Part 1: Vegeta & Kakkarot
The teacher was almost done with attendance when he came upon the two most dreaded names in all of eighth grade. Swallowing nervously, he wet his lips. "Prince Vegeta? Are you present?"
Silence drifted through the classroom.
"Has anyone seen Vegeta today?"
No one dared to speak.
The teacher took a deep breath and went to the next name. "Kakkarot? Are you here?"
This time, a chair scraped against the floor in the back of the room. A tall boy stood up and raised his hand.
The teacher could barely believe his eyes. "Kakkarot? Is that you?" He hadn't expected anyone to stand up, since Kakkarot and Vegeta never bothered to show up for school.
The boy shook his head. "Um...my name's Taisan, sir."
The teacher blinked. "Aren't you a little tall for an eighth grader?"
Taisan blushed bright red. "Well, yes. I'm in ninth grade."
There were a few scattered giggles throughout the class.
"Ninth grade? What are you doing here?"
Taisan nervously ran a hand through his brown hair. "Vegeta wanted me to deliver a message to you."
"Message?" the teacher asked.
"He and Kakkarot have better things to do than to fall asleep in your class."
The teacher sighed and looked down at the attendance sheet. After a few seconds, he made a mark in the Absent column for both boys. Some things never changed.
* * * * *
"On your mark..."
"Get set..."
"GO!"
Both boys charged across the white line, barely giving Sariana enough time to get out of the way. She looked up from the dust as they ran around the circular track. The two boys stayed neck-and-neck all the way, their black hair flying wildly behind them. They almost looked like twins, as they'd been told on several occasions, but everyone knew that was impossible. Vegeta was in direct lineage of the planet's founder, but Kakkarot was the son of a low-level soldier.
Sariana waited while the boys approached the finish line, glancing at the stopwatch in her hand. "C'mon, guys. Just a few more seconds..."
Kakkarot and Vegeta practically threw themselves across the white line, crashing into the dirt.
Sariana checked her watch. "Another tie...as usual...but you beat the old time by six whole seconds."
Kakkarot raised himself to one knee, gasping for breath. "How many...ties...is that?"
"About seventy-two," she replied. "Why don't you guys give it a rest?"
"Never," Vegeta said, brushing off his uniform. "One of us will beat the other...sooner or later."
"I wish," Sariana muttered. "Then I could stop timing these dumb races."
Kakkarot laughed loudly and wrapped an arm around her waist. "C'mon, Sari! You know you love these races just as much as we do!"
Sariana giggled nervously and placed one hand on his bare chest. "Whatever, K-Man. Just put your shirt back on and quit getting your sweat all over me!"
Vegeta turned away as the two went on with their conversation. It wasn't that he didn't like Sariana, because he understood how important she was to Kakkarot. What he didn't understand was why they both wanted to be more than friends, yet each held themselves back. These fake arguments were driving him crazy. What was the point when they loved each other so much?
"Hey, Vegeta. Isn't that your pal Nappa over there?" Kakkarot asked, pointing to the exit.
Vegeta looked up to see Nappa standing outside of the stadium. There was an angry look on his face. "Must be time for another of my special training sessions," Vegeta said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "I'll catch up with you later, Kakkarot."
"Seeya, Vegeta." Kakkarot watched as his friend ran off. "There's something I don't like about that Nappa guy, Sari."
"You're just jealous of him," Sariana said, picking up her workout bag. "He spends almost as much time with your best friend as you do. It's natural to feel that way."
"No, it's something else," Kakkarot mumbled.
Sariana laughed. "I think he's trustworthy, Kakkarot. After all, he's responsible for most of us being here today. He worked in the nursery when we were born, remember?"
"No, and you shouldn't, either."
"Well, I don't," she admitted. "My mother's certain of it, though. Nappa's family has done that type of thing for years. It's a wonder his power level is anywhere near ours, considering he doesn't get to train much."
"What do you mean, 'ours?'" Kakkarot asked with a smile. "You wouldn't last five minutes alone with me."
Sariana smirked at him. "That depends, K-Man. Are you still talking about fighting? Either way, I'm pretty sure I'd surprise you."
"Sari!" Kakkarot exclaimed, his face turning red.
"Well, you won't have to worry about me testing you anytime soon," she told him as she walked away. "With that macho attitude of yours, you're lucky I even hang out with you at all!"
* * * * *
"Why do you insist on hanging out with that wimp, anyway?" Nappa asked.
"That 'wimp,' as you call him, has got your power level beat by 300 at least," Vegeta answered. "Besides, he's a good friend, and I'd appreciate it if you stopped bad-mouthing him."
Nappa stopped and turned around, thumping Vegeta's chest. "Oh, really? What are you gonna do about it, chump?"
Vegeta smiled thinly. "Nappa, even you can't be this foolish. You don't stand a chance against me."
Nappa raised his fist, but before he could do anything, they were interrupted.
"Hold it, Nappa," a voice said, "unless you wish to lose that arm just before you lose your wasted life."
Nappa spun around to stare into the eyes of a slightly older boy. Though he'd never seen the stranger before, he knew there was only one person it could be. "Raditz!" he growled, raising his fist again.
Raditz grabbed Nappa's fist, smiling as the boy howled in pain. He continued to crush Nappa's fist. "Stupid boy. You were a fool to challenge Vegeta, and a bigger fool to think you'd stand a chance against me." He glanced in Vegeta's direction. "Come, my friend. Your father awaits us."
Vegeta nodded respectfully and followed Raditz, leaving Nappa with his injured hand.
