DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN DRAGON BALL Z OR YU YU HAKUSHO! NO MONEY IS BEING MADE FROM THIS WORK OF ART!

HIGH VELOCITY

CHAPTER THREE

THE PAIN, OH THE PAIN!

Sleep was an elusive partner for the four star-crossed lovers who felt all their hopes, wishes and dreams were doomed to failure all because what they desired was not of the norm. Abandoning any hope or idea of slumber, the boys left their rooms, unfortunately at the same time.

"Oh this is just perfect! Let me guess you couldn't sleep either? Hiei, take them around the castle. I'm going riding," the prince said in harsh tones as he turned to leave the other three.

The three stared after the prince as he stalked down the long hallway; Hiei hating the feeling that he had been left holding the bag. Well, that was nothing new when it came to his cousin or to these things called feelings. Why were they so complex? Why did he and the prince have to have them? Hiei sighed.

"C'mon, I know a good place to be alone with our thoughts," the young Marquis said and led his guest down the hallway the prince had disappeared.

"The prince sure is a strange one. No wonder he's still single," Kakarrot remarked as the trio passed the king's chamber where a sound from within caught their ears.

"Harder, Bardock, harder! Oh, God, yesss, there! Don't stop, don't stop! Ohh, ahhh, yeeeiiiiii!" were the sounds that came from within the darkened room. "Oh, God, love, you are still the only one for me. We'll help the boys. Love conquers all. Good night, koi," a deep voice said.

"Good night, my royal one," Bardock's voice replied and the boys crept passed the room.

It was a full ten minutes before either of them said anything, then the three of them looked at one another with expressions of shock.

"That is so weird! I had no idea the king and my dad knew one another!" Kakarrot gasped when the boys were in the library.

"Apparently, and very well, too!" Hiei remarked in awe.

"No wonder my brother Raditz could have been the prince's twin with ankle length hair!" the larger boy exclaimed. "I had a mom but dad told me that she died after I was born."

"Well, the prince and myself both had mums but his died not soon after he was pushed into the universe and mine lives in another world. She couldn't keep me because there are no males born in the tribe in which she origins. After I was born, she had to hide me, so she came to this plane and left me with the Duke, whom she had seduced to lay with her," Hiei rambled. 'But he's not my real sire,' the small marquis thought with a sigh.

"But what about Prince Vegeta?" Kurama asked.

"Come, I will tell you all I know of his people but the king knows more," the marquis shrugged and led the boys from the library.

Prince Vegeta had left the palace and did what very few sons of nobility ever did; he took a walk. He had no idea where he was going as he spent very little time home let alone in the city. When he was 'home,' he stayed in the country enjoying his privacy and his fantasies of him and Kakarrot sparring, battling or making mad passionate love like the kind he saw in forbidden movies on the road with Broli and Hiei. Yes, Broli was a part of HIGH VELOCITY but he was a much more commanding presence than the prince and marquis that he had to be remanded to the background. Nonetheless, the prince strolled down the unfamiliar streets when…

" 'Allo, there, Zarbon, mate loo'y what just breezed in from uptown, Mr. Fancy Pants 'isself! Reckon Lord Frieza would like a word as to why such a being as this is in 'is sector of the city?" a voice spoke with a thick, dirty sounding city accent.

"I suppose so, Dodoria. He's such a pretty boy, shall we see what he's made of?" a deep voice chuckled in smoother, posher accents than the first, replied.

The prince growled then crouched into a fighting position. "Bring it on, scum! I fight the likes of you at every show I do, so you don't scare me!" the prince hissed.

The street was dark but the prince could make out his opponent. He was a large pink balloon looking alien thing covered with warts and horns. He was as coarse in appearance as he was in speech, and he smelled horrendously. Nonetheless, the prince's blood ran wild with the thought of combat, and as his assailant flew towards him, the prince couldn't help the smirk that graced his lips. When the pink wart-horned blob was within a heartbeat of the prince, Vegeta phased out and reappeared above the creature, slamming him in the back with hands joined into one large fist. From there the fight escalated and power discharged from the two fighters until…

"DODORIA!" an effeminate voice snarled and the fighters halted in mid attack. "What is the meaning of this? How many times must I warn you about fighting while on duty?" the voice snarled, a 'tip, tip' sounded on the cement as if something was walking.

"Who dares interrupt my fight with this sub creature?" Prince Vegeta growled.

