Part 2: Sariana's Surprise
"Hey, Mom!" Sariana shouted as she walked into the large house. "I'm home!"
"How was school, dear?!" a voice asked.
"Fine! I got an A+ on my history test!"
"That's nice, dear!"
This conversation might have seemed strange to anyone else, but it was a part of daily life for Sariana. Her mother's hearing had been damaged for years, and the only way they could talk was by yelling at each other. Of course, there was no reason for her mother to shout back, but they'd both gotten used to that, too.
Sariana dropped her workout bag in the hall and quickly went into her room, lying down on the soft blue sheets.
"Where's that boy that's always with you?!" her mother asked from the doorway.
Sariana didn't look up. "Kakkarot or Vegeta, Mom?! There's two of them, y'know!"
"The funny one with the weird grin!"
"That's Kakkarot! Vegeta almost never smiles!"
"I don't know what you see in that Vegeta! Isn't he the one that blew up the school bus last week?!"
Sariana grinned. "Accident, Mom! He was in a fight!"
"I'll say! They still haven't found the poor boy!"
"They should try another dimension!" Sariana yelled, resisting the urge to laugh.
* * * * *
The tall man ran a large hand through his mess of wild brown hair. "Took your time getting here, boys," he said, looking upset.
"Our apologies, sir," Raditz said, bowing. "We didn't mean to--"
Vegeta elbowed him in the side.
The man roared with laughter, the entire house shaking with the sound. "No apologies, Raditz. We're the superior ones around here! We make the rules!" He grabbed a mug and gulped down whatever was in it. "Now, then! What's this I hear about a school bus, eh?"
Vegeta smiled, a sight that few had seen (or at least, lived to tell about). "A mere oversight on my part, father. One of the local toughs thought he'd test his skills against me; find out if I could live up to my name."
"And did you, lad?" the man asked, his eyes focused on the boy.
"Yes, father. He hasn't been found to this day."
"Ah, that's good work. But there's still the matter of the bus to be cleared up. How was it you blew that up?"
Vegeta closed his eyes, recalling the event in his mind. "He moved fast. I missed."
"Missed?!" the bear of a man cried.
"That's right, father. I was aiming for the school itself. I meant to bury him with half the back wall, but the bus pulled up right in front of it before he dove aside."
For a moment, the man said nothing. Then he roared again, wiping away tears as he slapped his knee. "That's good, son, very good! Hit any teachers?"
"Maybe next time, father."
Vegeta's father chuckled and walked out of the room, laughing quietly to himself. "Meant to hit the school. That's a good one. Ha ha!"
"Is he always like that?" Raditz asked.
"Just be glad he only asked about the bus. He could've asked why the principal's been missing for three months."
"Don't you think he'd be more concerned about why you've never even been inside the school?"
Vegeta laughed loudly. "Who do you think gave me the idea in the first place?"
* * * * *
Very few people knew about the cliff overlooking War Canyon. Kakkarot had been the first. Ever since he'd learned how to leap, the boy had wondered just how far he could go. So one day, he'd tried and ended up crossing the famous gorge in the process (it was rumored that Vegeta I had died there while fighting off a band of invaders). He'd found the medium-sized cliff had little more than a blue-gray boulder, but even this was enough for Kakkarot. He spent hours on end sitting there, staring down at the wide canyon. It held a certain natural splendor that wasn't so apparent at first glance, and this was what called him back each day.
Naturally, Kakkarot didn't entrust the secret of this magical place to anyone but his closest friends. Vegeta swore he wouldn't tell, though that wasn't very hard for him. The few friends he did have wouldn't be interested in such a place, and Vegeta himself wasn't that fond of nature. Sariana had been delighted at first, until she discovered that her natural jumping ability wasn't good enough to reach the other side. She'd vowed to train harder until she could one day share the cliff with Kakkarot, but he thought it was an empty promise at best.
On this day, Kakkarot's theory was shattered, because as he flew through the air, looking to perfect his landing, he was shocked to see Sariana already there, waiting for him atop the boulder. He was so startled by this that he nearly missed the cliff altogether and slammed into the large rock.
