Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ RipTide ❯ 7 ( Chapter 7 )

Chapter 7

"So what happened?" Vegeta asked Gohan with his arms folded seriously. Vaya stood beside him, her usual serene expression on her face, mixed with a slight blend of amusement. Gohan was before them, ready to report on what he had finally found out.
"Well, Adrian was just kinda psyched out about everything that went on during the Madness. He's ashamed of his inability to suppress those 'barbaric instincts'," Gohan explained vaguely, avoiding Vegeta's intense glare and Vaya's penetrating gaze. Why was he telling her? She seemed like she already knew everything he was telling them, and somehow he wasn't surprised.
"Does it have anything to do with why my daughter has been telling us that her caretaker has been acting strange since then?" Vegeta pressed relentlessly. His tone was annoyed.
Gohan stuttered for a minute; then, to his surprise, Vaya came to his rescue.
"Hitomi is new to this as well. I expect it was something of a shock for her," Vaya offered in her silky voice. Vegeta conceded, and Gohan looked relieved.
"How is Adrian now? Feeling better, I hope," Vaya continued. Her tone was calm, but her eyes glittered at Gohan. He read the saving message almost right away.
"I'll go check," he said anxiously, zipping off down the corridor without hesitation. He really would have to thank the queen for that.

~*~
Gohan checked Adrian's room and found no answer, so he checked the only other place he could think of: Hitomi's room. He approached the door quietly and knocked gently, "Hey, Hitomi, it's Gohan! Have you seen Adrian?"
"I'm in here Gohan, come in!" Adrian answered much to Gohan's shock. He didn't expect the prince to survive a talk with Hitomi. As the door slid open, he entered to find the living room empty.
"We're," Adrian grunted, "...in the next room. Where the fireplace is." Gohan quirked a brow and slowly began to walk. He paused immediately when he heard Hitomi moaning.
"Adrian...no.." he heard her mutter. "Do you give in?" Adrian could be heard in a sly tone.
"Never!" there was the sound of more grunting and the sound of two bodies rolling on the carpet. Gohan's eyes widened as he slowly approached the doorway.
"Ack! H-Hey...no fair...we agreed to--" Adrian uttered in short gasps.
"Yes, and then you breached our agreement so I can..." Hitomi's voice, now sly, which was weird to Gohan, could be heard, followed by Adrian's...moaning?!
What the hell is going on?!?! Gohan thought as he ran to the doorway to find Adrian on top of Hitomi...but both fully clothed.
"Well, it looks like I win," Adrian said with a smirk as he inched towards Hitomi's face. He stopped short and both looked at the doorway to a shocked Gohan.
"I-I'm sorry, did I interrupt something..?" Gohan looked at the two incredulously. Hitomi and Adrian looked back at each other.

~*~
"You WHAT?!" Gohan exclaimed.
"Shh! We were talking and then one thing led to another and before I knew it, I was kissing her," Adrian shrugged with an innocent grin, leaning against the balcony rail.
"Adrian! I don't believe you!" Gohan looked at him with wide eyes. "I thought you two were.." Gohan gave him a wary look.
"NO, you hentai! We were wrestling!" Adrian folded his arms with a smirk.
"Then what was with the...moaning!" Gohan folded his arms.
"She...grabbed my tail.." Adrian said with a sheepish grin.
"So you weren't..."
"Nope."
"You were just.."
"Yep."
"Gah! Adrian, you nearly gave me a heart attack! I thought you two were up to something!" then Gohan paused as it finally dawned on him, "You two are TOGETHER?!" Adrian covered his mouth with his hand, "Geesh, a little louder, Gohan, so everyone in Vegetaseii can hear you."
"Sorry. It's just...man! I don't know what to say...uh...congratulations!" Gohan said, patting his friend on the shoulder. Adrian merely shrugged, "Thanks, but I'll have to talk to you later. We need to...you know, be alone.."
"Oh...Oh! Oh, I get it. I'll see you around then," Gohan said with a winky-eyed smile and headed back inside. He waved innocently to Hitomi and exited.
Hitomi walked outside to the balcony and sat on the rail, "What was that about?"
"I told him we needed some time alone and he took the hint," Adrian shrugged, walking up to her and wrapping his arms around her waist.
"Think your dad will approve of this?" Adrian asked with a smirk and a raised brow.
"Oh, I think he'll definitely approve," Hitomi said with a smile. "This is just so...new to me," Hitomi said, looking up at the crescent moon in the sky. Adrian smiled warmly and took her chin gently in his hand, "I think you'll like this feeling." And without another word, kissed her.
After a short while, Hitomi slowly pulled away and looked to the side.
"Gomen...this is just so...weird. It'll take time getting used to. I mean, all this time I was convinced that there was no guy on this planet worth getting attached to, and now look," Hitomi looked at him. Adrian smirked, pulling her closer, "It's okay. It was like that for me when I had my first kiss. I thought it was strange at first, but then, after a few more, I got used to it and gradually started to like it."
Hitomi gave him a cocky smile, "Well of course you started to like it. You're a guy--" Adrian kissed her again, silencing them both, at least for now, anyway.