Suddenly, a white thing with a long tail stepped into the street lighting. The thing had blood red eyes; black lips the color of Lord Hiei's eyes. The being was no bigger than the prince himself but the energy the prince was picking up that rolled off this being made the demi-monarch physically ill.

"Well, well, my ones, looks like another 'prince' has lost his way only to find us. He's absolutely exquisite, I must have this one!" the being stepped close to the flame haired prince who took a step back.

Normally the prince never ran from a fight, but in this case an exception had to be made. Vegeta was about to do just that when he found himself pushed to the ground and something hard on the back of his neck.

"Get… off… of… me!" Vegeta struggled to grind out as he felt whatever it was crushing his skull.

"Oh, no, princeling. I want a bit of fun!" and with that, the being coiled a snake like tail around the prince's neck, lifted him from the ground and threw him across the alley in which Vegeta had passed by.

The being pounced on the prince and began ripping his clothes from his body. Vegeta's brain finally registered what was happening and put is body in motion. "Don't touch me, you filthy gutter worm! Take your hands from me! No. Stop! Ahhhh!" was the prince's final cry before his world went black as intense pain seared from the base of his spine to his brain.

"Vegeta!" Kakarrot gasped as he and the other two had been touring the royal gallery.

"What? What's wrong with Vegeta?" Hiei asked, the color draining from his face.

"Attacked, beaten. C'mon, let's go!" Kakarrot exclaimed.

"How?" the other two youths exclaimed.

"Like this!" Kakarrot grabbed both boys by the wrists, put two fingers to his forehead and the three phased out only to materialize on a grizzly scene. "Oh, my God, no! 'Geta!" Kakarrot roared energy from everywhere seemed to erupt from the teen and he flew into the prince's attacker.

The white being went flying when suddenly it felt a sharp stinging across its back followed by a burning in his side.

"So, we meet at last. We've heard about you, Frieza, and how you want to destroy the established order if you could capture the prince! News flash, maggot, it'll never happen! I suggest you crawl back into whatever hole spat you out and stay we'll clear of the crown jewel. He's off limits!" Hiei spat as he had jammed his sword into the side of the white being and Kurama had lashed him with his "rosewhip."

Kakarrot had gone to see about the prince who lay unconscious, badly clawed and beaten and just clinging to life. The large teen could not stop the tears that fell from his onyx eyes as he placed a hand on the small prince. Kurama went to investigate as Hiei frightened off the other alley scum in deep London.

"C'mon, we've gotta get him to a hospital, he's in critical!" Kakarrot sniffed; however wailing sirens signaled the arrival of authorities.

"What goes on… Prince Vegeta! Hold on, yer grace, we'll have you right as rain in no time!" a police officer gasped when she saw the prince in a pool of royal blood.

"No, don't move him! He has a severe neck injury thus it is ill advised to move him at this time," a voice said through the darkness, followed by the emergence of a tall green being from out of the alley.

"Who or what are you?" Lord Hiei requested a sneer in his tone.

Bowing, the being replied, "I am called Piccolo, I am from a planet called Namek. I can heal this young unfortunate enough to get him to the hospital if I am permitted to do so," Piccolo requested of those gathered.

"It would be in his best interest if it is performed quickly! He's losing a lot of blood," Hiei permitted and watched as the being stretched his hands over the fallen prince.

Energy waves emitted from Piccolo's palms and washed over Vegeta. "He can be moved now. I will keep watch over this area of town but I am no match for that being I saw attack the young one tonight," Piccolo said as the medics gently lifted the prince's body onto a body board the lay it and him on a stretcher.

The medic loaded the prince into the back of the ambulance then turned to the marquis.

"Your grace, will you inform his majesty? We will take him to the medical arts center," a female medic told the boys.

"I wanna ride with him, if that's ok?" Kakarrot asked and the medics looked skeptical.

"Allow him so. I will inform his majesty and join the two forthwith," the demi-duke nodded then turned to Kakarrot. Looking up, the youth said, "Take care of my cousin. He loves you as I love Kurama. We'll figure out how to be together, let's get him well first off. Go," Hiei nodded then the larger teen jumped into the back of the ambulance with another medic who was tending to the prince.

After the medical transport had left the scene, Hiei and Kurama walk back to the royal town house.

"God, uncle's gonna kill me, Vegeta's his pride and joy and the only one the queen was able to have," Hiei sighed as they neared the town house.

