Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Some Life... ❯ Vegeta, meet Mark... ( Chapter 8 )

AN: (BIG FAT APOLOGY) I'm really, reeeally sorry that I haven't updated this sooner… But I have been working my ass off at work, and trying to go to college at the same time, so I really haven't had much time for my stories. I hope you guys understand… I can't guarantee a steady update schedule, but I'll try to update a little more quickly now. Thanks ^_^;

Disclaimer: Me not own DBZ… Me do own OC's… You no use them if I no say you can. Ugh…

The lift doors barely had time to open before Kori bolted out, leading Vegeta to the kitchen. She realized that she hadn't eaten in almost a full day, and with her wounds trying to heal, she was more famished than she could ever remember being in her life. Her tail flicked out anxiously behind her at the prospect of a good meal. As she and the Prince reached the kitchen, she quickly called for one of the serving droids and, after pressing a few of the buttons on its chest display hurriedly, it whizzed off to get their food. She turned to Vegeta, saying, "It'll only be a few minutes, the droids are fairly quick about fixing the food..."

Vegeta simply nodded in response, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning against the nearby counter nonchalantly. After a few moments 2 voices, one male and one female could be heard approaching, though neither of them were familiar to Vegeta's acute hearing. Kori seemed slightly unnerved though and she quickly hid her tail beneath her shirt, turning to face the entryway of the kitchen. She motioned for him to do the same, but he just snorted. The Prince of the Saiyan race would NOT hide his tail as if it were something to be ashamed of. He did, however, wrap it discreetly around his waist, having it look like a rather thick, furry belt. As the voices drew nearer, he noticed the half-Saiyan taking calming breaths, and he wondered idly why she would be so nervous...

The pair that entered the room were deeply engrossed in conversation, though it must have been a pleasant one, because they were both smiling lightly. The man was a good height, taller than Vegeta by about 3 or 4 inches, and he had a full head of neatly combed brown hair... or was it deep purple? He could see a definite resemblance between his and Melissa's faces, thus deducing that they were related, and most likely brother and sister. The girl that was with him was thin, with a mass of blonde curls sprouting from her head that hung just to her chin. She was also scantily clad, moreso than he had seen any of the other women on this planet so far. It seemed that by wearing so little clothing she was trying to draw attention to her rather massive bosom or to her curved posterior. Or both. Either way, Vegeta didn't care much for the garments... or lack thereof...

He didn't have long to observe the newcomers because the male looked up from his conversation, and upon seeing Kori in the corner, broke into a nervous smile. "H-hey there, Kori," he grinned a little wider. "What are you doing here? And who's your friend," he asked, gesturing to Vegeta as his female friend slipped off, most likely to the restroom.

"I was just... visiting Melissa... And this is Pr- er... Vegeta. Vegeta, this is Mark, Melissa's brother..." She gave Vegeta an almost apologetic look for not introducing him properly.

Mark stuck out his hand, plastering a huge grin across his face. "Nice to meet you." Vegeta, sensing that something was not quite right about Mark, simply inclined his head towards him, leaving his hand hovering in midair. The grin faded from Mark's face. Mark turned to Kori. "Hey, he's not your boyfriend is he," he asked softly. Kori blushed, but before she could say anything, he misinterpreted the blush to mean "yes". "He's not mad because I kissed you, is he," Mark winked at her. Kori blushed an even brighter shade of red, and stood there sputtering, not able to get any words out. Suddenly, Mark's eyes darkened as he looked over Kori's bruised face, noting the slash over her eye. He pulled her to the side of the kitchen, whispering urgently, "He hasn't been beating on you, has he....? Is that why you can't say anything?"

Vegeta, who of course had heard everything Mark said, was quickly starting to lose his patience with the way he was treating Kori. First, the man had apparrently assumed that he and the half-Saiyan were involved romantically. Preposterous, Vegeta snorted. Now this idiot had the nerve to ask if he was using physical force to keep a woman silent about a relationship that they weren't even in!!! This thought forced a soft growl from Vegeta's throat.

Kori, whose face was contorted in anger, had been readying a retort, when a low rumbling sound came from Vegeta's direction. Kori and Mark simultaneously blinked, looking over at him. Mark, slightly unnerved, coughed nervously and asked, "D-did... you just... growl?"

Vegeta smirked, eyes narrowing like an animal on the hunt. "Yes," he stated simply. "Your idiocy is exhausting." Mark's eyes widened. Vegeta took a step forward. Mark took a hesitant step back. "You assume much for how little information you actually have. We sparred, that is how she obtained her injuries. She willingly subjected herself to anything that happened to her."

Mark was starting to get a little ancy. If Kori could beat him easily, and this is what happened to her after simply sparring with this "Vegeta", he didn't even want to think about what would happen if he antagonized the guy any further. "E-easy man, I was just concerned about Kori..."

Vegeta took another step closer. "She does not require the concern of a weakling such as you," he spat. "She is strong enough to handle her injuries." Kori watched all this happen in a half daze. On one hand she didn't want any harm to come to Mark, but on the other, she hoped that Vegeta could shut him the hell up.

