Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ To the Stronger ❯ 2 ( Chapter 2 )

Chapter Two

A/N:

The Saiyan Pledge: You'll learn more later, but in short, if you have your opponent completely crushed and demoralized, you can force him to pledge to you. This makes him essentially your slave. It is very rarely done, but all Saiyans know the pledge.

_______ _______ ______

After the meal and a quick shower and a change back to his formal wear (blue pants, blue shirt with black trim, black gauntlet-like gloves and black boots), the teenagers flew off to the mall.

They landed in front of the door and went inside. Vegeta tried not to gape, but he couldn't help looking around. It was much smaller than the palace, but full of people, mostly human. He'd never seen anything like all those stores before. "So. . . this is a mall."

"Haven't you ever been to a mall?" Radditz asked incredulously.

"I've never been outside the Upper Palace before today."

They stared at him for a moment.

"They're so many humans."

Kakkarot grinned. "Yeah. They're interesting, aren't they?"

"Come on, let's try this store," Radditz suggested. They walked to the teenage section. It was obviously divided into male/female and Saiyan/human clothes.

"What do you wear?" Vegeta wanted to know.

"Well. . . we wear both."

"Yeah. . . we usually wear jeans. They're comfortable."

Vegeta looked over at the jeans.

"Hey, there's Nappa and his dad. Hi, Nappa!" Kakkarot exclaimed.

Nappa came ambling over. "This is Prince Vegeta," Kakkarot said importantly.

Nappa's eyes went wide and he immediately bowed. His father hurried over and bowed, too. They stood up, looking at Vegeta curiously.

"We're getting him some school clothes," Radditz explained.

Nappa's father raised his eyebrows. "Jeans? You want the Prince to wear jeans?"

"Why? What's wrong with jeans?" Radditz demanded.

"You have to understand that what clothes you wear-and the people you talk to-make a statement. For you two, it's just a statement about you. For the Prince it's a political statement."

"Political?" Vegeta frowned.

"Yes, your highness. You're aware of the pro-human and anti-human factions. Wearing jeans indicates you are willing to adopt human cultural traditions, thereby showing approval of them. This would put you on the side of the pro-humans. Then if, at school, you make human friends, it's a statement again. If the Prince is known to be pro-human, it could actually affect Council decisions and policy."

"It's not wrong to be pro-human!" Kakkarot declared.

"No. Not if you are. Just be careful what you portray if it's not what you mean."

Vegeta nodded. Nappa's father smiled and saluted. "I'll be over in the adult clothes," he said, and left.

"So, which are you, Vegeta?" Radditz asked.

He wondered what Ani would want him to do. Ani wasn't overly fond of humans, as far as he knew, but wasn't actively against them. Well then, he guessed it would be OK. He smirked, something he'd picked up from Ani. "I'll talk to whoever I want to. I'll wear whatever I want to."

Kakkarot looked a bit taken aback by the sheer arrogance he was deliberately projecting. `Oh well, I guess he is a Prince.'

But Vegeta had suddenly stopped thinking about clothes. A new thought possessed him as he looked Nappa up and down. "Do you fight well?"

"He's the second best fighter at school," Radditz volunteered.

Vegeta's eyes narrowed. He had to know. `Was earlier a fluke? A joke? Am I really an acceptable warrior?'

"Let's go outside and spar, Nappa."

Nappa blinked, then grinned. He was always ready to spar, and with the Prince-that would be a great honor. "All right."

They went out the back of the store, to the parking lot. Radditz and Kakkarot glanced at each other, then sat down on the curb to watch.

Vegeta and Nappa stared one another down for a moment, then Nappa grinned again and attacked.

Two and a half minutes later and Nappa was on his back. Vegeta helped him up. "Wow," Nappa breathed, shaken. "You're awesome."

Kami, maybe it was true. All these years, he'd believed he was the worst, weakest warrior alive. He'd spent countless hours agonizing over it, praying that he could be just a little bit stronger. Just enough to be a real Saiyan warrior. Now, it seemed he was. This-this would take some getting used to. It made everything different.

"If Nappa's the second best, who's the best?" he asked, when he came out of his daze.

"Kakkarot. And Radditz is third best. But now everybody's going to have to move down a rank to make room for you."