~*~
"Good night.." Adrian said quietly before leaving Hitomi's room and heading down the halls to his room.
"So...that's what a kiss is like?" Hitomi asked shyly after experiencing her first. Adrian smirked, "Mm-hmm." Hitomi looked him in the eyes, "Then it's official? We're a couple?"
"Mm-hmm," Adrian said with a silly grin before gently kissing her again, to which Hitomi quickly pulled away, giggling.
"Nani?" Adrian blinked. "Quit it...that tickles. You need to keep that thing under control," Hitomi muttered, brushing his tail off from around her thigh. Adrian blushed, "Gomen. It just seems to...take on a life of it's own. Aheh."
Hitomi smirked, giving him a "yeah right" look.
"What? It does? Really, see?" his tail unraveled itself from around his waist.
"Say hello," his furry appendage did a waving motion, causing Hitomi to giggle again.
"Roll over," his tail twisted. "Play dead," his tail fell limp.
Hitomi gave a short laugh, leaning her back against the couch, "You're silly, Adrian."
"I know, I do my best," Adrian said before leaning towards her to kiss her again.
"Ah ah ah," Hitomi said, moving away.
"What? No more kissing?" Adrian blinked.
"Nope. Is that all we're going to do?" Hitomi asked, folding her arms with a light smile. Adrian's eyes went wide for a moment before he realized what she meant, "Well...we could do other things..."
A pillow decked him in the face.
"Hey! What was that for?" Adrian asked, pulling it from his face.
"You hentai," she said, getting up from the couch.
"Oh really..." Adrian uttered in a sly tone before getting up slowly from the couch.
"What are you thinking, Adrian...no...don't come any closer...no...don't.." Hitomi busted into a fit of giggles as he jumped on her and began tickling her, which quickly led to an all-out wrestling match on the carpet.
Adrian smirked, reaching his door. What a strange couple they'd make.

~*~
"So it's official?" Gohan asked, sitting with his best friend in his living room.
"Yep. It's kinda weird, y'know. But I think it's worth it," Adrian said with a content smile.
"And to think, you two haven't even mated yet. That's when the fun really begins..." Gohan said with a sly smile.
"Speaking of which, what happened with you during the madness?" Adrian asked with curiosity, sitting up straight. Gohan looked to his left and right before looking his friend in the eye, "Well, I left early in the morning. I guess it kicked in early or whatever, so I headed out into the city. That's when I found her running outside."
Adrian raised a brow, "Her?"
"Remember Verda, Hitomi's pal? I found her outrunning some guy in the streets and, getting affected, I joined in. The guy and me fought and I won, so I took off after Verda. She put up a good fight, but I changed all that and carried her off to the nearest secluded area," Gohan said, sitting back. Adrian stared at him incredulously.
"We spent that day and the next two bonding and goin' at it like wild animals and now we're mates," Gohan said with a shrug. Adrian fell out of his chair.
"Are you serious?" Adrian got back up.
"Mm-hmm. She introduced me to her folks and I introduced her to mine. They're all fine with the whole arrangement," Gohan said. Adrian placed a hand on his friend's shoulder, "Well, congratulations! I wonder what Hitomi'll think.."

