Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ The Bite ❯ 8: The Party ( Chapter 8 )

The Bite--Ch. 8

By Elbereth in April

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Vegeta's body was exhausted, although he had found the training exhilarating. But his mind was not tired, and once again he was afraid to try to sleep.

He watched "Big Trouble in Little China" on late night T.V., with a bag of cashews and a package of Oreos. When it was over, he wandered upstairs.

When he'd slept in the same room as Hito, he hadn't dreamed. But he couldn't wake up Hito and Bulma and ask to crawl into bed with them, like a small brat with nightmares (he'd seen that on T.V. a few nights ago).

He silently opened the door to Trunks' room and peered in. He was sleeping peacefully. He gave the matter serious thought until his mind shut down and he crept inside.

When Trunks woke up the next morning around 9:00, he found Vegeta curled up on the floor at the foot of his bed, asleep. He couldn't even begin to imagine why. He remembered waking up in the same room with him earlier. Obviously, something was up.

He got out of bed and went to the bathroom. When he came back out, Vegeta was waking. He sat up and looked around in confusion.

"Hey," Trunks said. Vegeta turned and looked at him, then gave that scowl that meant he was actually embarrassed. It had taken Trunks years to decipher that look on his father, but he couldn't be fooled now.

Vegeta grunted and stood. Should he say anything or just leave?

Trunks spoke first. "Did you sleep?"

"Yes."

"Good."

Vegeta regarded him, then nodded and stalked out.

Trunks thought for a moment, then went and found his mother.

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Trunks joined Hito and Vegeta in the GR after breakfast. Bulma came and forced them to stop for lunch again. "But shower first," she scolded.

Vegeta went to his room to find it vastly different. One of the walls was torn down so it was open to the room next to it. Which Trunks had apparently moved into. He looked over from where he was sitting on the other bed. "You don't mind, do you? It's been so long since I had company."

Mutely, Vegeta shook his head.

Trunks smiled. "Good." He wandered into his bathroom for his shower.

Vegeta stared at the closed door for a moment, amazed. Then he smiled very slowly.

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That night he dreamed of green and silver machines in a round room full of shadows, and dark eyes watching from the corners. But he slept on through til morning.

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He and Hito trained until 11:30 the next day, until Bulma dragged them out to get ready for the party. "The guests will start showing up around noon," she told them. "And you're both a mess!"

They snorted. "Women," Hito said in Saiyago. "You said it," Vegeta answered. Bulma just shoved them forward.

But when he got upstairs, he felt the apprehension begin to churn in his stomach. He was going to stay as far away from the whole Kakkarot clan as he could.

He felt Kakkarot arrive. As he walked down the stairs, he could hear Chi-Chi think at him, < "Goku, you can't eat yet! Try to show some manners!" >

Perhaps that Chi-Chi onna had been a controlling influence on this Kakkarot's evil?

Then Trunks was calling from the dining room, "Hey, Vegetas One and Two! Hurry up, we're hungry!"

< "Which one of us gets to be number one?" > he sent to Trunks and heard him laugh before he locked off all his mental shields.

When Vegeta walked into the room, Bulma grabbed his arm and pulled him over to face three strange men and a strange little--something else. "This is Roshi, Tien, Chatzou, and Yamcha," Bulma introduced them.

So that was the ex-boyfriend, eh? Then she was pulling him over to stand in front of Gohan, that Namek, a woman, and a brat. "Videl, and her daughter, Pan."

He examined them closely. They didn't seem evil.

Then it was off to another group. "Krillin, his wife, 18, and their daughter, Marron. She's twelve, a year younger than you."

She was, in fact, eyeing him appreciatively. He smirked and her parents frowned. "Marron," he said.

"Hey, Vegeta!" Vegeta tensed, but Goku was in fact greeting Hito, who had entered. "Can we eat now?"

"Baka. Always thinking with your stomach," Hito insulted him. Goku never lost his grin.

And Bulma only laughed. "Yes, we can eat now."

Vegeta placed himself in between Trunks and Marron. This meant that Krillin and 18 were sitting watchfully across from him, but he didn't care as long as Kakkarot stayed at the far end of the table. Goten came and sat across from Trunks, but him he could deal with.

As Chi-Chi helped Bulma serve the food, Vegeta tried to ignore all the curious glances coming his way. Finally, just to be outrageous, he picked his spoon up with his tail and idly drummed it on the table.

