Chapter 54. Mutiny

The Salt Stretches were ever wrecking the shore as Vegeta stood looking out over it with Aina on his arm. The suns had begun their sluggish way down at the endless horizon, turned into fat smouldering orbs that gave the ocean a blood red glow, their scorching glare now dulled enough to look at them. Trunks had left his side to scour the rocky beach for whatever it was that inquisitive boys scoured for. He repeatedly hunkered down in places to examine his findings more closely and lodged himself into the air with a yelp on one discovery where something twice his size came crawling out from beneath the boulders he was turning over. Trunks only landed back down after the huge, shelled, black sea dweller made a sideways lumber to the shoreline and submerged, disappearing with the retreating water.

Luckily his son had shown a lot more courage about his succession than he did on his forage. That made Vegeta proud of him. He voiced this when Trunks' curiosity for his surroundings was at last satisfied and he was ready to return to his father's side.

"You are a good son."

The boy puffed up where he stood. Smug, like his father often was. Unwarranted sometimes, justified at others. They both had achievements worth taking pride in.

"I want you to return tomorrow so I can introduce you to the council."

Trunks tore his eyes from the red horizon to look up at him with those inquisitive blue eyes. "What is the council?"

"The council is made up of the leaders on Vegetasei. It is where the King makes the decisions in his reign. The leaders help him do that and carry out his commands in the lands and cities they rule for him."

Vegeta didn't tell Trunks that the lords were just as apt to work against him if his decisions weren't to their likes. Not now. He wanted no thoughts about it. The boy would find out for himself tomorrow.

"Do you have to introduce me to the council?"

"Yes. The people have to know that you are my successor." Vegeta answered.

"Do I have to say anything?" Trunks sounded worried.

"That is for you to decide." Vegeta gave his son a distasteful glance. "You can also stand before them like a mute, but I don't think anyone will be very impressed by that, do you?"

Trunks squeezed his hands nervously. "But what should I say?"

Vegeta raised a brow at him. "Have you forgotten, boy? You have been boasting about it ever since you were able to use that insolent gob. You defeated Cold and Frieza, the ones responsible for the destruction of our planet. You avenged the deaths of the people you are going to meet tomorrow. Tell them that."

"Oh yeah." Trunks said very satisfied with himself again. "I did. Future me. What time should I come?" He frowned. "I forgot to ask you. Time is different here. When I left home it was eight in the morning but here it looked to be much later. What time was it when I got here?"

"You arrived somewhere around midday so there is a time difference with Earth of about four hours." Vegeta assessed. "Come at the same time tomorrow."

Aina awoke again, up in arms like before and this time she also started bawling. It was loud. Painfully loud. Vegeta and Trunks both winced at the ear splitting sounds she produced. Vegeta offered his daughter a hand to chew on, but Aina refused it and started squalling even louder. If it weren't her teeth paining her, the fit could only mean one other thing. Vegeta held her up in front of his face to examine her and watched how big fat tears rolled down her flushed cheeks. The tiny frame in his hands was convulsing with the horrible sobs that ripped through her.

"Wretched little girl." Vegeta said, acknowledging the heartrending misery of his daughter.

Aina answered with more squalling, her face all crumpled up and her miniscule hands balled to fists in her frustration.

"You're famished." Vegeta agreed. He pulled her close again and let her rage out against his shoulder. "I'll take you to your mother."

"I can instant transmit us to the Captain." Trunks offered smirking cockily. "Last week Goku-sama showed me how to take along others."

Vegeta narrowed his eyes and weighed the severity of the screams Aina set loose against his shoulder. They were still increasing and he suspected that she was trying to outdo the capacity of her lungs. Akane was right, the wobblers of their daughter were of a whole different order.

"That might be wise. Take us back. Quickly now, boy, before she ruins our ears."

Trunks put a hand to his father's arm and grabbed one of Aina's tiny hands and with a poof the violent Salt Stretches were removed from view to be replaced by the bed chamber of the solar where Akane was indistinguishable somewhere beneath the heap of furs on the bed.

Vegeta ordered his son to wait for him in the front room and dug up his snoring little mate. He found Akane uncurling with a great yawn somewhere in the middle of the immense bed. She wiped the drool from her face and pulled Aina out of his his arms, hugging the squalling kitten to her bare chest with a hoarse and sleepy: "Oh you poor kitten. Is it that horrible? Simmer down now, you're alright here with me."

Aina's sobs were quickly substituted for a pur that was just as loud when she found her mother's nipple and was finally able to drink her fill. The pur was a lot easier on the ears and Vegeta sighed his relief.

"She could make you deaf with that battle cry."

His little mate turned to him with a very lazy smile. "A splendid technique to have in the field. Our daughter will simply scream her opponents to defeat." She gave a satisfied sound of the throat upon scanning him with her unnerving eyes. "You should kiss me."

Vegeta smirked as he leaned in to concede her demand. That soft little mouth opened to slip him her tongue and it took him some restraint to not dive in head long. He moved back up and put his finger to the mark beneath her left eye.

"This thing has to go."

"So it goes." Akane said carelessly.

Vegeta kissed her a second time. "Not even an argument for the fun of it? You disappoint me. Was I too hard on you before?"

"Too hard?" Akane echoed seductively. "You know you can never be too hard on me. I like you hard. Regarding the mark, I'm easy. I like scars too. Had it been the other way around, were you forced to take a knife to your own face, then we would have had an argument. You would have a problem with the scar. It makes no sense to me. You are ridiculously vain for someone with a face as ugly as yours." His little mate laughed and put some more oil on the fire, proving that the fight hadn't quite left her yet. "While I am at it, I think I will go ahead and remove your marks as well."

Vegeta grabbed that nastily smirking face by the chin, pleased that she was so readily willing to assume the role of mutineer again. He clearly hadn't been quite hard enough on her. "Oh no, you are keeping those. You need them to remind you that you are my slave."

Akane looked up at him unimpressed. "A slave that argues with you for the fun of it is not a slave. Your wants are as conflicted as your physique." The smile she gave him now was plain insulting. "It must be difficult for you to house so much might in such a short frame. Is that why you can't make up your mind about what it is you want from me?"

She was trying very hard to get on his nerves. It would have worked too, his height was a tender spot and she knew that very well, but the thoughts Vegeta found when he groped around in her mind cancelled out any effect her words could have had.

"Next time you go about insulting me, you should fence off all those filthy thoughts of yours. I agree, the size of my chopper does make up for the inches I might miss in height. And I know exactly what I want from you. I want you to give me plenty of reasons to beat you up. You're doing a nice job. Keep being this bold, Akane. I will have you on your knees for me again before you know it."

Vegeta gave a last squeeze to the cheeks he was holding and slipped off of the bed.

"We shall see, little lord."

Vegeta refrained from clenching his fists. He did not like the new pet name at all. That did manage to get on his nerves. It seriously pissed him off. He showed her none of it. All he conveyed was a well achieved look of condescendence.

"We shall indeed."

Her taunting laugh followed him all the way into the front room. Vegeta laughed his own laugh. A very unpleasant laugh. Next time he took out his wrath on her she was going to need a healing tank. She could count on that.