Nothing new, oh wait, that's wrong. I've decided on pairings. Those of you who twitched when I mentioned yaoi pairings can relax, all the main pairings will be heterosexual.

Same warnings and disclaimer as before. Please enjoy, and review if it isn't a problem. If you hate it, well, you can review too, but flames will be used to amuse myself and my friends



Chapter 3: Thoughts

On planet Yasha . . . .

"You there! Slave!"

Yamcha looked up from his meal to find one of the most frightening aliens he had ever seen glowering down at him. What race is that again . . . oh right, Yokai-jin. The locals here.

Whatever the name, the thing was nasty. Blood red eyes glared out from black skin which Yamcha was sure sucked in any form of light (which, in fact, was correct). It would have towered over Yamcha even if he hadn't been sitting.

Once one got past the eyes and the skin - not that anyone ever did - you started noticing that the race was vaguely humanoid. Humanoid in a twisted, nightmarish sort of way. With really sharp claws. In this case the overall effect was slightly diminished by the Ice-jin Empire uniform the Yokai-jin wore. Slightly.

"Yes, sir?" Yamcha had learned quickly that if you didn't know who a person was, you were better off treating them with some respect. With Yokai-jin this was doubly important, they were a race of highly trained assassins, the best in Frezia's armies. You did not want to mess with them.

"Get your lazy ass off the ground and go load cargo onto the Hanyo," his voice was akin to nails on a chalkboard. Yamcha barely kept from wincing.

"Right away, sir!"

The Yokai-jin hissed at him, but left, assured his orders would not be ignored.

With a sigh Yamcha scarfed down what was left of his lunch, a good meal was a rarity. A few moments later he had made his way down to the dockings bays to report.

As it turned out, the Hanyo was a small, white scout ship. Three Yokai-jins would be able to live comfortably in it for a year, given enough supplies.

Even though he had been no match for the members of Frezia's army, the distinctly large and heavy box Yamcha now lifted was not a problem for him. Quickly he put it in the back of the ship's cargo hold and turned to go back for another. Voices on the other side of the hold made him stop.

"I can't believe this! What a disgrace, Yokai-jins being used as scouts! I'm telling you, this Lord Frezia is not worth our time."

"Quiet! Do you want to be executed for treason, Atre?" A second and somehow feminie voice replied.

"Hmph. What's so important about this planet Namek, anyway? Can you tell me that Isf?" the voice Yamcha identified as Atre questioned.

Namek? Is that where this ship is going? Yamcha frowned at the vaguely familiar name, Where do I know that from?

"Why should I know? The captain said something about "dragon balls," whatever those are supposed to be." Isf shot back.

Did I hear right? Dragonballs?! . . . I need to get on this ship's crew!


On Vegeta . . . .

ChiChi was pretty sure that in her current situation she shouldn't be thinking about how gorgeous her rescuer was. For all she knew he was a rapist-axe-murderer who had dragged her into the forest to have his evil way with her.

If he is, at least he's a handsome rapist-axe-murderer with the best ass I've ever seen.

They had moved at a speed ChiChi had never thought possible on foot. Kakarotto had simply picked her up body and bones; "it will be faster" was his explanation as he took off at a run. He was strong too, by human standards anyway. She had been able to note his strength from her rather intimate position - cradled in his arms - and the ease with which he carried her weight.

Now that she thought about it, her Saiya-jin saviour probably wouldn't need an axe to kill her. He wouldn't even need an axe to chop down a thousand-year-old tree.

However, she just could not convince herself that this guy was dangerous. Well, to her at least. It wasn't simply that he had saved her, or even that he was the most attractive guy she'd ever met. What she had seen and felt when she looked into the onyx orbs he called eyes . . .

She had heard people describe moments as "fate stirring." She hadn't known what they meant. Now she did

There was one minor problem with the Saiya-jin hunk. He desperately needed a bath. And a new change of clothes.

ChiChi frowned as she watched him move around the small open area they had found by a creek. This was not a guy who was taken care of by adoring parents, or even a not so adoring slave master. No, Kakarotto had obviously been on his own for a long time. For all that he was strong there was a certain gauntness to his form. Not well fed. Homeless I guess.

"Kakarotto . . ." ChiChi changed her mind as he turned those expressive eyes on her.

"Never mind," she murmured quickly. Silently she resolved that the second she got a chance she was going to cook him a good meal.

He accepted her unwillingness to speak with a shrug and proceeded to take off the sash of his threadbare gi. A blush warmed ChiChi's cheeks, wha . . .

Kakarotto soaked the sash in the creek before folding it and bringing it over.

"Here, it's not ice, but you need to keep the swelling down on that bruise. This should do the trick."

Now she felt silly. Obviously he wasn't thinking of her the way she was thinking of him. Get it together girl!

The two sat in silence as ChiChi nursed her bruised cheek.

It was a beautiful day, she noted absently despite her suddenly aching body. A little past mid-day, though the sun was still fairly high, the main heat of the day had settled into a comfortable warmth that made ChiChi a little drowsy.

Vegeta's forests weren't unlike the evergreen forests of Earth. Even if the plants, animals, birds and red-toned sky are a little strange. Homesickness washed over her.

A warm hand on her shoulder startled her. Turning she looked at Kakarotto through blurred vision. I'm crying.

With a sob she launched herself into his arms, pressing her face against his chest. Shock froze him for a moment. Slowly his arms wrapped around her in a hug, letting her cry.


Vejita was beyond pissed. He was beyond mad, angry, or even furious, there was actually no word to describe the anger he was feeling right now. Fighting with Nappa had done nothing to take the edge off his fury. Which was really too bad, because it seemed that his top commander was going to be on medical leave for the next few days. It should have at least served a purpose.

How dare he?! How dare that fucking tyrant mess with my life? I don't care how strong the asshole is, I'm going to kill him!!! Bad enough that these damn senators are on my ass about getting a mate and an heir! I don't fucking need it from Frezia too!

Vejita didn't even want to start thinking about the threat the oath implied to his people. If he did there wouldn't be a people left to worry about.

I need to get out of here, and I need to do so now.

There was a certain logistical issue with this course of action. Being the king meant the loss of a lot of freedom. Vejita couldn't simply go where he wanted when he wanted, not outside palace walls at any rate.

Usually kings got around this clause by knowing the palace really, really well. When they were princes they had a decent amount of free time, which allowed them to search the palace for escape routes. These routes came in handy when they needed a moment away from being king later on. Vejita had not had the luxury of being a prince for long, so this option wasn't open to him.

An official outing would take too long to put together. Besides, Vejita wanted to get out on his own, without the guards an official outing would require.

So what's left?

Vejita stopped in mid-stride. He had a vague memory of being briefed on an experiment with scouters. Something about incorporating holographic technology into them. . .

The King of Saiya-jins took off towards the technology labs.


On Frezia's flag ship . . . .

"You've got all that Zarbon?" Frezia inquired through the com-link with his Ambassador to planet Vegeta.

"Yes, my lord," came the predictable reply.

"Good. And one more thing Zarbon."

"Yes, Lord Frezia?"

"Tell Lady Rettisu that I'm agreeable to her . . . request. Help will be sent at the appropriate time."

"Of course, my lord."

With that Frezia snapped off the link.

Well, well, my young King. The game gets interesting. Let's see what you do about it.