"Cut it out, brat," Hito said, again in Saiyago.

He raised an eyebrow and smirked. "What? I'm just giving them an excuse to look."

"Well, show some Royal dignity."

Vegeta set the spoon down, wrapped his tail back around his waist, leaned back in his chair, and radiated Royalty so strongly that Marron vowed to marry him and 18 thought that she might not mind if they did.

Hito smirked. "Better."

Chi-Chi plopped a pork chop onto his plate as Bulma ladled stuffing next to it. "Handsome," Bulma whispered to him, one of the Saiyan words she knew.

Vegeta had to work very hard to prevent a blush.

When everyone was seated and eating, Bulma suddenly announced, "Surprise! I'm pregnant!"

Chi-Chi squealed, jumped up, and hugged her. Everyone began happily shouting congratulations, except for Yamcha, who was staring at his food with distaste.

"Now Pan will have a playmate," Videl said cheerfully.

Goku stared at Bulma. "A girl?"

She nodded. He grinned. "Maybe she can marry Goten," he suggested brightly.

Goten crying, "Dad!" and Chi-Chi gasping, "Goku!" were drowned out by Hito yelling, "Your brat will never marry a brat of mine as long as I'm breathing, Kakkarot! And if I'm dead, then I'll come back from the next dimension specifically to stop it!"

"And what is wrong with my son?" Chi-Chi demanded.

Goten groaned. "I'm sitting right here."

"He's too old for her," said Trunks.

"I think she may want some say in this decision," Bulma added. "Wait and ask her later."

"That's right," Marron grinned. "A woman should pick out her own husband." She looked suggestively at Vegeta. "Don't you agree?"

Vegeta shrugged. "Princes marry for the benefit of their kingdoms."

"You don't have one," Goten blurted.

Trunks reached out and grabbed Goten's wrist so hard the bones ground together. "Shut up," he hissed.

They all stared at him. But all he could think of were Vegeta-chan's eyes when he'd asked him if he resented not having a planet, and his father's face when he looked up at the stars sometimes and sighed.

"I don't have a kingdom," Trunks snapped. "But I'm still a Prince. And you don't have a kingdom, either, and you're still third-class and you always will be."

Goten's eyes got big. Trunks bit his tongue; he hadn't meant to go that far. But he wasn't going to unsay it.

An uncomfortable sort of silence descended on the table. Until Roshi said, "If she looks anything like her ma, *I'll* marry her!" At which laughter and outcries of indignation filled the air, but calmed the tension.

Goten remained subdued, and after the meal wandered away to Gohan. Tien, Yamcha, and Krillin were gabbing away, and 18 was talking to Bulma and Chi-Chi, while keeping a watchful eye on Marron. Vegeta was considering asking Piccolo to spar again when he looked over and saw Goku watching him.

He didn't like that at all. Then Goku stood up and approached him and he liked that even less. "Hey, Past Vegeta!"

He didn't even nod, he just stared.

Goku ignored this lack of encouragement. "Wanna spar?" he asked loudly enough to attract attention.

What motive did he have? "No."

"Aw, why not?"

Hito's eyes narrowed. Was his younger self still afraid of Kakkarot? He needed to get over it, for his own good. "Go on, brat. What's your problem? Fight him."

"Yeah, come on," Goku whined. "I won't go Super or anything."

Hito was staring at him. He felt his eyes. The others were staring, too. He couldn't back out now; it was a matter of pride. Surely Kakkarot wouldn't do anything in front of all these witnesses?

Reluctantly, Vegeta nodded his agreement.

"All right!" Goku exclaimed enthusiastically.

So they went outside, and the whole party followed, to sit around talking on the lawn. And watching.

`Whatever.' Vegeta set himself. He got into fighting stance. He tried to remember every fighting trick he knew. And he clamped down on the shields on his mind, tight, tight, 75% of his energy right there. He knew he was going to get trounced that way, but figured he probably would have, anyhow. Hito might not admit it, but he would. Just not out loud.

So began the stare down. It lasted so long Trunks was starting to wonder if they'd fight at all. Vegeta-chan was scared. He didn't think anyone else but his dad could tell it, but he was. Trunks wished he could reassure him.

Then Vegeta made his move, disappearing and reappearing not behind him or beside him, as Goku expected, but above him. He kicked him in the head, but that was the only hit he got in for a long time after. Goku blocked everything. On the other hand, Vegeta could block most of his moves, too. `He must be going easy on me. Time to use ki.'