Sariana giggled and helped him up. "Guess you didn't expect to see me here, K-Man."
"Not really," he admitted, shaking the stars from his head. "How'd you get up here?"
"I jumped," she replied. "Just like you showed me. Pretty good for a girl, right?"
"No, very good," Kakkarot said as he sat down beside her. "For anyone! You never cease to amaze me, Sari."
"Maybe you're easily amused," she pointed out. Then, before he could realize what she'd said, she quickly added, "I'm worried about Vegeta."
Kakkarot smirked. "Sari, believe me when I tell you no one worries about Vegeta."
"Well, I do." She turned to face him, a serious look in her eyes. "I know he's your best friend, but he always hangs out with Nappa and your older brother. It isn't good for him."
"I'm pretty sure he can take care of himself. He's got both our power levels beat by at least 50, and he's in direct lineage of our planet's founder. If anyone's destined to survive, it's him."
"I just don't like it, K-Man." She sighed and swept a hand through her long, green hair. "It's like we know him, but we don't. Who knows what those guys are teaching him?"
Kakkarot shrugged. "Sari, there's two kinds of Saiyans: really angry and about-to-be-really-angry. It's in our blood. Good or bad influences aren't going to make a big difference. It's just our nature."
Sariana almost laughed. "Do you think I'm angry?"
"It wouldn't matter. You'd be cute whether you were angry or not." Kakkarot stood up and stretched his legs. "Can you make the jump back?"
Sariana quickly stood up and grabbed his shoulder. "Wait a minute. You tell me I'm cute then ask if I can make the jump back?"
Kakkarot grinned evilly and pulled away from her. "Yeah. Seeya on the other side!" With that, he flew into the air, rocketing across the canyon with little or no effort. He hit the ground running and quickly disappeared over the horizon.
Sariana waited until he was gone. Then she raised her hands, focusing intently on the other side of the gorge. In a fraction of a second, she appeared on the other side. After a few seconds of thought, she decided that she'd tell Kakkarot about her new ability later. Besides, revealing it too soon might bruise his already swollen ego.
"Hey, Mom!" Sariana shouted as she walked into the large house. "I'm home!"
"How was school, dear?!" a voice asked.
"Fine! I got an A+ on my history test!"
"That's nice, dear!"
This conversation might have seemed strange to anyone else, but it was a part of daily life for Sariana. Her mother's hearing had been damaged for years, and the only way they could talk was by yelling at each other. Of course, there was no reason for her mother to shout back, but they'd both gotten used to that, too.
Sariana dropped her workout bag in the hall and quickly went into her room, lying down on the soft blue sheets.
"Where's that boy that's always with you?!" her mother asked from the doorway.
Sariana didn't look up. "Kakkarot or Vegeta, Mom?! There's two of them, y'know!"
"The funny one with the weird grin!"
"That's Kakkarot! Vegeta almost never smiles!"
"I don't know what you see in that Vegeta! Isn't he the one that blew up the school bus last week?!"
Sariana grinned. "Accident, Mom! He was in a fight!"
"I'll say! They still haven't found the poor boy!"
"They should try another dimension!" Sariana yelled, resisting the urge to laugh.
* * * * *
The tall man ran a large hand through his mess of wild brown hair. "Took your time getting here, boys," he said, looking upset.
"Our apologies, sir," Raditz said, bowing. "We didn't mean to--"
Vegeta elbowed him in the side.
The man roared with laughter, the entire house shaking with the sound. "No apologies, Raditz. We're the superior ones around here! We make the rules!" He grabbed a mug and gulped down whatever was in it. "Now, then! What's this I hear about a school bus, eh?"
Vegeta smiled, a sight that few had seen (or at least, lived to tell about). "A mere oversight on my part, father. One of the local toughs thought he'd test his skills against me; find out if I could live up to my name."
"And did you, lad?" the man asked, his eyes focused on the boy.
"Yes, father. He hasn't been found to this day."
"Ah, that's good work. But there's still the matter of the bus to be cleared up. How was it you blew that up?"
Vegeta closed his eyes, recalling the event in his mind. "He moved fast. I missed."