"The only one? What abut Cornelia?" Kurama asked as they walked to the rear of the dwelling.

"Paragus'. My uncle lost his first koi so after the queen died, Paragus consoled him. As a reward, uncle offered the guard himself on the understanding that if a child were conceived, that the king would be given the child and never told who had birthed him/her. Cory has no knowledge that Paragus is her birth parent. Here we are. This is the servants' entrance and is always open. This will take us through the kitchen, then we can make our way to the king's suite," Hiei remarked as they entered the house and proceeded as quietly as possible.

In the emergency room, Kakarrot sat in the waiting area as the prince had been taken back for emergency surgery. He prayed that the young demi-monarch would pull through this without much damage, however, Kakarrot wasn't stupid and he had seen some of the female models he and Kurama worked with after some of them had been attacked. On of the girls in particular was a blue haired beauty with big blue eyes named Bulma Briefs. A particularly rude customer who found her to his liking had accosted her, attacked her after the show and raped her. She quit the business after that incident and went back to assist her dad, who was a multimillionaire in constructing capsule merchandise. Kakarrot had heard from two of the other female models he worked around that Bulma was an emotional wreck and cringed even at the mention of a male. The large teen lay his head back when…

"Son, would you like to sit with his highness until the king arrives?" a pleasant faced nurse asked a few hours later and Kakarrot nodded. The big teen rose and followed her.

Kakarrot nearly passed out from seeing the prince hooked to every conceivable contraption a hospital had to offer. However, he had to remain strong so that he could share his strength with the young man who occupied his every dream and whom he had fantasized of fighting against in a ring or tournament. Pulling an office chair over to the prince's bed, Kakarrot lifted his right hand to take hold of the prince's left one and lifted it to inspect it. The large teen gasped! How could someone so small pact the kind of power he had seen on various martial arts fights the prince had been in? Kakarrot's thumb caressed the velvet skin that encased rock hard iron muscles and he could not resist bringing the hand that he held to his lips for a kiss.

'Your highness, I'm sorry if I offend you, I don't mean to. As a model I don't have to think much, just pose, glide down a runway, make eyes at women begging for a kiss, being mauled and trying to keep my urge to fight at bay. No one will ever know how I envy HIGH VELOCITY and the two of you but I love you more and I'd quit modeling in an instant just to be with you,' the large teen sniffed as he spoke mentally. 'I'm sorry that you hate me.'

'How could I hate him who sets my heart and soul ablaze? He, who inspires my every song, wishes hopes and dreams? I, too, have thought about quitting to be with you. I love you so much that it hurts. When your cousin mentioned our careers, I saw my every desire crash and burn, my every reason for breathing disintegrate before my eyes. That's why I went for the walk. Poppa's gonna kill me when he finds out, I only hope… Oh, no!' the prince's mental voice became panicked and fear filled.

'My prince, what is it?' Kakarrot asked, his voice also in a panic.

'Get the nurse! This thing needs to be removed before it can develop!' Vegeta cried in anguish.

"Nurse! His highness is in distress!" Kakarrot informed the nurse who then called for a medic.

"Where is he? What's happened to the prince? I'll kill the blackguard what harmed my crown jewel!" an angered voice roared through the medical complex.

"Please, sire. We won't know exactly what transpired until the boy-" a young orderly had stopped when he heard a commotion behind him.

"What the freak…? What's going on here? Where are you taking him?" the very angry king snarled. He had stopped another group of orderlies as they wheeled the gurney the prince lay upon through the waiting area.

"Sire, we have to take him to ex-ray. He was attacked and we're still accessing the damage," a surgeon explained.

"Your majesty, come, let's sit down and I'll explain what I know," Kakarrot said as he bowed to the thundering monarch.

The king moved to the gurney and gazed at the unconscious figure of his son. Lifting his hand, the royal one palmed his son's black-reddish brown highlighted flame of hair and choked on a sob that threatened to escape.

"W-who would dare to touch you in such a manner, my only one? I swear on all that is sacred that I'll turn the universe upside down to find your attacker," the king vowed then gasped. "Oh my God, cut that thing out of him now!" the monarch growled and the medical team couldn't move fast enough getting the prince into surgery.

'Come, koi, maybe my son can tell us what he knows.' Bardock put an arm around the king's shoulders and lead him to a seat in the waiting room.

