The First Step

Prince Vegeta angrily rocketed through the sky and away from the Saiyan Palace. He intended to get as far as he could from his father at the moment. His old man was always telling him what to do and how to do it, which constantly played on his nerves, and today, he didn't think he could take much more of it; so he fled. Surely the king would be fuming when he returned, but this little breather was for them both; that lecture would have ended in a nasty physical fight, which would definitely upset the queen.

The young prince frowned and cranked up his speed. Why could his father understand that he just wanted to rule in his own way when the time came?

As he neared the border that separated the Saiyan Kingdom from the Tuffles, something peculiar moving slowly across the ground caught his eye. The young prince dropped his elevation to better observe. It was a person, who seemed to be struggling for something.

"Almost got it..." He heard their voice pronounce as he came closer and began descending.

"Hey you there!" Prince Vegeta called as he touched down before a little girl.

The girl raised her head briefly to see him, and for the first time, his dark eyes met the most enchanting blue eyes. She looked a little younger than ten years of age…maybe eight or nine, younger than his twelve years, and she was definitely not saiyan. The long blue-colored hair was a dead giveaway; she had to be a Tuffle. And she was…dressed in all white tuffle-crafted garments and possessed a scouter that was setting neatly beside her, along with another weird tuffle device.

"You are tresspassing on Saiyan grounds, Tuffle girl!" The Saiyan Prince raged with arms crossed as he looked down on her.

"No I'm not! According to my GPS, there is an imaginary line here that separates the two kingdoms, so I haven't even stepped foot on Saiyan grounds." The girl said, returning her attention back to the sole objective.

She continued reaching as if her life depended on it. She had to have it. It was just too beautiful to give up on, and she would never find one on the super-industrialized grounds where she lived. The Saiyans had all the pretty things on their land and all the cute little animals. The Tuffles only had greenhouses that were used to produce vegetation for food pills and experiments, and that was all.

"You Tuffles think you are all so smart!" He patronized with a hint of laughter. "While you have not stepped foot on our land, your hand has crossed the border! And not only that! You are attempting to steal what belongs to the King of Saiyans!"

She realized the boy was correct in his analysis and slowly stood to her feet. The once determined expression he saw earlier upon her face had fallen. Her big blue eyes filled with water that slowly began pouring down her reddened cheeks.

The saiyan prince had never seen such a sight; she was doing what was called crying. Crying was such a rare occurrence among saiyans, so he had never witnessed the act in person before. He was taught that only weaklings cried, and not even his frail little brother did such a thing.

There was a sudden gust of wind, causing her aqua tresses to ripple like the ocean waves as sparkling tears were blown from her pretty face.

He watched the very essence of beauty in awe and then suddenly jerked back a bit, feeling a faint twinge in his chest. He furrowed a brow in bemusement. For some odd reason, he wanted to stop her tears; he hated seeing them, and he hated that unfamiliar ache in his heart.

He then aimed an index finger at the stem of the flower and formed a small ray of ki to cut the blossom free. The wind immediately carried it away, bringing it safely into Tuffle Territory.

"Well! Don't just stand there!" Prince Vegeta shouted in annoyance. "Go get it!"

Her eyes brightened upon realization, and she thanked him with a smile before running after the flower that now danced in the wind.

'How foolish!' he thought to himself, smirking as he took off in the direction back to the Saiyan Palace. At that time, however, he was not aware that her crying face, along with such a sweet smile of gratitude, would taunt him in his dreams that night.