Mai Mitsukai (My Angel)
By: Stacey Meyer a.k.a. Crazyhelga
Overall Rating: 'R'
'The Prologue' Rating: 'PG'
Warnings for 'The Prologue': None
Life. What is it, and why do we live it like we do? What good does life bring us? Kami only knows. As I look towards the sky, I see a star falling from the Heavens and I remember a story of old. A glorious battle of love and hate, of passion and desire, of good and evil. And I remember, every time a star falls, that is a trapped soul finally being set free. Free from demons, free from Hell.
This, my comrades, is the story of my life. The story of the good dying young and the evil living forever. My years go slowly and my innocence was quickly snatched from me in my youth. I'm going to warn you, this story is nothing you've ever imagined, and it's not going to be very pretty. So if you can stomach my tale, I urge you to continue, but if you are offended in any way, well… you've been warned.
It starts in the middle of a quiet afternoon in the small village of Emiko on the planet of Vegeta-sei. My mother, Aiko, was ten months into her twelve month pregnancy, and was reading the newspaper at the kitchen table. My father, Yuki, had been gone since he heard she was pregnant, causing her to be a single mother, even though she was married to a man who couldn't commit to her or her unborn child.
Life was going quite smoothly for Aiko despite Yuki's disappearance, and so was her pregnancy. She visited the village medicine man and had a checkup, declaring her pregnancy a healthy one, well healthy for a Saiyajin woman, and told her to expect a girl. So she sat at the table, reading the happenings on Vegeta-sei and what was going on inside the kingdom. It seemed that a heir was bestowed upon the throne. A young prince that was named after his kingdom, Prince Vegeta. The newspaper said that King Vegeta was elated about the news, but was also worried about the queen, Nyoko, for she wasn't fairing quite as well as the chibi prince.
There was also a mandatory meeting stated in the paper, requiring all expecting parents of children to be born within the next six months to join in the kingdom that evening for prearranged unions under the Saiyajin court of law. Aiko sighed and took a sip of the steaming herbal tea sitting on the cherry wood table in front of her, setting the paper down in the process. Rubbing her temples, she took another sip and hefted herself from the chair she was sitting in. Being ten months pregnant made it look like she had a small planet hidden underneath her shirt, and according to her, it felt that way too. She hated the idea of subjecting her child to a prearranged marriage. The main reason was because she was forced to marry Yuki, her parents claiming they were required to be wed according to the law, under punishment of solitary confinement. And if there was one thing Aiko hated, it was being alone. Just like she was. All alone, just her and her daughter.
"Yuki, why did you leave me, especially like this?" She rubbed her belly and went to the bathroom and showered, preparing herself for tonight's meeting. She got out of the shower and toweled herself dry and slipped into a very light gown, taking into regards of the heated Summer nights on Vegeta-sei. The dress was red with white trim had a thin black sash that wrapped around her underneath the bust. She took a look at herself and brushed her coal black hair and put half of it up into a bun and left the other half down to hang in loose curls at her waist. She wasn't as muscular as the other Saiyajin women due to a genetic defect inherited to all the women in her family. She was desired by many men and hated by the majority of the women because of her soft curves as opposed to the normal muscular definition of a standard female.
After looking herself over in the mirror one last time, she leapt into the air and headed towards to castle to see what was in store for the chibi-sized Saiyajin growing inside of her. Landing on the grass, Aiko padded softly onto the marble sidewalk and up to the doors of the gigantic palace. A guard escorted the pregnant woman to the conference room where the arrangements were to take place. The king was seated at the far end of the table next to the high priest who would be running this unity meeting.
"Welcome, sirs and madams alike. Please, have a seat, for we have a large task at hand, but not much time. First off, if you are not due in six months or less, I will have to ask you to leave. It is stated in law 354B that no Saiyajin shall be coupled before six months of development, for fear of death before birth and leaving the other half of the coupling without a mate before they are even officially mated." Some Saiyajins left, but the majority remained, awaiting the next order from the high priest. "Next line of business. I will name off the arranged unions by last name, this will include the random coupling of the Prince Vegeta to his future mate." The room immediately went into sheer chaos. Everyone wanted their daughter to be joined with the prince, and were fighting amongst themselves on whose daughter would be better for the young heir. "Quiet!" The room silenced once more, "As I said before, it is random, and nothing that is said or done will change the outcome. Now if you don't mind, I would like to begin so I can get to sleep at a decent time."
So the high priest started listing off the coupled pair's last names, male first and then their chosen mate.
"……Oki and Leiko….. Kioko and Mina…… Tori and Yoko……" About half-way through, Aiko got nervous, wondering who her unborn daughter would be stuck with for the rest of her existence. She looked up at the priest and gave him her full attention. "…Vegeta no Ouji and Shan…." All the parents of the daughters not coupled with Vegeta groaned and the priest eyed them all and continued his rambling, "Udo and Raidon… Tanaka and Kin…"
About an hour later, the priest finished and Aiko was still in shock. She couldn't believe it. Her daughter was to be wed. Not to just some Saiyajin, but to an elite, to her prince. King Vegeta smiled to Aiko and pulled her to the side to talk to her privately.
"Hello, Shan Aiko." Aiko kneeled before the king and waited for permission to arise. "Please, our children are to be wed, there is no need to bow to me."
"Thank-you, your highness."
"I'm sorry that Nyoko isn't here to meet the mother of the child that will bring my son happiness in the future."
"How is the queen fairing?" The monarch's face darkened slightly at the mention of his wife's health.
"Nyoko isn't doing too well. She has slipped into a comatose state, and the lab technicians are not sure of when she will awaken to see her son for the first time, if she will at all."
"I'm sorry to hear that, sire. I wish the best for the queen, and I do hope she gets better." The future princess kicked the inside of I'm afraid I have to be going, my feet are killing me and she's trying to rip open my insides." King Vegeta chuckled and looked at Aiko and smiled weakly.
"I'll have one of my guards escort you back to your home. Farewell, and make sure my future daughter is treated well."
"I will, farewell."
Aiko and a guard flew from the palace grounds to her house within minutes. She thanked the elite kindly and went in for a well deserved night of sleep.
"My baby, the future queen of Vegeta-sei. Who would have imagined that this would've happened?" She smiled brightly and laid down on her soft bed, welcoming sleep almost instantly.
Author's Note: So, what'd ya think? I hope none of you are confused, because I know that I kind of am O.O Hehe… Just to let you know, Bulma's mother's last name is Briefs, so if that's why you're scratching your head thinking her last name isn't Shan, maybe that helped a little. She will eventually use her mother's maiden name in the future instead of her father's name. Get it? Got it? Good. Well, hope you enjoyed! R&R if you must! Peace!
Stacey - Crazyhelga
Japanese Terms
Aiko - Beloved
Yuki - Lucky or Snow
Nyoko - Gem
Chibi - Runt, Dwarf
Shan - Beautiful
Mitsukai - Angel