Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ The Bite ❯ 9 ( Chapter 9 )

The Bite--Chapter 9

By Elbereth in April

Vegeta and Hito faced each other. "You were about to lose it, weren't you? We can't have you an emotional wreck. Don't make a fool of us, boy."

But Vegeta couldn't rein himself completely back in. He still felt panicky and threatened. Why did everyone believe Kakkarot and think he was harmless? Even Trunks did. And when was Kakkarot going to attack him? Now? Later? `And what will I do then? Can I keep him out?' He had worked and struggled all his life to become a Super Saiyan and now they said it wasn't enough? And what about the bond? Did he know? He hadn't acted as if he did.

"Look, there are several things you need to know," Hito sighed. "There are levels. Super Saiyan One will let you beat Frieza, but Kakkarot can go to Level Three. I--I can only go to Level Two," he admitted very reluctantly.

`So I'm on my own.' He could no longer stop his trembling.

"There's something else, though. Fusion. It's a technique to join with another person. For a limited time you fuse with the other, becoming one being. It's a very powerful trick. You can learn that. I've done it. So have Trunks and Goten."

Vegeta's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Who did you do it with?"

Hito looked at him. The brat wasn't going to like this. "Kakkarot."

No, he didn't like it. He actually backed up a little bit.

"You have to stop this, Vegeta. I've known Kakkarot now for almost 20 years. I've seen his mind when we were joined together. He really is--pure-hearted and simple. He wouldn't be after you."

`That's how he broke my walls so easily. He knows what my mind looks like. He's got an inside link. Oh, kami!' He was panting, tail thrashing behind him. "He tricked you! He's tricked all of you! He's set himself up inside you so you'll be deluded!"

"My mind's stronger than that," Hito sneered. "So's yours."

Vegeta shook his head. "I couldn't keep him out. Hito. . . how can I keep him out?" His expression was haunted.

"I'll keep him out."

"How?" he asked somewhat hopelessly. "You're only Level Two."

Hito scowled. "Brat, trust me. Come here."

`Can he?' Sudden hope made his heart pound. He went to stand directly before Hito.

"All right. Hold still." He reached out a hand and placed his palm on Vegeta's temple.

His eyes were instantly wary. "What are you going to do?"

"What's one plus two, brat?" Hito smirked.

"Three."

"Mental walls at Level One, shored up by walls at Level Two, should stand up to attack by Level Three. Understand?"

"But you fused with him! He can go around our shields because he knows our mind!"

"Despite underlying similarities, brat, your mind is *not* the same as mine." Hito closed his eyes and reached out mentally.

Vegeta flinched despite himself as he felt Hito come into contact with his mind. "Kami. . ." Hito breathed softly. "You *have* been attacked a lot, haven't you?"

Vegeta frowned and didn't answer.

"How *did* he almost break through? I've never seen shields this strong before." Hito probed some more. "Wait a minute. . . what's this thread?" Hito's lips pressed together thinly and his eyebrows drew down.

Vegeta realized the error he'd made. He'd let Hito look in too deep. He'd found it. "The walls," he prompted desperately. "Fix the walls."

Then Vegeta felt his defenses strengthen, his shields thicken, as if they were being added on to, like walls with plaster. When Hito was done, Vegeta was sure Kakkarot wouldn't break through easily. But now Hito. . .

Hito was glaring at him as coldly as death itself. He took his hand away only to bring it to the collar of his shirt and rip it open.

Hito stared at the bite mark on his skin, as Vegeta flushed and dropped his gaze.

"You're bonded," Hito snarled. "And you've been bitten. The dominant one bites the submissive one! How could you submit to Kakkarot? How could you let him bite the Prince of all Saiyans?"

Anguish and humiliation filled him. He felt the blood drain from his face. When he finally met Hito's burning, accusing stare, his own eyes were bright with unshed tears. "I'm sorry. I couldn't stop him."

"Don't you dare cry on me! Crying is for babies and weaklings! You know that. I can't believe you let this happen!"

The words cut him. His stomach felt like he'd been kicked. It was as if he were back on base, being dressed down by Frieza.

"You let Kakkarot dominate you! You let him bond you! And then you wonder how he found a path to your mind? Baka!"

He blinked rapidly, trying to hold back the tears. Hide it, hide it, don't show pain. Don't show that he's gotten to you.

