen with two guys near a wall. One of the guys had her by her wrist and had a stronger grip than she did.
"We can't do that. Then you'd miss out on all the festivities," the guy earned chuckles from some of the men in the room.
"Let go before I kick you where your balls should've been," she spat, earning 'oohs' from the audience that had gathered around them. The man merely smirked, "Oh, you're about to find out that I have those."
Without another word, he grabbed her by the waist and hauled her over his shoulder, earning more laughter from some men as he started carrying her, kicking and cursing, down a hallway. She would've gladly blasted the guy, but she didn't know his ki level and the clothes she was wearing weren't meant for fighting.
Adrian frowned. "Hold on a minute," he said to the girl he was with, and then he turned and started moving swiftly through the crowd. Gohan threw a quick glance at the girls, then followed his friend and left them both with their mouths slightly open.
He was glad that Hitomi was still fighting, because he could follow her angry shouts all the way down the corridor. He caught up with them just as the big Elite was about to enter a bedroom with his captive. Hitomi was still hissing insults and struggling wildly, but when she noticed Adrian she stopped in surprise.
The Elite noticed that his captive was no longer mobile, so he turned to see what had caused the distraction. When he saw Adrian, he sneered, not recognizing the young prince.
"What do you want, kid? Get outta here," he snapped.
Although the Elite was bigger both in height and size than he was, Adrian stood his ground. His arms were folded and he had a bored look on his face, but his eyes were icy cold.
"Put her down and back off."
The man gave a short, spiteful laugh. "What are you, kid, some kinda kamikaze? I said get outta here. I've got some business to take care of here." He turned back to the door.
"She's here with me. If you let go of her now and leave her alone, you won't get hurt," Adrian continued softly.
Hitomi had started struggling again, but for the second time she stopped and stared.
The Elite froze. Then he turned slowly to face the prince with a look of utter disbelief at the way he was being spoken to. "Wait, hold on a second...do you mean...YOU...are gonna beat ME up?"
"If I have to, yes."
The Elite male's face twisted into a sardonic smile, and he put Hitomi down as he moved all the way around to face Adrian. Hitomi moved quickly backwards towards the main room, but she just had to watch. The Elite flexed his arms and chuckled evilly, walking in circles around the prince, who didn't move.
"Kid, I'm gonna turn you into bug slime." The Elite raised his fist and punched.
His fist went clear through the air. Adrian ducked at the last second, and before the Elite even knew what happened, Adrian's fist connected with his stomach and sent him flying into the door, which snapped in two and fell into the bedroom as the man flew through to finally connect with the wall and crumble in a heap.
After a minute of gasping for breath, the Elite managed to raise his head in amazement. Adrian's face was twisted into a scowl that would have made Vegeta proud, and he cracked his knuckles as he glared darkly at the man on the ground.
"Wh...What the hell...are you?" the Elite spluttered.
"The name's Prince Adrian," Adrian replied coolly. "And the young lady you were planning to have your fun with is the Royal Caretaker of Princess Vitani. If you don't believe me, we can take it up with my father...I'm sure he'd love to settle this."
The Elite's mouth had fallen open in dumb shock. Adrian took this to mean that the fight was over, so he relaxed his arms and strode away to leave the Elite behind.
He found Hitomi standing near the end of the hallway. "You okay?" he asked her lightly, as if there was nothing wrong.

"Yes, thanks," Hitomi muttered. She was glad for his help but she had mixed feelings: dealing with the fact that a guy did something nice for her and shame for not fighting her own battle. She folded her arms, staring at the ground.
"I'll be in the Royal Suite," she said, gently brushing past him and heading towards the suite.
"Hitomi, wait," Adrian started, hurrying after her to catch up. "What's the deal? Are you mad that I got that guy off your back?" Then he had to smirk. "Or vice versa?"
Hitomi turned to look at him with a scoff, "Please, like I'd actually want that heavy oaf on me." She folded her arms, visibly offended.
"Sorry," Adrian replied, raising an eyebrow. "Did I do something wrong?" Hitomi looked at him, with almost a bit of humor in her eyes. Guys could be so naive sometimes.
"You didn't do anything wrong. It's the fact that I couldn't take him down alone. I mean, how can I call myself a saiiyan if I can't even defend myself from some stupid punk in a club?" Hitomi said, already experiencing an overcoming feeling of dread.
"Hey, no worries," Adrian shrugged. "That stupid punk was an Elite. That's why we have status levels...to distinguish power. Besides, you're too smart to be worrying about power," he added with a small smile. Hitomi couldn't help but smile at his compliment. She sighed, "Yeah, I guess you're right. But I still want to see what this 'Royal Suite' is like."
"No problem. Right this way," Adrian said in a fake fancy voice.
He led Hitomi down a few more corridors to a fancy large door. Adrian took a key out of his pocket and unlocked the door, to show Hitomi the fanciest hotel room she had ever seen.
There were four different parts. One was the living room, with a big screen TV, two couches, several chairs, tables, bookshelves, and a computer. Then there was the kitchen, with an island table, a bar, and a fully stocked refrigerator. The bathroom had a shower and a huge bathtub separate from each other, and the bath water came out scented through jets that could add bubbles as well. The bedroom contained a single huge bed, which would have easily been big enough for five people. It had a bunch of pillows, satin sheets, and soft blankets. The general color scheme of things was black, red, gold, and royal blue.
"Well, what do you think?" Adrian asked. Hitomi still hadn't blinked once she entered the suite and scanned the entire area, "Whoa."
"Yeah, that's what I thought," Adrian chuckled. "Well, if you're cool, I'm gonna head back to the club and find the others." Hitomi merely nodded. As Adrian headed off, she gave a faint smile and turned, giving him her profile, "Thanks again, Adrian."
Adrian nodded back. "No problem." Then he left to find Gohan again, along with the girls they were with.

~*~
Much later, around midnight, Adrian and Gohan returned to the Royal Suite, since they both often got bored of the same old thing after a time. Adrian had found Gohan practically beating off the two girls with them, because they wouldn't leave him alone to find Adrian. But when they saw the prince return, they latched onto him instead, and they all hung out for a while longer.
Then the girls had said that they were on curfew for training the next day, and needed to be getting home. Personally, Adrian wasn't all that disappointed, because he wanted to play video games in the Royal Suite, which had one hooked up to the TV. Gohan was into this idea as well, so as soon as the girls were gone they scampered off.
They were laughing and joking around when they opened the door, but then Adrian noticed Hitomi. She had fallen asleep on the couch. Adrian quickly motioned for Gohan to be quiet, and they sneaked past her to the TV.