Chapter IV: Training Session
The next day, Zarbon sat on a bench, waiting impatiently in the observation chambers for Kariosa. He played with his loose fitting shirt, wringing it in his hands. Every few seconds, he'd glance at the clock. He told her to be here at noon; it was 12:13. Where was she? Zarbon had wanted so dearly to see her again. He hadn't gotten a lot of sleep the night before. He spent much of his night lying awake in bed, thinking of her; her laugh, her smile, her voice. He couldn't get her out of his mind.
Suddenly, the hatch doors opened, and in walked Kariosa. She wore a loose fighting shirt and tight, but loose sweat pants. Her hair was pulled back in a pony tail. He stood up, smiling at her. She smiled back at him, blushing a bit.
"I'm so sorry I'm late sir, but for some reason, Jeice kept running into me" she said, a bit confused.
Zarbon snorted silently. He knew Jeice would try to make a move on her, but not so desperately. He stook his head, "Don't worry about."
Kariosa placed her gym bag down. "All right, just let me stretch a minute" she said, stretching her arms, back, shoulders and legs. After a minute, she stood back up, "All right, I'm ready" she said, kicking her bag out of the way.
Zarbon smiled, as they both got into their fighting stances. But before they began, Kariosa stood back up, looking as if she had forgotten something. Zarbon noticed and stood back up, "What is it?" he asked.
Kariosa smiled, and pulled off her shirt. Zarbon's jaw dropped. She stood in her sweats and a white sports bra. Zarbon shook his head; he didn't want to be caught looking at Kariosa with his mouth wide open. She smiled, and put her hands on her hips.
A loud bang echoed through the large chambers. Zarbon and Kariosa looked around. "What was that?" she asked.
Zarbon didn't tell her, but he knew. He glanced over at the two-way mirror. Freiza used this mirror to watch potential recruits to see if they were strong enough to work under him. But right now, Freize wasn't behind the mirror; about ten men crammed themselves inside the small room to get a peek at Kariosa through the window. The Ginyu Force, Dodoria and a handful of other high to mid-level recruits stood in the room.
"Get off my foot Jeice!" Dodoria shouted silently.
"Well, leggo my hair you damn, pink, pineapple!" Jeice shouted silently back.
Ginyu punched the both of them in their heads, "Would you both shut up! If Zarbon hears us, we're all dead!"
Zarbon glared at the mirror one more time; he knew that they were all back there. He would take care of them after he was finished here. He turned back to Kariosa, "It was probably a hard blow someone gort from one of the training rooms up stairs"
Kariosa stopped looking around, "You're probably right. So, shall we get started now?" she asked, getting back into her fighting stance.
Zarbon smiled at her; he loved her enthusiasm. "Very well" he said, as he too removed his shirt. Kariosa smiled a bit when she saw how good of shape Zarbon was in. He had a perfect, wash-board abs and chest. He arms were perfectly sculpted. He got back into his fighting stance, "Let us begin."
They both flew towards each other at blinding speeds. They fought fist to fist for a bit, and ricocheted off each other, and fired large ki blasts at each other. Zarbon released his ki blast before Kariosa and dodge her continuing ki blast.
He vanished. Karisoa stopped her blast and looked around. Suddenly, he reappeared behind her. He grabbed her around her chest. He squeezed her tightly, in a fierce bear hug. Kariosa flexed every muscle she had. She squirmed and moved trying to free herself. She eventually realized that if she wanted to free herself, she'd have to use all her energy; something she couldn't afford to do. She used her flying ability and flew herself and Zarbon into the air. She flew towards to ceiling, and before reached the top, Kariosa moved herself, so her stomach was facing the ground. She smashed Zarbon's back into the ceiling. He groaned and released her.
He flew away from her and to the other side of the room. He placed his hands in front of him, all his fingers separated from each other. He fired blasts from his hands all over the room; Kariosa dodged each of them. Zarbon was amazed at how quickly she moved.
They continued fighting for about three hours longer. The men behind the mirror were surprised at Kariosa's strength, considering her size. But they really concentrated at the positions Zarbon and Kariosa put themselves in while they fought. The men could only dream on being in Zarbon's position whenever he pinned her to the wall or to floor, or if Kariosa pinned him to the ground or floor.
At the beginning of the fourth hour, the two exhausted fighters stopped. They floated to the ground. Zarbon leaned his hands on his knees, breathing deeply. He had been in many fights, but never in such a harsh training session. He looked up at Kariosa, who was walking her way towards him. "I must say Princess, I am very impressed. I haven't had such a tough training session in many years."
She smiled, breathing deeply through her nose. She put her hands on her hips and continued to walk over to him. But she tripped over her own foot, and stumbled to the floor. Zarbon was quick enough to catch her before she hit the floor.
