A/N: I died and that's why I haven't posted in a while lmao. This is just under 1k words so, sorry for that haha. This title is stupid but whatever. Thanks to everyone who read it and told me to post, I love y'all!


Shot VIII: The Children Warriors

"So, this is planet Earth?"

"Yup." 6-year-old Kakarot looked out over the cliff, standing behind Prince Vegeta. He had never met him in person before now, and he wasn't sure how to act.

"Interesting."

Kakarot shifted forward, leaning forth to catch the Prince's expression. He saw the reds and oranges of the sunset reflected in his eyes like a fiery mess of emotion. He watched them waver for just a second, and he wanted to study them longer to see if he could decipher what Vegeta could be thinking, but the blue blood caught him staring and Kakarot blinked, glancing away.

"When were you sent to this planet, Kakarot?"

"Uh, last week." Kakarot kicked at the dirt in lack of anything better to do.

"And you're sure that there were absolutely no humans on the planet when you arrived?"

"Yup. They were all gone." Kakarot shrugged. "I dunno what happened to 'em." Kakarot noticed Vegeta's displeasure with his dialect by the way he frowned slightly, but he wasn't sure what could be done about it. He wasn't comfortable with how stiff he was supposed to be acting in front of this boy who was only a year his senior. His father had told him that nothing but respect was to be given to the Prince if he decided to appear before Kakarot when his mission was completed. His mission was simple; he would be sent to Earth, and all he had to do was kill the humans. Too easy for a child of his years. But when he showed up, the planet was void of human life.

Kakarot decided that it wasn't fair that this boy was more important than he for whatever reason. Feeling rebellious, he reached forward, grabbing Vegeta's hand in his own. The Prince jolted and looked at Kakarot in shock before trying to tug his hand away. Kakarot tightened his grip and took a step backwards. "Come with me," he said.

Vegeta was clearly bewildered, though Kakarot didn't know why. He wasn't doing anything wrong.

"L-let me go!" Vegeta called. "What gives you the right to touch me?"

"Just c'mon!" Kakarot insisted. He spun around and dragged Vegeta behind him.

He lead him away from the cliff, down the hill and along the creek until they reached the field that Kakarot had landed in. Despite Vegeta's verbal protesting, Kakarot lead him further until they reached a small patch of brightly colored flowers.

"Lookit this, Vegeta." He knelt down, still grasping the Prince's hand tightly. Vegeta looked disgusted at the fact that Kakarot was still touching him and even had the nerve to touch him in the first place.

"You third class hick, I can't believe that you-"

"Just look! You're gonna like 'em."

Vegeta seemed more curious about the flowers than he seemed angry, so he carefully knelt as well.

"Weird, ain't they?"

"They're..." Vegeta hesitated, looking at them oddly.

"Weird."

"No."

"Pretty?" Kakarot tried again. Vegeta didn't respond; he just studied the flowers. Kakarot knew that they weren't dangerous. He had explored the area in search of humans, and in his adventures he had discovered what could injure him and what couldn't. He wasn't sure what they were called, but he was sure that the flowers were harmless. He plucked one from the earth and brought it to his nose, inhaling. It was a subtle scent, but he liked it. Kakarot turned and set the red flower into Vegeta's hand.

"Here, I picked this for ya!" he said, smiling. Vegeta jumped a little, looking frightened at first, before curling his fingers around the stem. "See? Told ya you'd like it." Kakarot grinned widely.

"Shit!" Vegeta threw the flower quickly and fell back onto his bottom.

"What?" Kakarot stood and immediately assumed a fighting stance.

"What the hell is that thing?"

"What thing?" Kakarot asked, glancing around for signs of a threat.

"On the... thing!" Vegeta scrambled to his feet. Confused, Kakarot looked back to the Prince.

"Oh, you mean this?" Kakarot picked up the flower. "What's wrong with it?"

"There's a thing on it!"

"A thing?" The younger Saiyan looked over the flower skeptically. A small, green worm crawled on it, chewing on the rubicund petals. "Oh. I didn't see it there earlier." He plucked the worm off of the flower and held it out to Vegeta. The Prince made a terrified face and scooted away.

"Gods, don't touch it!"

"How come?" Kakarot took a step closer and lifted the worm up.

"St-stop! It's gross!" Vegeta closed his eyes and shook his head quickly.

Kakarot bursted into laughter. The Prince of All Saiyans was said to be a brave warrior, a true man who never backed down, even at the tender age of 7. Yet here he was, mortified by what Kakarot had been calling, for lack of better vocabulary, a crawler. Crawlers were all over the planet, and Kakarot had learned that they couldn't hurt someone if they tried. They were too small and long and awkward!

"It ain't gonna hurt ya, 'Geta!" He continued chuckling. Vegeta's body grew rigid.

"What did you just call me?"

"You're afraid of a little crawler!" Kakarot teased.

"I am Prince Vegeta, and I will not stand this mockery any long-"

"Wanna hold it?" Kakarot smirked and dangled the worm in front of Vegeta's nose. The Prince yelped and jumped backwards.

"P-put the damn thing down right now!" Vegeta called.

"Okay, okay." Kakarot suppressed his laughter as he sat the worm down carefully in the grass.

Vegeta brushed off the front of his armor and cleared his throat. "I should have you exiled, you lowly third class."

"Why? 'Cause you're scared of a crawler?"

Vegeta let out a groan of frustration. "I'm going back to the ship!" he declared, stomping away.

Bursting into another fit of laughter, Kakarot followed behind.

End of Shot VIII