Raditz eyed the woman sitting across from him at the dinner table. It was obvious she was new to sitting so properly, to eating so much food of such high quality... It made him want to laugh at how foolish she looked. She would never pass as a noble. Her hands were too rough, her muscles too defined, her gait not very delicate at all.
But that's what he liked about her. She wasn't a weak, delicate flower who would wither at a single touch. Oh no. She was sturdy, rock-hard, and knew how to work for what she wanted. He liked that. He could feel that, underneath the make-up, underneath the layer of fake-princess, she was a fire-cracker. Her fuse was short, and he saw that by the general's nose. It looked very, very freshly broken, the bruise on the bridge very pronounced. The icy glare he gave her while acting as her guard only made it more obvious.
Maybe Raditz would get to see that fiery side of her. Would she fight him, yell at him? He'd tame her. He, after all, was a Saiyan. Freeza had even acknowledged them as the strongest force in the universe, the best members of his army. That is, until his planet was destroyed. Now only he, his Saiyan prince Vegeta, the prince's escort Nappa, and his long-lost brother survived. Four men, and no women to help repopulate. Besides, his brother was too weak to even be considered a warrior. He was shipped off to destroy a planet, which would have led to him starving to death after he killed everyone and ate all of the resources from the planet. He knew many Saiyans who had been given this death-mission.
His eyes focused more on Aoko when she looked up at him awkwardly, as if she knew she was being watched. He watched her shift uncomfortably, wiping at her face nervously and in growing agitation. She smeared the make-up, wiping most of it away. He smirked at her, and gave her a scrutinizing gaze. He had already sized her up, mentally undressed her, imagined her screaming under him... Did she have the slightest idea what she was getting into?
"Okay, Raditz, the hell you staring at? I'm tryin' to eat my fucking food and you're just staring at me. I want to eat, and I want to go to bed. I've been working my ass off ALL DAY supplying the food for this fat fuck and here you are, staring at me like I've got somethin' on my face. DO I HAVE SOMETHIN' ON MY FACE?" Her hands slammed on the table abruptly, disrupting the plates and drinking cups. He made her nervous, made her angry, and she didn't like it. Her feelings were twisted in confusion when this man was around her, mainly because he was so unpredictable. He shook her and rejected her, and then suddenly he wanted to take her to Freeza? What was with this guy?
The lord of the planet stared in disbelief, not at the insult directed at him, but mainly because she had just verbally challenged Raditz. Was she stupid? Ever since she stepped in, he knew, he KNEW, she would ruin this. She was a simpleton from the country. She didn't know how to act properly in front of people, especially someone from the army, or someone from high status. She simply had no respect.
"Lord Raditz, I apologize on her behalf. She's from the count—"
Raditz shot the lord a look, instantly quieting him. He looked back to Aoko, an eyebrow raising in amusement. "What's your name, woman?"
"It's Aoko, Lord Raditz."
Raditz leaned back in his chair, his large hand picking up his cup, bringing it up to his mouth as he took a sip. The beverage was warm, but not uncomfortably so... at least, not to him. "Aoko, do you know who you're talking to? Do you know what I'm capable of doing to you?" He looked down at her, watching her face shift from angry to confused. He smirked, and set his cup down on the table, idly turning it in a circle. "I'm a Saiyan, Aoko. I can rip you to pieces before you even know what's happening. I can kill you right here by snapping that pretty little neck of yours, or I could rip out your tongue for you speaking to me in that manner."
Oh, God. Oh God. He.. A Saiyan. Oh my God.
Aoko's face blanched when he so calmly told her who he was, what he could do. She had heard many stories about Saiyan warriors, how they were strong, how they could wipe out a whole planet by themselves... And she openly yelled at him, challenged him. What the Hell was she doing? Taking a deep breath, she twiddled her fingers and nervously picked at her cuticles. "I-I'm sorry, Lord Raditz."
She looked up at him, a mix of fear and, curiosity, shining brightly in her gray eyes. He thought it was flattering that she would, after so adamantly yelling at him, apologize and call him Lord with meaning. He liked it, and thought of her calling him 'Master Raditz' in the near future.
He enjoyed the thought of that even more.
"We're leaving tonight, by the way. We'll make it to Freeza in no time, since he's stationed so close to this planet. It'll be easy to get an answer and come back." Raditz glanced at Aoko, wondering how she'd react. She looked upset. He didn't really care to hear the reason why, but she asked what was on her mind.
"I was actually wonderin' if I could see my parents before I left, one last time, and bury 'em."
The strong façade she upheld until that moment faded. Her shoulders shook, and Raditz frowned at her. His entire family and race had been killed. He didn't cry about it, why the Hell was she?
"Quit your sniveling."
Aoko looked up at him and noticed his rather steely expression, and she clenched her jaw tightly before calling him a name she'd regret later.
"Your parents are dead, woman. Seeing them isn't going to bring them back, so get over it. Besides, they're just going to rot anyway, above or below the earth." He brought a piece of meat up to his lips and ripped it to shreds with his sharp teeth before Aoko's drink was thrown onto his face.
"How..." She growled at him, and then threw her cup at his face. He caught it and set it down rather roughly on the table, his expression hardening quickly. "If you'll excuse me, I have a little bit of respect for the dead." Standing, Aoko side-stepped from the chair and shoved the general away from her, then pushed in her chair. She left, and rather quickly. Raditz finally reached up and turned on his Scouter, reconnecting to Freeza's ship and locking onto Aoko's miniscule power source.
"Lord Freeza, I'll be returning shortly. It really won't be very long at all."
He finished the plate of food sitting in front of him, barely managing to fill his stomach. Raditz stood as well, nodded to the lord and followed the power source belonging to the new pet he'd soon acquire.
She really hadn't made it very far from the palace. Raditz leapt into the air and quickly caught up to her by simply flying to her.
"Come here, woman." He roughly grabbed hold of her arm and yanked her body over to him, her letting out another growl in irritation.
"You let go of me, you rude..."
The arm Raditz had a hold of was twisted violently behind her back. She let out a groan of protest, and Raditz only twisted and pulled harder. He felt it shift in the socket, close to being dislocated. "I told you what I could do to you, didn't I?" He looked down at her, his fingers rubbing across her lips roughly, threatening to slip in. "Maybe I should just rip out your tongue to keep you from insulting me. It would save a bunch of our time."
Aoko gulped and shook slightly, her head bowing. "Okay, I'll stop. I'm sorry."
"An apology isn't enough. Now come on, woman. We're leaving."
He let her go long enough for her to stretch her arm and move it before grabbing it again, yanking her along to the small pod he called a ship. It opened with the press of a button, and he got in first before roughly pulling her inside and sitting her on his lap. It was uncomfortably small with the both of them inside, but after shutting the door and shifting around a little, both of them found a way to be seated before the small pod was sent rocketing into the air, and then horizontally into space.
Aoko was worried, and upset. It really wasn't hard to figure out that, wherever she was going, nobody really gave a damn about anyone but themselves. She'd have to adjust, and quickly. But first, her priority was figuring out this bastard named Raditz, and how to appease the guy without giving in.