They were all smiling at him, without any resentment. Ani would have been furious with him. He didn't understand these people. At all. "Bardock. How strong is he?"

"He's the second strongest Saiyan in the Empire," Radditz answered proudly. "Just after the King. I bet you'll be up there soon, though, once you get a little more training. They've got a ten or twenty year headstart on us, you know."

That was true. And Bardock was his sensei. There would be no stopping tonight then. His face went dead and emotionless again. "Let's-let's go finish getting my clothes."

They went back inside. Nappa left to find his dad as the twins pulled clothes off the rack for Vegeta to inspect. He had a decided preference for black.

He ended up with a selection of black and blue jeans, mostly black Saiyan shirts, and black fighting boots.

They stopped for pretzels, nachos and cheese, and ice cream. They sat at a little table in the food court, by a carousel, which Vegeta pretended not to find fascinating.

"So. What's this `school' like?"

Radditz sensed his hidden anxiety. "It's not too bad," he assured him, smiling. "Your day's divided up into 7 classes and 7 different teachers. Mainly you just sit at your desk and take notes on what the teacher says. Sometimes he or she'll ask questions and you'll have discussion."

"The teachers are all pretty nice," Kakkarot put in.

"And they'll give you homework to do and bring back. You'll get graded on it. And tests. It's not that much different from Saiyan teaching methods."

"We'll introduce you to all our friends!" Kakkarot gushed excitedly, mouth half full of pretzel. "You've already met Nappa. Then there's Retasu, Sarada, Mame, Chi-Chi, Bulma, Yamcha, Tien. . ."

"Those aren't all Saiyan names. And you wear jeans. And you have that woman in your house."

"Humans aren't that different from us," Radditz said. Kakkarot nodded agreement. "You just have to get used to them."

"Sarah seems nice," he ventured.

"She's great!" Kakkarot grinned.

"Hn."

________ ________

When Vegeta got back to Bardock's house, he hung his clothes up in his room, then sat down on his bed to think. There was a skylight right above the bed. He watched the clouds for awhile.

Saiyans had been living on Earth for what-3 generations now. They didn't always like each other, but they'd managed to get along well enough. Humans were much weaker, but there were so many of them. Not that that would make a difference if his people ever decided to take over-which is what the anti-human faction wanted to do. Kill them all and rule the world in their supposed superiority. Whereas the pro-humans thought they could learn from each other and ought to be friends, and the neutrals just wanted everybody to ignore each other and not make trouble.

He supposed Ani was more of a neutral than anything. He hoped he wouldn't get in trouble for more or less joining the pro-human side, but that was the side of his only allies, and therefore the side he was going to take. He'd tell Ani he was just following his sensei.

Bardock. No, he wasn't going to think about Bardock now. He got up and opened his door. He was hungry. He wondered how soon til supper. He'd ask Sarah.

When he passed Radditz's room, the door was open and the boys waved him in. Curious, he went.

Kakkarot was fiddling with Radditz's CD player. Radditz was sorting through CD's. "Hey, Vegeta, what kind of music do you like?" Kakkarot asked.

"I don't listen to a lot of it. There aren't many Saiyan bands."

Radditz and Kakkarot laughed. "No."

Radditz threw a CD at Kakkarot, who put in the player and turned it up very loud. "What's it like, being the Prince?" Radditz asked him suddenly as Megadeath filled the room.

Vegeta blinked. How in the world was he supposed to answer that? "I-I don't know."

"Do you have lots of servants?" Kakkarot wanted to know.

"Yes. But really-I mean, I never talked to them or anything. There was really just Ani."

"What's the King like?"

Vegeta scowled. "That's none of your business."

Silence. Blast. He couldn't afford to alienate them. "Look, he's stronger. All right? Stronger than everybody. He could kill you with his little finger. He commands respect. What more do you want me to say?"

Radditz looked strangely thoughtful. "Do you like him? It almost sounds as if you don't."

Kami, he was just getting deeper. "I-he's my brother. I love him." He shouldn't have admitted that. "What's your father like?"

"He's a great fighter," Kakkarot replied. "And smart. He helps out in the science labs, you know. And he's very loyal to the King."

"Well, there you go. Ani is a great fighter, very smart, and a true Saiyan." He looked at them both. "And this music is terrible."