~*~
Adrian and Hitomi spent more time with each other over the next few days, keeping in mind Hitomi's work hours and duties, and Adrian's own warped schedule as the Crown Prince. Vitani was too busy bouncing ceaselessly around the palace, and Vegeta was too wrapped up in his worries as king, to notice anything subtly different between the teenagers. Gohan and Adrian saw less of each other than usual...but they weren't bothered, because they were spending time instead with their respective lady friends.
Gohan warned Hitomi several times to be careful what she and Adrian talked about. If she made even the slightest hint that she wanted more from their relationship, it would end almost immediately and Adrian would be off like a shot. Hitomi promised she'd watch what she said, and thus far she had kept her word. There didn't seem to be anything threatening the way they felt about each other.

~*~
Adrian and Hitomi were in the main courtyard one day when a servant approached them. Bowing before Adrian, the servant then straightened up and said, "Your highness, it seems you have a visitor. A young lady is here with her family, who claims to have made your acquaintance last year, sir."
Adrian raised an eyebrow. "Really? Well...send her in, I guess."
The servant bowed again and left. Hitomi looked at Adrian curiously, but the prince just shrugged.
All of a sudden the doors swung open, and a teenage girl their age ran across the courtyard, threw her arms around Adrian's neck and kissed him passionately.
Hitomi's jaw dropped. Adrian made a kind of muffled squeak and pulled away sharply, prying the girl's arms from his shoulders. His eyes were wide in disbelief. "Lirion...? What are you doing here?!"
Lirion was a girl about Hitomi's height with wavy indigo hair that fell to her shoulders. Her eyes were greenish-black, and long eyelashes shaded them. Lirion was wearing an outfit that could only have been for one purpose; it was long leather pants and a midriff shirt without shoulders or sleeves, both of which were red and very tight. Her boots were black, and so were her gloves, which rested on her hips as she arched an eyebrow at Adrian and gave him a sly little smile.
"What's the matter, baby? Aren't you happy to see me?" she purred.
Adrian could only stutter. "I...But...You...We...What?!"
Lirion curled an arm around his waist and squeezed, kissing him on the cheek. "Oh, I'm sorry, Adrian. I didn't even call ahead to tell you I was coming! But you like surprises, and I aim to please, handsome."
Adrian had a somewhat green shade to his face. He pulled away from Lirion again, facing her incredulously. "But...Lirion...what are you doing here? I thought you and your parents left Vegetaseii!"
"We did, but now we're back," Lirion replied coolly. "And your parents invited mine to dinner tonight. Didn't they tell you?" The look on Adrian's face told her they hadn't, although she didn't seem surprised. She smirked in a way that Hitomi didn't like. "This must all be such a shock for you..." she purred. "Let me make it up to you somehow." She slid a hand over his T-shirt to let her fingers trace the smoothly rippling muscles of his abdomen.
"Ahem, if you'll excuse me your highness, I'll be tending to the princess," Hitomi said with evident anger in her tone and stormed off after glaring daggers at the prince.
Adrian pushed Lirion's hand away by her wrist. "Look...just...wait here, I'll be right back." He hurried after Hitomi.
Lirion smirked.

~*~
"Hitomi, wait," Adrian pleaded as he followed her. "I swear I didn't know she was coming...and I had no idea she was going to do that. Lirion doesn't really care if she does that..."
Hitomi put her hands on her hips and faced him, "So she must be one of your old girlfriends. The one that was just for kicks? The one you got bored with?"
Adrian's ears turned pink. "Yes and no..." he said hesitantly. "Lirion...is an ex. But I broke up with her...for the same reasons that you avoided guys in the first place."
"So what: it hasn't dawned on her yet?"
"No...she just doesn't care. I could be mated with kids and she still wouldn't care."
Hitomi covered her face with her hand and mumbled, "Great, I've gone from fighting off horny males to competing with horny females. What is this world coming to?"
Adrian gave her an incredulous look. "You're asking me? She's all over me, and I can't do anything about it! She's my guest; I'm the prince; I gotta be proper, remember?"
Hitomi gave him a wary look, "I'm asking you to tell her you're no longer interested. I'm asking you to decide what's more important: some touchy old flame or the current relationship you have now."
She started walking off, "I have to go and see to Vitani while you entertain your guest."
Adrian sighed and rubbed his forehead. "I quit. This is too hard. I'm going to be a monk."