Mark stepped back again, this time his back came into contact with the wall, and he realized he didn't have anywhere to go. His face blanched as he stuttered nervously, "L-look, I d-don't want to fight about this..."

Vegeta stalked forward again. "No, you don't," he affirmed, his smirk becoming more feral.

Mark, who was actually starting to fear for his life, groped back behind himself, finding a rather imposing kitchen knife, and readying himself, should Vegeta attack him for some reason. Kori saw Mark grab the knife and started to warn Vegeta, but he had caught the slight movement, seeing a glint of metal near Mark's side. In a flash, the knife was not in Mark's hand, but Vegeta's, and Mark was being held forcibly up against the wall by his throat by something that wasn't one of Vegeta's hands. He really couldn't wonder what it was at that moment though, because of the sheer fact that he was choking.

Kori, stunned, rushed up to Vegeta, but the look in his eyes made her wonder whether she should try to stop him or not...

Vegeta growled menacingly, whatever it was holding Mark's throat drawing tighter. "What did you think you were going to do with this, boy," he held up the knife. "You're pathetic!"

Kori couldn't stand it any longer. "Vegeta, drop him," she yelled.

"Why? He insulted my honor," he growled. "For that he deserves to die."

Kori's eyes widened. She had to think of a logical way to get him to drop Mark, and FAST... "He's Dr. Griffey's son! If you kill him, Dr. Griffey won't build the ship!"

Vegeta growled louder, knowing she was right. He shot the red-faced, strangling Mark a look that could burn through steel, and unceremoniously dropped him on his rump. Vegeta's tail, which had been holding him up by the neck, flicked out behind him in an expression of his pent up agression. Vegeta threw the knife to the ground at his side. "Here's your weapon, for all the good it will do you..."

Mark coughed, rubbing at his throat and panting for air. Once he caught sight of Vegeta's tail, however, his face bleached white and, after blinking a few times, he quickly scrambled from the room, still half-ways on his hands and knees. Vegeta snorted derisively at him as Kori wiped the sweat from her brow. That was close, she thought. She had to figure out a way to curb the violent Prince's temper somehow, before he killed someone for looking at him wrong...

Suddenly the curly-haired blonde Mark had walked in with returned from the restroom. Noting the look on both Kori and Vegeta's faces, she simply turned and walked out of the room, looking for Mark. About 10 droids arrived after another minute, bearing a wide selection of foods, and the two hungry Saiyans dispensed formalities and started devouring the food, forgetting the tense situation that had happened only minutes before.

Melissa walked in, looking for them. "Hey, Mark's acting funny, someone must've scared the shit out of...." Melissa stopped as she observed the two stuffing food into their mouths, much in the manner of ravenous wolves.

Kori stopped long enough to shrug and say, through the food in her mouth, "Wasn't me..."

Vegeta let out the closest thing to a laugh she'd heard him produce in the short time she'd known him. His tail swished proudly behind him, and she could swear he almost grinned...

Melissa chuckled. "Good. He needs to be set straight..." She contemplated snagging a sandwich, but thought better of it, seeing as how she might get her hand bitten off... "Anyways, I came up here to tell you that my dad and I can build the ship, but it's going to take about 10 days, maybe a week if we don't sleep much." She waited for a reaction.

Vegeta wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. He nodded to her in approval, for he had actually expected it to take much longer. "Good. As the Prince of the Saiyan race, I will, of course compensate you and your father for your services. Simply set a price and I will match it, to the best of my ability."

Melissa didn't even blink. "Let me come with you. That's all the payment I require."

Vegeta's eyes nearly came out of his head. He sputtered loudly, nearly growling. Letting a mere human accompany them would severely impede their mobility, speed, and ability to defend themselves in battle. He silently berated himself for offering to pay any price within his ability, for he knew that this was well within that range. After a long inner debate, he finally conceded. "Fine," he said gruffly. "You may come with us. But you must see to it that you are able to handle yourself in the environment we are traveling to. I will not let you become a burden to my mission."

Melissa nodded excitedly. "Don't worry, I can take care of myself better than you think..."

Somehow Vegeta doubted that. Kori grinned, nearly picking Melissa up in a hug. "This is great," she said excitedly. "I was kind of hoping to have some companionship..."

Melissa just winked as Kori let her out of the embrace. "Yeah, I've always wanted to go out there on one of the ships dad and I have made. It's kind of been my dream." She grinned. "Well, I better not waste any time, I'm gonna go get to work. You guys can stay if you want," but Kori cut her off.

"I'd better get home and talk to mom about all this. I don't know how happy she'll be that I'm leaving the planet in a little over a week," Kori said nervously.

"Right. Well, I'll give you a call tonight and update you on our progress, okay?"

"Okay," she said, hugging her friend again. "Bye!"

"Bye," said Melissa, walking back to the lift to go down to the lab.

Kori turned to Vegeta. "We'd better go." Vegeta nodded, heading for the door. Luckily, they did not encounter Mark on the way. Once they were outside, Vegeta moved to pick her up again. Kori blushed deep red, backing up, "N-no, it's okay. I... Think I can fly on my own this time..." Vegeta nodded, and almost smiled... Almost. Then they quickly took to the air, heading back to Kori's house.