The teacher was almost done with attendance when he came upon the two most dreaded names in all of eighth grade. Swallowing nervously, he wet his lips. "Prince Vegeta? Are you present?"
Silence drifted through the classroom.
"Has anyone seen Vegeta today?"
No one dared to speak.
The teacher took a deep breath and went to the next name. "Kakkarot? Are you here?"
This time, a chair scraped against the floor in the back of the room. A tall boy stood up and raised his hand.
The teacher could barely believe his eyes. "Kakkarot? Is that you?" He hadn't expected anyone to stand up, since Kakkarot and Vegeta never bothered to show up for school.
The boy shook his head. "Um...my name's Taisan, sir."
The teacher blinked. "Aren't you a little tall for an eighth grader?"
Taisan blushed bright red. "Well, yes. I'm in ninth grade."
There were a few scattered giggles throughout the class.
"Ninth grade? What are you doing here?"
Taisan nervously ran a hand through his brown hair. "Vegeta wanted me to deliver a message to you."
"Message?" the teacher asked.
"He and Kakkarot have better things to do than to fall asleep in your class."
The teacher sighed and looked down at the attendance sheet. After a few seconds, he made a mark in the Absent column for both boys. Some things never changed.
* * * * *
"On your mark..."
"Get set..."
"GO!"
Both boys charged across the white line, barely giving Sariana enough time to get out of the way. She looked up from the dust as they ran around the circular track. The two boys stayed neck-and-neck all the way, their black hair flying wildly behind them. They almost looked like twins, as they'd been told on several occasions, but everyone knew that was impossible. Vegeta was in direct lineage of the planet's founder, but Kakkarot was the son of a low-level soldier.
Sariana waited while the boys approached the finish line, glancing at the stopwatch in her hand. "C'mon, guys. Just a few more seconds..."
Kakkarot and Vegeta practically threw themselves across the white line, crashing into the dirt.
Sariana checked her watch. "Another tie...as usual...but you beat the old time by six whole seconds."
Kakkarot raised himself to one knee, gasping for breath. "How many...ties...is that?"
"About seventy-two," she replied. "Why don't you guys give it a rest?"
"Never," Vegeta said, brushing off his uniform. "One of us will beat the other...sooner or later."
"I wish," Sariana muttered. "Then I could stop timing these dumb races."
Kakkarot laughed loudly and wrapped an arm around her waist. "C'mon, Sari! You know you love these races just as much as we do!"
Sariana giggled nervously and placed one hand on his bare chest. "Whatever, K-Man. Just put your shirt back on and quit getting your sweat all over me!"
Vegeta turned away as the two went on with their conversation. It wasn't that he didn't like Sariana, because he understood how important she was to Kakkarot. What he didn't understand was why they both wanted to be more than friends, yet each held themselves back. These fake arguments were driving him crazy. What was the point when they loved each other so much?
"Hey, Vegeta. Isn't that your pal Nappa over there?" Kakkarot asked, pointing to the exit.
Vegeta looked up to see Nappa standing outside of the stadium. There was an angry look on his face. "Must be time for another of my special training sessions," Vegeta said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "I'll catch up with you later, Kakkarot."
"Seeya, Vegeta." Kakkarot watched as his friend ran off. "There's something I don't like about that Nappa guy, Sari."
"You're just jealous of him," Sariana said, picking up her workout bag. "He spends almost as much time with your best friend as you do. It's natural to feel that way."
"No, it's something else," Kakkarot mumbled.
Sariana laughed. "I think he's trustworthy, Kakkarot. After all, he's responsible for most of us being here today. He worked in the nursery when we were born, remember?"
"No, and you shouldn't, either."
"Well, I don't," she admitted. "My mother's certain of it, though. Nappa's family has done that type of thing for years. It's a wonder his power level is anywhere near ours, considering he doesn't get to train much."
"What do you mean, 'ours?'" Kakkarot asked with a smile. "You wouldn't last five minutes alone with me."
Sariana smirked at him. "That depends, K-Man. Are you still talking about fighting? Either way, I'm pretty sure I'd surprise you."
"Sari!" Kakkarot exclaimed, his face turning red.
"Well, you won't have to worry about me testing you anytime soon," she told him as she walked away. "With that macho attitude of yours, you're lucky I even hang out with you at all!"
* * * * *
"Why do you insist on hanging out with that wimp, anyway?" Nappa asked.
"That 'wimp,' as you call him, has got your power level beat by 300 at least," Vegeta answered. "Besides, he's a good friend, and I'd appreciate it if you stopped bad-mouthing him."
Nappa stopped and turned around, thumping Vegeta's chest. "Oh, really? What are you gonna do about it, chump?"
Vegeta smiled thinly. "Nappa, even you can't be this foolish. You don't stand a chance against me."
Nappa raised his fist, but before he could do anything, they were interrupted.
"Hold it, Nappa," a voice said, "unless you wish to lose that arm just before you lose your wasted life."
Nappa spun around to stare into the eyes of a slightly older boy. Though he'd never seen the stranger before, he knew there was only one person it could be. "Raditz!" he growled, raising his fist again.
Raditz grabbed Nappa's fist, smiling as the boy howled in pain. He continued to crush Nappa's fist. "Stupid boy. You were a fool to challenge Vegeta, and a bigger fool to think you'd stand a chance against me." He glanced in Vegeta's direction. "Come, my friend. Your father awaits us."
Vegeta nodded respectfully and followed Raditz, leaving Nappa with his injured hand.