~*~
Adrian found Lirion again in a smaller courtyard with tables and chairs. She was examining a flower that she had picked, but as soon as she noticed Adrian she tossed it away again.
"Is something wrong?" she asked innocently, hooking onto his arm as he came up to her.
Adrian pulled his arm away. "Yes, something's wrong! What do you think you're doing, Lirion? We broke up over a year ago. I've moved on; I have a new girlfriend who I like very much, and you were really overstepping your bounds!"
"I assume that girl that was with you before was your girlfriend..." Lirion said in a disgusted voice.
"Yes," Adrian answered firmly.
Lirion sighed and nodded as if she accepted it, but Adrian didn't miss the sneaky look in her green-black eyes. "Listen, Adrian..." she started softly. "I didn't come to ask you to get back together with me. Instead, I thought you'd like an offer with all of the fun, but none of the responsibility."
"What are you talking about?" Adrian asked, raising an eyebrow.
Lirion smirked seductively. "What do you say we...just fool around whenever we want to. But!...But we don't have to date. 'Friends with benefits', I guess you could say. You'd always have someone to...satisfy you, but you'd still be free to do whatever you wanted. You like that, don't you, baby? You love your independence."
Adrian started to protest, but Lirion shushed him.
"Before you shoot it down, just let me add one thing..." Then she pushed him into a chair, straddled his lap, took his face in her hands and kissed him deeply.
Adrian jumped up, causing Lirion to slide off of him. He glared at her angrily.
"Lirion, I don't know who you think you are," he seethed angrily, "but you and I are not together! We were once, and that was the biggest mistake I have ever made, but that was it. I am happy with Hitomi, and no force on earth or heaven could get me with you again!"
Then he stormed away into the palace, leaving Lirion behind to stare after him.
"I'm not finished with you yet, your highness..." she murmured.

~*~
Maybe this was a mistake...maybe I shouldn't have let my guard down like that...first he's all collected and in control of the situation, then that little tramp comes along and all of sudden he's all thumbs... Hitomi had ventured to a deeper part of the garden to where there was a lake. At the moment, she was lying on her stomach in the grass, tossing pebbles along the surface.
Adrian peeked out of the tall grass, finding her by following her scent. He took a deep breath and walked slowly towards her.
"I bet this is where you tell me that that Lirion girl means nothing to you and that you're sorry for not telling me sooner," Hitomi spoke, her back still towards him. Adrian sighed and sat beside her, "Hitomi...I'm sorry. I don't know how many other ways to say it. Lirion's always been like that and if I had known she was coming, I would've warned you ahead of time or even sent her away if I could."
Hitomi looked up at him as he said all this and then sat up, "Has she taken the hint?"
"Yes, I told her about us and that she and I were a thing of the past," Adrian said. Hitomi looked warily at him for a few moments before shrugging and wrapping her arms around his neck, resting her head against his chest. He instinctively wrapped his arms around her, "Apology accepted."
She sat up, "I was this close to snapping her little neck."
Adrian gulped, "Oh, you won't need to be doing that, she'll be off my back now."
I hope..