"Quit sniveling. Never show weakness!"

His memory still on reprimands he'd received in the past, he automatically responded, "Yes, Lord Frieza."

And time suddenly slowed down as they both realized what he'd said. Vegeta's eyes went wide. Hito stared at him for a brief moment, eyes equally wide, then he turned and fled the GR.

`How could I slip like that? How could I have said that? He'll never forgive me now. Especially when he already hates me for. . . when he knows about. . .' A sob slipped out. He was alone, and besieged, and utterly lost. Here he didn't even have Radditz to help him. His face contorted as he wept at last.

His lungs were on fire. His breathing was ragged; he couldn't catch a breath. His whole body trembled. He slid down the wall, rested his arms on his knees, and buried his head in his arms. He was ashamed to be losing it like this. He hadn't cried since he was 7, and Vegeta-sei had blown up. And even then it had only been a few silent tears, not like this: hard, bitter sobs choked out straight from his gut, unstoppable. And a brutal, biting ache that was filling his whole being, his very soul, and burning him alive. He wondered if it would burst his heart, if it could actually kill him. He hoped so.

"Vegeta," said a voice. "Vegeta."

He looked up. Goku was standing there, staring at him. Vegeta almost wanted to laugh. He smirked bitterly, wanting to tell him, "It's too late, you've already broken me." Broken heart, broken mind, broken body, broken spirit. Even his pride, now that he'd seen him like this. There was nothing left. He thought about pleading with him. "Please," he could say, "don't hurt me more." But he could never do that. In the end, he said nothing, just looked up, smirking while tears still ran down his face.

"Vegeta," Goku whispered. "I can feel your pain. We're *bonded*, aren't we?"

He nodded.

Goku took a step closer. Vegeta finally managed to make the tears stop. He tried to back up, but he was against the wall. Goku stopped moving forward as Vegeta backed away, and instead sat down facing him, several feet away.

"I'm sorry about earlier," Goku said gently. "When I look back on what I said--it didn't come out right, did it? I honestly didn't mean it as an attack. I promise, Vegeta. I'm not going to invade your mind."

"Just leave me alone," Vegeta returned hoarsely.

"But I need to ask you--how did we get bonded? I don't understand what's going on."

Memories filled Vegeta's head, almost blinding in intensity. He watched Goku pick them up, and flinch, going pale. "Kami," he breathed. "I can't--I never--kami, Vegeta, I swear, that's not me! I would never--I swear I will never hurt you. I won't."

"I don't trust you."

"No. . . I suppose you wouldn't." Goku stared at him, still horrified. "Well, now I know why you don't like me."

"You're evil."

Goku bit his lip. "What can I do to convince you otherwise?"

Vegeta snorted. "Nothing! Go away."

"You're still afraid." Vegeta denied this vehemently. Goku smiled. "You are. But I don't want you to be. It's needless. Here. Here, Vegeta, I'll show you." And he opened up his mind and waited.

Vegeta stared. It was a trap, surely it was a trap. Kakkarot's mind was open, all barriers dropped. Vegeta edged a little closer. He could go in--he could see. Did he dare? Or would Kakkarot ensnare him?

He took the chance.

Goku's mind lay spread out before him, like a mosaic covering a floor. He could look at it as a whole picture, or go in and look at individual pieces. He crept in closer.

Scenes and memories, thoughts and feelings, motivations and personality traits. . . and it was true. Hito was right. Simple-minded and pure-hearted. He never would have believed it. It was like nothing he'd ever imagined.

He pulled out and away, came back into himself, and stared Goku in the eyes. "Kami." He didn't know what else to say.

Goku smiled. "See? You can quit worrying. I'm not going to hurt you. You can trust me."

His words washed over him, like water when one had been in a desert, dying of thirst. He seriously considered crying again. He was safe. He was safe.

The door was flung open and Trunks burst in. "What's going on? Vegeta, are you OK? Goku, didn't you go home?" And then, shocked and truly upset, "You've been crying! Goku, what did you do to him?"

Goku blinked. "I didn't do anything!"

Vegeta quickly wiped his eyes and face. "It's all right. I'm all right."

"No, you're not!" Trunks came and knelt beside him.

"I'm better."

"But. . ."

Goku looked at his hands in his lap. "That Kakkarot guy is really evil."