"Missed?!" the bear of a man cried.
"That's right, father. I was aiming for the school itself. I meant to bury him with half the back wall, but the bus pulled up right in front of it before he dove aside."
For a moment, the man said nothing. Then he roared again, wiping away tears as he slapped his knee. "That's good, son, very good! Hit any teachers?"
"Maybe next time, father."
Vegeta's father chuckled and walked out of the room, laughing quietly to himself. "Meant to hit the school. That's a good one. Ha ha!"
"Is he always like that?" Raditz asked.
"Just be glad he only asked about the bus. He could've asked why the principal's been missing for three months."
"Don't you think he'd be more concerned about why you've never even been inside the school?"
Vegeta laughed loudly. "Who do you think gave me the idea in the first place?"
* * * * *
Very few people knew about the cliff overlooking War Canyon. Kakkarot had been the first. Ever since he'd learned how to leap, the boy had wondered just how far he could go. So one day, he'd tried and ended up crossing the famous gorge in the process (it was rumored that Vegeta I had died there while fighting off a band of invaders). He'd found the medium-sized cliff had little more than a blue-gray boulder, but even this was enough for Kakkarot. He spent hours on end sitting there, staring down at the wide canyon. It held a certain natural splendor that wasn't so apparent at first glance, and this was what called him back each day.
Naturally, Kakkarot didn't entrust the secret of this magical place to anyone but his closest friends. Vegeta swore he wouldn't tell, though that wasn't very hard for him. The few friends he did have wouldn't be interested in such a place, and Vegeta himself wasn't that fond of nature. Sariana had been delighted at first, until she discovered that her natural jumping ability wasn't good enough to reach the other side. She'd vowed to train harder until she could one day share the cliff with Kakkarot, but he thought it was an empty promise at best.
On this day, Kakkarot's theory was shattered, because as he flew through the air, looking to perfect his landing, he was shocked to see Sariana already there, waiting for him atop the boulder. He was so startled by this that he nearly missed the cliff altogether and slammed into the large rock.
Sariana giggled and helped him up. "Guess you didn't expect to see me here, K-Man."
"Not really," he admitted, shaking the stars from his head. "How'd you get up here?"
"I jumped," she replied. "Just like you showed me. Pretty good for a girl, right?"
"No, very good," Kakkarot said as he sat down beside her. "For anyone! You never cease to amaze me, Sari."
"Maybe you're easily amused," she pointed out. Then, before he could realize what she'd said, she quickly added, "I'm worried about Vegeta."
Kakkarot smirked. "Sari, believe me when I tell you no one worries about Vegeta."
"Well, I do." She turned to face him, a serious look in her eyes. "I know he's your best friend, but he always hangs out with Nappa and your older brother. It isn't good for him."
"I'm pretty sure he can take care of himself. He's got both our power levels beat by at least 50, and he's in direct lineage of our planet's founder. If anyone's destined to survive, it's him."
"I just don't like it, K-Man." She sighed and swept a hand through her long, green hair. "It's like we know him, but we don't. Who knows what those guys are teaching him?"
Kakkarot shrugged. "Sari, there's two kinds of Saiyans: really angry and about-to-be-really-angry. It's in our blood. Good or bad influences aren't going to make a big difference. It's just our nature."
Sariana almost laughed. "Do you think I'm angry?"
"It wouldn't matter. You'd be cute whether you were angry or not." Kakkarot stood up and stretched his legs. "Can you make the jump back?"
Sariana quickly stood up and grabbed his shoulder. "Wait a minute. You tell me I'm cute then ask if I can make the jump back?"
Kakkarot grinned evilly and pulled away from her. "Yeah. Seeya on the other side!" With that, he flew into the air, rocketing across the canyon with little or no effort. He hit the ground running and quickly disappeared over the horizon.
Sariana waited until he was gone. Then she raised her hands, focusing intently on the other side of the gorge. In a fraction of a second, she appeared on the other side. After a few seconds of thought, she decided that she'd tell Kakkarot about her new ability later. Besides, revealing it too soon might bruise his already swollen ego.