~*~
Once the dreaded dinner came, Adrian found out that it might be harder to avoid Lirion than he had anticipated. The dining room table was almost as long as the room, and to give the adults privacy, the children were seated at the other end. Vegeta and Vaya were busy talking to Lirion's parents, so they didn't notice anything wrong.
Adrian and Hitomi sat across from each other, and Vitani was next to Hitomi. Vitani and her brother were swordfighting with butter knives and Hitomi was laughing when Lirion strode into the room and plopped into a seat right next to Adrian. Hitomi watched as her boyfriend's tan skin turned red, then green again, and finally a strange grayish-white.
But Lirion did nothing right away. She politely greeted all of them without a second glance, although Vitani started to slide under the table right afterwards. Hitomi had to pull her back up again.
Dinner was brought out for them, and of course it was a fabulous gourmet meal. Vitani's attention span brushed out Lirion's presence at the sight of dinner. Adrian took his food, but seemed too distracted to really focus on eating it. Hitomi, too, was warily keeping half an eye on Lirion. But Lirion herself was eating calmly as if there was nothing wrong.
Halfway through dinner, Adrian and Hitomi had finally relaxed enough to eat, and were talking to each other around Vitani's inability to sit still. Lirion hadn't said two words, but her eyes began to get a sneaky look again. Her hand began to move very inconspicuously beneath the table, sliding over Adrian's leg and into his lap...
Vegeta's head snapped up as his son jumped up from the other end of the table, knocking his chair over backwards. "Adrian! What do you think you're doing?"
Adrian's face was angrily flushed, but when his father addressed him that sharply, Adrian swallowed his pride and mumbled, "I'm not very hungry. May I be excused?"
Vitani was staring at her brother curiously, but Hitomi's eyes were set on Lirion. Lirion was smirking at her plate.
Vegeta and Vaya glanced at each other. Vaya nodded slightly and Vegeta sighed. "All right, go ahead."
Adrian set his chair back and left the room very quickly. Lirion finished the rest of the food on her plate, and used that as an excuse to leave the table. She left through the same door that Adrian took.
Hitomi had a frown on her face and this caught Vitani's attention.
"Something wrong, Hitomi-san?" Vitani gently tapped her.
"No, nothing at all. Please excuse me your majesties," she spoke humbly towards the monarchs and bowed before leaving to find out what the prince and the hussy were up to.

~*~
Adrian was making his way to the sanctuary of his room, when he realized he was being followed. He turned around to see Lirion approaching.
"That was quite a show you made at dinner, love," Lirion smirked. "One would think you were uncomfortable being there."
"You think?" Adrian hissed. He had gotten fed up. His eyes were blazing. "Lirion, I want you to listen very carefully. I can't stand you. I loathe the thought of you. Your mere presence at the palace is making me sick. Hitomi is my girlfriend, and I like her a lot, more than I've ever liked anyone. You are totally out of line, and I don't want to have ANYTHING to do with you!"
For the first time since her arrival, Lirion got the message. She looked stunned, and then angry. But slowly her expression drifted to one of utter calm.
"Well...I'm sorry that you feel that way," she said softly. "I just hadn't pictured you to be that kind of risk-taker."
"What are you talking about?" Adrian growled.
Lirion shrugged. "To be so attached to one person that you would give up your freedom for her...You must like this Hitomi an awful lot to want to commit yourself to her...for the rest of your life...Never changing...Always the same thing, day...after day...after day..."
Adrian's thoughts followed Lirion's voice. He would be tied down to Hitomi. It would be the same, all the time...
Lirion saw that her words were having a bad effect on Adrian's state of mind, and she was glad. A nasty little smile curved the corners of her mouth, but Adrian's attention was not on her. His body seemed to have gone tense. Lirion was pleased, and could go without worry.
"Goodbye, your highness..." Lirion's parting words purred in his ears. "I hope your lifetime with Hitomi isn't too boring."
When Adrian snapped out of his fog and turned his full attention to Lirion again, she was gone.

~*~

Hitomi had seen and heard the entire scene play out as she hid around the corner. She watched as Adrian's expression turned to one of almost-dread. Now she truly saw why Gohan had warned her about Adrian's anxiety, about his fear of commitment. He didn't want to stay with her. Not for long, anyway. She should've saw that from the beginning, from the moment Gohan had told her. From the moment Adrian mentioned the others...she could feel her eyes growing moist. She balled up her fist and fought back any tears that dared to come out. This was what she got for opening up to someone.
She started to turn back, walking to her room and then running.
You were right...You were right all along. Never should've let your guard down...Now look. You're about to be left like so many others, another trophy of his to brag about...Never should've..
She didn't know how, but she managed to find her way to her bedroom and fell to her knees, covering her face. She screamed at the ceiling, grief evident.
Never should've let your guard down...