Kakkarot reached over and turned it off as Vegeta stalked away. He looked at Radditz. "This isn't going to be pleasant, is it?"

"He's a very complicated guy," Radditz mused. "And he has a lot of mood swings."

"And he's very stuck up!"

"Is he? I think he's trying."

"Trying to be annoying."

"Kakkarot, you like everybody!"

Kakkarot sighed. "He doesn't like me. I can tell."

"But you even like people who don't like you."

Kakkarot grinned. "Don't worry. He's the Prince, and our guest. I like him."

"Good. Cause I think we need to look out for him at school. He won't know anybody."

Kakkarot regarded Radditz. "Oh, I planned on it. But why are you being so nice? You don't like everybody."

Radditz half-smiled. "Not sure. I just-think maybe he's one of those types you have to get to know."

"It's a good thing he'll be here awhile then, because I think it'll take time!"

_______ ________

Vegeta had never watched anybody cook before. He watched Sarah, and tried to clear his mind. That conversation had not gone well. He hadn't meant to alienate them. He supposed it was inevitable, though. Nobody liked him but Ani.

Sarah saw him and smiled. "Hungry?"

He nodded.

"It won't be too much longer. I'm making sweet and sour chicken and rice. Sound good?" When he just nodded again, she laughed. "You're the strong, silent type aren't you? You want to help me stir me this?"

Annoyance gave way to curiosity. He came over and stood by her. "Just stir that. That's right. So, you're in the same grade as the twins, yes?"

"Yes. They said so."

"Did they show you the schedule the school sent over for you? Then I'll show you when we're done. I'm sure you'll like it once you get used to it."

"I met Nappa today. And his otoussan."

"Ah, Nappa. He's come over to spar with the boys before. He and their friend Retasu. He's a smart boy-straight A's." He was silent. "What's your favorite subject?"

He shrugged. Did all humans talk so much?

"Personally-I liked cooking and woodworking. And I hated science. I nearly flunked it once."

"Really?"

"Of course, that was because I didn't study. OK, you can stop stirring now."

He stopped. "What's Bardock like?"

Had he sounded almost nervous? "Well, he wants the best out of everybody. You'll find that out when he's training you. But he's really a nice guy. And always fair. He works very hard."

He pondered this. Was she afraid to put down her employer or did she believe what she was saying?

"I see," he said, and walked away. She stared after him.

_________ ________

That night Vegeta lay in bed, waiting for Bardock to come to him. His muscles were so tense they ached. He had forced himself to stop thinking, as his thoughts just chased themselves around in his head. So he lay in a kind of mindless agony until it finally occurred to him he'd been waiting a long time.

He broke out in a cold sweat. `Was I supposed to have gone to his room?' It was 2 AM! `He must be furious at me!'

He practically fell out of bed in his haste. He crept silently to his trainer's room. The door was closed. He hesitated a moment, then opened it, still silently, and looked inside. Bardock was asleep.

Kami, what did he do now? Which would make him angrier, to be awoken or to be completely stood up? He was certain to be punished either way. But if he could skip this one night, he'd be grateful. He went back to his room and finally, exhausted, fell asleep.

_________ _________

He went to breakfast the next morning pale and so withdrawn he was almost lifeless. The others gave him strange looks. "Maybe he's just not a morning person," Kakkarot whispered to Radditz.

Bardock looked him over, concerned. "Did you sleep all right, Vegeta?"

Here it came. "I. . ." He didn't know what to say. "Hai."

"Well, the first day in a new place is always strange," Bardock said, smiling.

Vegeta stared at him. His tail twitched. Was that forgiveness? What was he supposed to do tonight? He couldn't come out and ask.

"How do you like your room?" Bardock continued.

What was he supposed to say and do? Vegeta's head pounded. His tail twitched again. "I find it very. . . inviting. . ." he mumbled.

Bardock grinned widely. "Good." He returned to eating.

So then. . . it was OK? First night allowance. Vegeta sagged somewhat in relief. No punishment. He hoped. And he'd offered his room and Bardock had agreed to it. Not. . . not that he wanted. . . oh, kami. How could Ani do this to him? He was surely going to be punished. Yasai wasn't known for mercy. Bardock was sure to be. . . bad.

__________ _________