"I-the prince and I had finally gotten together when Kurama called us to tell us something. He reminded us of our careers but I plan to quit mine to be with the prince. What I saw and felt tonight…Anyway, Prince Vegeta didn't take the reminder well and left the three of us. I guess he must have gone for a walk and ended up on the wrong side of town. A vision flashed before my eyes that the prince was being attacked. The three of us left to aid him and when we got to the place I had seen in my vision, I went crazy and kicked some kind of reptile white monster thing away from my prince. How dare he presume to take what is mine!" Kakarrot growled unconsciously.

Despite the situation, the king smirked. "Kakarrot, you have just claimed your mate and I know when he recovers he'll do the same. Were there any witnesses?" the king asked.

"I'm here, your majesty. I witnessed the whole scene," a large being stepped into the waiting and bowed.

The king gasped. "I know you. You're name is Piccolo, correct? Kakarrot fought against you in a tournament some years ago, did he not?" the king asked as he surveyed the green being with antennae like extensions and eye ridges where eyebrows would be on other humanoid creatures.

"Yes, your majesty, he did. I was in the alley with my family and saw the whole ordeal. The prince was minding his own when a fat pink tub of lard being accosted him. Tubby then spoke to another being with blue skin and asked if Lord Frieza wouldn't be interested in the young prince. The blue being remarked that they should see what the prince was made of, thus the pink blob attacked but the prince got the first hit in. He continued to dominate he fight until a white reptile looking thing stepped into the fray and stopped it. The prince asked the being who dared interrupt his battle and the being took offense. The white thing attacked the prince, stood on his head and tried to squash his skull, after that, the being threw the prince into the alley and raped him. I cautioned the medics about moving him as he had a severe neck injury and mobility would have paralyzed him. I healed him so that he could be brought here," Piccolo explained.

"How did you come to be here?" Hiei asked, as he looked the being up and down.

"I followed at a distance. I hate scum like that slime ball Frieza and I want nothing more than to rid the town of his terror. He's the worse landlord, if you can call him that. He attacked my brother, Nail, when we were behind on the rent by a half-week. We work as much as we can but we don't have it when he wants it," Piccolo explained.

"We'll deal with this Lord Frieza and make things suitable for your family. Come see us in the morrow and we'll discuss better conditions for your family," the king nodded and gave Piccolo a number to contact him with.

"Many thanks, your grace. If it please the king, I shall check on the boy?" Piccolo asked before he left the hospital.

"It so pleases him. I owe a debt of thanks for healing my son. Till the morrow, then," the king nodded and bade the green being a good-night. Then he turned to Kakarrot. "Am I to understand that you dealt with that Lord Frieza being?" the king asked as he regarded the boy with a haughty expression.

"Yes, sir. I felt Ve… His highness was in danger and I only reacted. I took Kurama and Lord Hiei and we fought him," Kakarrot smirked after the king released the hug he had accepted from Bardock and turned to his nephew and Bardock's nephew.

""Nephew?" the two asked in unison.

"I was protecting my cousin. I don't think that Lord Frieza will be worrying us any time soon. You really whooped up on his ass, didn't you, Kurama? I'd hate to be on the receiving end of the rosewhip," Kakarrot snickered.

"Kakarrot, watch your tongue!" Bardock hissed and raised his hand to correct the teen.

"Koi, no. I do not take offense. His highness' language is not what you would expect for a royal, so I look past such gaucheness. Nappa, you and Turles hunt up something for us to eat while we wait for his highness to come from surgery," the king requested of his body guard and another that could have been Kakarrot's twin brother.

The two bowed and left the hospital to attend the king's request. The royals sat quiet with their own thoughts. At that time, Tien, Paragus, Jolene and the girls, Broli and Raditz arrived at the hospital and the younger teens informed them of the situation.

"I always knew that snake wanted my brother but couldn't strike while the boys performed. I always caught him looking the boys over. He gave me the shudders," Cornelia trembled for emphasis.

"All I know is, Hiei snarls and hisses whenever he sees one of the two buffoons that thing calls bodyguards. Might not be a bad idea to have one set on prinny after he comes out of surgery," Yukina remarked.

"That will be priority, my lady. Kakarrot has already declared for him and I know our prince will be in the best possible hands," the king nodded as he linked hands with Bardock and the clan sat back to await both the food and the prince's exit from surgery.