Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ The Master Becomes the Slave ❯ The Master Becomes the Slave ( Chapter 1 )

The Master Becomes the Slave by Kaialicious

Disclaimer: DragonBall Z and the characters of DragonBall Z are not of my creation. They solely belong to Akira Toriyama. I have in no way made any profit off Toriyama's work other than to create a fictional tale for my personal enjoyment.

Warning: This story contains Yaoi situations. It is not for under age readers.

Author's Note: This story takes place in an alternate universe (and boy does it ever). It was actually my first attempt at writing a Vegeta/Goku Yaoi, but I neglected it and posted two others in its stead. It also began as a one shot, but I have decided to make it a continuation fic. ^_^

*****

He was about to leave the market place when he happened to catch something out of his peripheral vision.

A slave merchant was hawking his merchandise in a nearby alcove. Kneeling beside him was an adult male whose physical appearance quickly drew Vegeta.

He approached the merchant and halted before the alcove.

"Looking for something unusual, sir? I have fine and exotic female slaves. Blue, pink, green, any alien race you want."

Vegeta let the merchant's voice drone on. He focused his attention on the slave next to the old man.

He was surprised to see that the slave's spiky shock of black hair, wide eyes, strong facial features, and the long furry tail were that of another Saiyan male.

The slave stared up at him curiously. He looked very familiar.

Vegeta remembered a soldier in his father's army, a low class Saiyan by the name of Bardock. The slave resembled him so much, that he could be his twin.

Vegeta suddenly realized who the slave was.

Kakarrot.

The son of Bardock, yes. The features of the two Saiyans were the same. The slave's face however was somewhat softer than his father's was, less hardened by war.

Vegeta remembered that Kakarrot had been sent out to some distant planet when he was just a babe. He had ended up here, but the planet was not in shambles, which puzzled Vegeta. How had he become a mere slave? Why had he allowed this disgrace to happen?

He wanted some answers, but first, he had to remove the Saiyan from beneath the merchant's yoke.

"How much?" he asked the grizzled looking man.

"You do not want him, your majesty. He is a troublemaker -very wild. He will not listen to anyone who buys him. Every master that he has ever had has returned him to me within hours."

"And so you punish him for his behavior by starving him?"

"I cannot control him otherwise," the merchant argued.

"You will sell him to me." Vegeta handed him a small bag. The weight alone would guarantee the slave's purchase.

"He goes by the name of Goku," the merchant said. "He won't answer to anything else, believe me, many have tried giving him another name. He's a stubborn one he is."

Saiyan pride.

Vegeta turned to Kakarrot and told him, "Come."

Kakarrot looked at him blankly.

"He's your new master, Goku," the merchant explained. "He paid top money for you. You had better do as he says. He's rich and he can give you all the food that you want, just behave yourself."

That got the slave moving. He rose to his feet.

He was wearing a thin metal collar around his neck and a cream-colored loincloth. His feet were bare. He was a little on the thin side, but had not lost too much weight. He still had the adequate muscle mass that distinguished him as a full-blooded adult Saiyan.

Why had he not taken the food from the merchant? He was certainly stronger than the man was.

"Come, Kakarrot," Vegeta repeated.

"My name is Goku," the slave told him.

"Your real name is Kakarrot."

The slave laughed and said, "Well that's a silly name."

Vegeta decided that either he was impertinent or incredibly stupid.

The merchant hit him at the back of his head. "You want to eat, don't you? Shut up and go with him."

Goku rubbed his head and stepped out from under the alcove.

"Your name is Kakarrot," Vegeta assured him, "and I will call you by no other. It is the name that was given to you by your father and it is a symbol of your Saiyan heritage."

"Saiyan heritage?"

"Yes."

"What's a Saiyan?"

Vegeta was startled by his question. "You…do not know?"

"This is the first time that I have ever heard of it."

The ship that he had been sent off in had had all the information that was needed to educate him. Perhaps the vessel had been damaged, leaving Kakarrot clueless to his ancestry and his mission. That would explain everything.

"Then there is much that I must teach you."

"Well…all right," he said uncertainly, "but only if I get something to eat first."

*****

He had brought him to his home a short moment ago. Goku had seemed impressed by his wealth.

"Wow," he had said. "This sure is a big place. You live here alone?"

"Yes."

"Don't you get lonely?"

Vegeta had ignored his question. He set some food out on the table for the Saiyan and sat down in the chair beside him.

"Eat slowly," Vegeta instructed him.

The slave disregarded him and began gorging himself on the food.

"Stop it, Kakarrot!" Vegeta knocked the food from his hand.

Goku gasped as his precious food spilled to the ground. He gave the prince a vicious glare.

"You have to eat slowly or you will suffer from stomach cramps," Vegeta explained to him.

"But I'm hungry." He tried to shove handfuls of berries into his mouth.

Vegeta knocked that out of his hand as well. "Must I feed you?"

Goku blinked.

"I am not feeding you!" Vegeta shouted. "Go on, fill your belly until you throw up, I don't care!"

Goku did just that, but he did not retch.

"I don't feel so good, master."

Vegeta made a sound of disgust and muttered, "Idiot."

*****

Goku was curled up beneath the sheets, fighting off his cramps. Vegeta sat in a chair at his bedside, his arms crossed, and a look of displeasure on his face.

"Maybe next time you will do as I say."

Goku hugged a pillow to his stomach. "Food sure can pack a wallop," he said.

Vegeta frowned. "Enough talk about food, Kakarrot. Let's speak of something else."

"What?"

"How did you become a slave?"

Goku shrugged and said, "I don't know. I've been one all of my life."

Vegeta was stunned. "You did not fight your oppressors or try to escape them?"

"That's forbidden," Goku said.

He did not escape his fate because it was forbidden. Vegeta had never heard of such a ridiculous thing.

"Kakarrot, I cannot believe you. You are a Saiyan. Even if you were still a babe, you would have realized your predicament and ruined those who had enslaved you."

"I couldn't do that," he said. "They were very nice to me."

"Nice?" Vegeta spat out the word.

"Yeah. I did cause them a lot of trouble though."

Vegeta wondered exactly what kind of trouble. Kakarrot was a Saiyan. Perhaps his strength had caused damage to his former owners' property. Perhaps his eating had left a dent in their pockets. Saiyans needed a lot of food to replace their massive amounts of energy. Maybe Kakarrot had nearly eaten his masters' fortunes to near extinction. Either that or his utter stupidity had been too much for them to handle.

Given his lack of intelligence, yes, that sounded more rational.

"You said that I'm a Saiyan," Kakarrot interrupted his thoughts.

"Yes. We are the last of our race," Vegeta began. He expounded on the legacy of their people, their beginnings, and their evolution into the perfect strain of warriors. Then finally, he told him of their end at the fate of a meteor.

"We should never forget our ancestry," Vegeta finished saying and looked down at him.

Goku had fallen asleep.

Vegeta wondered if he had heard a word of what he had said.

*****

I opted to keep Vegeta unaware of the true cause of the destruction of his home world. I know, shame on me, but it's an AU fic, remember? ^_^