"Yes. And. . . and, well, Hito yelled at me," Vegeta confessed reluctantly.

Trunks frowned. "What did he say?"

"He said I was being unduly and overly emotional."

"I think you have some cause," Goku said dryly.

Vegeta shrugged, with half a smile and half a bitter smirk.

Trunks raised his eyebrows and leaned forward. "Why?"

"He found it," Vegeta answered faintly. "The bite. He thinks I'm weak."

Goku looked extremely indignant. "He had no right to say that! How could he?"

"It wasn't his fault. Besides, he's right. I let Kakkarot take me. I am weak."

"Bite?" Trunks repeated, aware he was missing something terribly important.

Vegeta didn't want anyone else to know, but Goku opened his mouth before Vegeta could stop him. "That Kakkarot. He bit him. They're bonded."

Trunks' eyes got very, very wide. "How did that happen?"

This time Goku remained silent. `Should I tell him?' Vegeta debated. `*Can* I tell him? I need all the help I can get. But it's more likely to make him hate me as much as Hito does.'

"It's OK," Goku soothed. "He won't hate you. Tell him."

He was actually listening to Kakkarot. Talk about inconceivable. He swallowed hard, all good feeling fading. Despite everything, he found himself shaking again, and couldn't stop. He sneered at himself. `Weakling. Just tell him.'

He finally spoke. "Nappa defected so I killed him," he recited in a flat voice. "Frieza got upset and--beat me up really bad. Then he gave me to Kakkarot. He does that a lot. He'll weaken me up and then. . . Kakkarot tries to take my mind. When Kakkarot gave his loyalty to Frieza, Frieza had him trained in telepathy." He stopped, and looked at the ground. After a moment, he looked back up. "I kept him out for three years, but that day I was. . . hurt pretty seriously, and Kakkarot decided I couldn't really fight back so it would be fun to. . . to. . ." He couldn't say it. He took a deep, steadying breath. "He's a lot stronger than me. And a lot bigger, and three years older. I couldn't stop him. And when he was done, I guess I was--weaker than usual, because he--he bit me. And when he did, it was as if something in my brain just exploded, and then he was *inside* it, laughing. Telling me I was his." His voice was getting more and more shaky. Another deep breath. "And it was like my mind was just laid bare and he was sifting through it. It--it hurt so bad. . . then I passed out and when I woke up, I was here." His eyes were dull and dead.

Trunks wished he could kill that Kakkarot himself. He reached out and put a hand on Vegeta's shoulder. "You're not weak. You're not to blame. And I definitely do not hate you."

A tiny spark flickered again in his eyes. Vegeta felt too overwhelmed to reply.

Then there was a sound in the doorway, and they all spun around. Hito stood there, frowning. He'd listened to the whole story. "Vegeta. . ." he began. "I. . . I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said what I did. Seeing you--sometimes I remember me at that age and. . . well, I've been remembering a lot of stuff that happened to me."

Trunks didn't consider this to be an adequate apology, but Vegeta did. He knew what it was like to think you'd dismissed something Frieza had told you as lies and rubbish, only to find him whispering in your ear when you tried to think past him. He couldn't blame Hito, he really couldn't. Not even if it had hurt. And he was too grateful not to be shunned forever when he truly believed he deserved it.

"And Trunks is right. You're not weak."

Vegeta shook his head. "I've been dreaming," he whispered. "Almost every night. I see him in my dreams, trying to reach me. I don't think it's a dream anymore. I think he's coming after me. And I don't know what to do."

"Maybe Piccolo can help," Trunks suggested. "He's good at all that telepathy stuff."

"We should be able to seal up the link between *us* pretty well, anyway. It'll be kind of like an annoying itch, but I won't scratch at it."

"If he follows you here, we'll kill him," Hito said simply. "That's the only way to break a bond."

Vegeta looked at the three of them, amazed. Hito didn't hate him, either? Kami, none of them were acting as if they did. But they should despise him, now that they knew the truth.

"We should talk to Mom. Maybe she could think of a way to prevent them from time-traveling in the first place."

Someone laughed. Startled, Vegeta looked around. No one else seemed to have heard it. Then a voice said in his mind, very clearly, "Too late."

They all sprang up abruptly and looked towards the north, where they felt two enormous ki levels.