That meant a Gallic Gun, that Goku dodged, and a smirk followed by a Kamehameha that wasn't dodged, because Goku was just as surprised as Piccolo that Vegeta would use that attack.

Then Goku sent one in return that Vegeta jumped aside from, and used Nasu's Fire and Smoke technique that had worked so well on Hito. It got Goku, too.

Then Goku hit him in the jaw and he fell backwards a bit. They paused a moment and stared at one another again, out of breath.

Their eyes locked. Vegeta's face went tense and wary. Goku smiled. Vegeta prepared to spring. . .

< "You're worried I'm going to attack your mind, aren't you?" >

He stopped dead. That was Kakkarot. Speaking in his head. Oh, *kami*.

Everything else around him faded away. All he saw was Goku. He was frozen in place, staring.

Trunks, on the sidelines, suddenly took a concerned step forward. What was going on? Why were they just staring at each other like that? Vegeta's face still wore that expression of arrogance, but he had gone white to the lips and his eyes were wide and strange. Hito had his arms crossed, frowning.

< "It's just that I noticed you have your mind guarded so tight, you're not even fighting at your maximum," > Goku was still speaking.

The blood was pounding in Vegeta's ears. Sweat was trickling down his back. It was hard to draw a breath. Kakkarot was going to take him. `No, surely I can keep him out. This one's never been trained.' But that didn't seem to matter. He was strong, this one. Enormously, terribly strong.

< "Hito," > Vegeta whispered desperately. Hito twitched.

< "You don't need to bother blocking me out, Vegeta." > Goku took one step forward, still smiling.

*He-was-breaking-through.*

< "I can get into your mind whenever I want. But I don't want to." >

Hito saw the pupils in Vegeta's eyes dilate until they were nothing but black, and then he was standing in between them, facing Goku, demanding, "What exactly are you doing?"

The others were staring in confusion.

And Vegeta was closing his eyes in despair as Goku hovered at the edges of the border in his mind, not coming in yet, but making it perfectly clear that he could at any time. `Too much. . . too much. . .' And Vegeta realized that the person he *really* hated the most was not himself, after all. It was Kakkarot.

Goku was staring at Hito in confusion. "I'm just reassuring him that I'm not after him."

"Does he look reassured to you?" Hito snarled.

They looked at Vegeta. His face was still white, but as they watched, his face suddenly cleared, became almost peaceful. "See?" Goku smiled.

Vegeta opened his eyes. They were teal.

Then he let loose one scream, and power flowed over him so suddenly he was dizzy, as his hair turned golden and he looked at Goku. "Stay-out-of-my-head," he said softly, then lunged at him.

Hito danced out of the way, smirking.

Vegeta's fist smacked into the surprised Goku's face, sending him clear across the yard to slam into a tree. Even as Goku stood up, Vegeta was in front of him, with a punch to the gut and a scissors-kick to his head. Goku fell back over. "You're *not* reassured, are you?" he asked, massaging his jaw.

Vegeta grabbed his arm and slammed him into another tree. Goku jumped back and went to Super Saiyan.

Vegeta took the time to re-shore his mind's walls. Up to 90%, and he still had all this power left for fighting. It was an incredible sensation.

Then Chi-Chi planted herself next to Goku, and Bulma was standing next to him, demanding what was going on and why this game suddenly seemed so deadly serious.

Goku still looked confused. "I just told him I wasn't going to attack him."

"You just *told* me you could attack me at any time. You tried to break through!"

Bulma reached over and bopped Goku on the ear. "Quit messing with his head, Goku! Leave him alone! He's only 13!"

"I didn't mean anything!" Goku protested.

"He can defend himself, onna," Hito threw in. "Don't make him seem weak."

"Well, the fight's over," Chi-Chi insisted. "I think we should go home."

"You're not getting me," Vegeta told him quite seriously. "I can go Super Saiyan now."

"Dad can go to Level Three," Goten said somewhat spitefully. After all, Vegeta was the reason Trunks was mad at him.

Vegeta went still again. "Level Three?" he repeated in a strange voice. "There're levels?"

"Shut up, Goten," Trunks hissed.

"Vegeta," Hito said in a tone that brooked now argument. "Come with me and I'll tell you about levels."

Vegeta took a deep breath, trying to return to sanity and calm. Then he nodded and followed Hito to the GR.

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