"Are you all right?" he asked, lifting her up.
She held onto him as she got to her feet, "Yes, I'm fine. I just couldn't sleep very well last night. I kept thinking about…" but she stopped herself when she realized what she was going to say, and how she was going to say it to. She blushed and shook her head.
Zarbon smiled; he wondered if she was up thinking about him all night like he did about her. He picked her up into his arms, "You need some rest, I'll take you to your room" he said.
Kariosa smiled as she wrapped her arms around his neck. She rested her head on his chest, and fell asleep.
Zarbon walked over to her gym bag, kicked it up, and grabbed it with his hand. Then, he walked to the door. It opened, and Zarbon was surrounded by the Ginyu Force, Dodoria and a handful of other warriors. They looked anxious, smiling and rubbing their hands together.
"Say, Zarbon, you look exhausted, you don't I take the princess off your hands and you can go rest" Jeice said, grinning.
Zarbon glared at them all, "No thanks, I've got it. And don't think I didn't know where you all were while I was fighting. Just be glad that I'm in a good mood today, or I'd report you all to Lord Freiza for misusing the observation room"
The men cowered for a moment, as Zarbon walked past them all and to the elevators to the upper-level suites.
As he rode in the elevator, he watched Kariosa sleep. She was so small and delicate, yet so powerful. She was almost as strong, if not equal to his strength. But he knew that Freiza would desire her to be much stronger. So he, in return, would have to grow stronger as well.
He reached the top floor, and walked down the white halls to Kariosa's Royalty Suite. He entered the code and walked inside. He dropped Kariosa's bag on a chair near the door and walked upstairs. He hadn't gotten a chance to see the upstairs rooms before. They were just a breathtaking as downstairs. There was a small balcony to his right; the balcony had a thick poly-urethane bubble surrounding it, so one could look into space safely. To his left, he saw Kariosa's king-sized bed. He walked over to it, while he looked around. He looked at Kariosa's massive dresser, and her mirror; despite all the fighting he'd been doing, he still looked magnificent. He smiled, and stopped at the side of Kariosa's bed-side. He placed her down lightly. She curled herself around her pillow. Zarbon laughed; she was so adorable, like a cat.
He brushed a strand of hair out of her face and put it behind her ear. He stroked her hair for a moment. She was so beautiful. He turned off the lamp on her bed-side table and walked back downstairs. He wobbled as he walked down the stairs. He was still tired for the fight. He still couldn't believe Kariosa's skill. He would report to Frieza after a nice shower and a nap.
An hour later
Kariosa awoke in her bed. She looked around, expecting to see Zarbon, but he was gone. She sighed a bit; she had hoped he would stay with her for a little while. She walked out to the balcony and looked out at the stars. She smiled, resting her elbows on the rail, and her head in her hands. She felt like a little girl again, she had never had such a deep feeling for someone like this. She suddenly lifted herself up, and ran back to her bed. She jumped onto it on her stomach. She pulled herself to the edge, and stuck her head under the bed. She threw things out of the way; old shoes, dirty clothes and smiled when she found what she was looking for. She pulled out a medium-sized book. She lifted it onto the bed. She rested herself on her pillows at the head of the bed. She crossed her legs, and put the book in her lap.
She opened it up, and sighed, smiling. This was her private scrap book of, what seemed to her, important new paper clippings. She flipped past the very beginning where there were such articles as: King Vegeta's Daughter Born: Planet Vegeta Welcomes Princess Kariosa, or Prince Vegeta agrees to work for Lord Frieza. She finally got to the articles she was looking for. Her favorite read Lord Frieza's Head Captain Conquers Astrian Single-Handedly: Captain Zarbon Promoted to Position of Head Commander. Kariosa continued to look through her book, reading articles like: Commander Zarbon Honored by King Vegeta, Commander Zarbon Voted Sexiest Man Alive, and Commander Zarbon Receives Medallion of Honor.
Kariosa stopped reading the articles after a while, and just looked at the pictures. She couldn't help but swoon over him. Everything about him was perfect: his hair, his eyes, his body, and his face. She had had a crush on Zarbon ever since she was a little girl. She did realize that Zarbon was many years older than her, but he appeared no older than her.
She pulled out her favorite picture of Zarbon from the scrap book. It was a picture of him from a formal ball. He was wearing a black, slim-fitting suit; his hair was perfectly braided and resting over his shoulder. One of his hands rested on his hip as the other rested loosely at his side. He was standing next to Dodoria and two other men Kariosa didn't bother to check who they were. Kariosa held the picture to her chest, as she fell over, lying down, giggling to herself. She loved this sensation of being a little girl again.