Chapter Two:
Vegeta awoke earlier than he normally would have, according to the hazy light filtering through the slightly open curtains. He wondered for a second what had awakened him, searching about the room for possible answers. A quick glance down revealed that he had fallen asleep completely clothed, appearing wrinkled and disheveled in comparison to his usual crispness. The prince sighed. He would just have to buy something else to wear that day, and deal with his current state of dress in the meantime.
Suddenly, his head snapped up, alerting him to what had caused him to wake so early. His tail bristled as the sound of a sharp, snapping crack issued from somewhere outside. More alertly this time, the prince checked his senses. Yes, he could hear something else as well, but not clearly. He jumped from his bed, rushing to the window on the far wall of the sitting room. It gave a nice view of the Crown City stretched below, facing eastward so one could catch the sunrise.
He blinked at the sunlight stinging his tired eyes. More importantly, not only could he see Crown City, but he could also see a portion of the alleyway below. Now he was closer he could both see, hear, and smell better than in the other room.
Another loud crack, followed by weak whimpering, then shouting. He could smell it now. Blood. Thick, fresh, Saiyan.
Without thinking, Vegeta threw the window wide, propping a white boot on the sill and launching himself out into the sky above. Cold, winter air hit him like a club in his sleepy, warm state. It succeeded in waking him the rest of the way, though, as if the scent of blood wasn't enough.
He looked down at the alleyway below, now able to see much more than what was visible from the window. He hovered there, frozen at the sight before him.
The innkeeper, Cchini, was standing over a limp form, whip raised high above him. He was shouting something, though Vegeta was hard-pressed to know what it was in his shock. He fought through his haze, listening to Cchini's words.
"How dare you sleep in that room, you stupid, good-for-nothing whore!" He growled, landing another slash against the already bleeding and nearly unrecognizable form.
Only from the tufts of black hair and thick bronze collar was he able to tell who the man was venting his fury on. That young, handsome boy was lying face down, damn-near naked in a snow-covered alleyway, tinted crimson. His muscled back was covered in both welts and his own blood. Not only that, but he was also unconscious, unable to protect himself or even voice a complaint.
Cchini raised the whip again, ready to land yet another blow on the broken form. Vegeta descended upon the scene before he had a chance to strike again.
"Stop!" He shouted, sending a carefully aimed blast of ki at the whip. It spun out of the stunned innkeeper's hand, landing in a pile of snow behind the both of them. "What has this young man done to deserve this?" Vegeta cried, enraged.
The stone walls of the alcove rang with the cry, echoing it through the cold, morning air. The snow piled in the corners was dirty and old, colored red in spots from where the blood-soaked whip had landed.
"This is none of your business!" Cchini shouted right back, aiming a ki blast at the prince's chest.
"I'd think twice before trying to kill me!" Vegeta called, mockingly.
The owner seemed not to have heard him, leveling his palms at the short form, and loosing his ball of ki. Vegeta caught it effortlessly in his gloved hand, adding to the weak ball and causing it to grow at an alarming rate.
The prince delighted in seeing the cruel eyes widen in fear as he reached his arm out until his elbow locked. He turned it back at the muscled man without another word, watching it hit him with astounding force. The innkeeper crumpled to the snow covered ground, rendered unconscious and bleeding profusely from a cut to his head.
That taken care of, Vegeta ran to the barely breathing form of the boy still sprawled where he had first seen him. He had been whipped from the tops of his shoulders all the way down to his ankles, crisscrossed strokes oozing dark blood. His long tail seemed to be shattered, broken not once, but so many times it didn't even resemble a tail anymore.
Slowly but surely, the young man was bleeding and freezing to death. It seemed to be a fight between which could finish him first, blood loss or exposure.
A hospital would be far too slow, besides the fact that it would likely be a wait before they could get the boy in there. He hated to do it, but he had already given himself away by his blast of ki. Besides, it was closer and more advanced- not to mention mostly empty. He would take him to the medical unit of the palace.
Wincing slightly at the pain he knew this would cause the boy, Vegeta picked him up in both arms. Now that he was face-up, he could see too that he had been severely ki-burned on his chest and torso. Vegeta's blood boiled at the disgusting cruelty of it. There were all kinds of nasty scars covering his limp body, barely obscured by the shredded tatters of what used to be his tan-colored pants. Readjusting the young man in his arms, Vegeta took off to where he severely didn't want to go, but definitely needed to be.