Disclaimer: Go ask the other guy.
Apology: I wanted to apologize for not being regular. (I sound like some sort of constipation medicine.) Sooo sorry. I have no excuse other than forgetfulness. So in "repent", I posted two chapters, this week's and last week's. Sorry again!
Author's Note: This chapter was started and completed within a lapse of three hours. Beat that. I dare you.
The Brute
Chapter Two
"Excuse me—excuse me! Coming through! Ye—yes, I'm Elite Superior Raditz's father. I need to be up front! Excuse me!"
Kakarroto rolled his eyes and readjusted the third class seal on his chest, strutting after his father with a wide stride, making a point to bump into as many people as possible on either side of him, no matter what class they might be. Bardock was much more polite, however, and wormed his way through with many an excuse and a light foot. When they had finally reached the front of the group, making sure to be able to see the spaceship's entrance when it arrived, Kakarroto turned to his father. He smirked. Bardock was brushing himself off.
"You're such a puss," he murmured, bending at the knees slightly to make sure his voice reached his target's ears. With such a commotion going on, Kakarroto wouldn't have been surprised if he didn't even hear himself.
"And what makes you say that this time?" the elder grumbled back. Kakarroto chuckled sadistically and flicked his father's ear with his finger.
"You know why." He paused and then feigned his father's deep voice with his own. "Oh, excuse me! Pardon me, sir. Excuse me, don't let me step on your feet! Pardon me if I brush by you, sir! Oh my, will you allow me to go out of my way to lick your boots, sir? Wash your tail? Polish your shoes, perhaps?"
Bardock tilted his nose in the air, staring eagerly at the area in which the spaceship would soon be landing. "You should learn from me. It's because of people like me that chaos and havoc do not reign."
Kakarroto crossed his arms with a hearty snort. "Wrong again, Bardock. It's people like you that people like me get to step all over."
Bardock coughed but said nothing more. So instead, Kakarroto turned his attention to the sky, squinted and scowled, tiny beads of rain creating patterns on his face. He was never one to like wet weather. Granted, he relished the smell of it, but other than that he could have sure done without a good soaking. In fact, if he were being honest with himself, he didn't want to be where he was at all. His father had dragged him along—his father, and the fact that death would surely be in his future if he didn't attend.
He peered around at the crowd for any familiar faces. There were none. The horde of third class Sayians were in the back, the second had followed, first had come after them, and now Kakarroto was surrounded by a select few of bulky, yet strangely elegant, Super Elite males and females. Only the few, privileged immediate family members were exceptions to this rule.
Kakarroto hardly felt privileged at all.
But then again, this was new territory. He glanced around the feminine faces for another look, and noticed that, as a whole, Super Elite women were goddesses compared to second and third. Granted, they were muscular, brawny, and most likely much stronger than him, but there was an air of healthy importance in each female that made him stop and double back for a second study. He sighed irritably. If only he'd been born with a higher power level.
"Five more minutes," Bardock announced with a hardly suppressed grin. No amount of scorching heat or bitter cold could have dimmed that smile, much less a little rain. "Five more minutes until the ship arrives."
Five more minutes, Kakarroto pondered. Five more minutes till Hell itself combined with his life. He groaned pointedly, but most everyone ignored him, buzzing in excited whispers to themselves and their peers. Kakarroto stared at the mud on his shoes with an angry, lost look, feeling more left out than ever. He wished unconditionally that he were back with his group of third classed "friends." He was probably the only one present that wasn't enjoying this day.
If nothing else, he certainly felt that way.
Suddenly, the palace doors to his right opened, and out strutted the mighty King of Vegetasei, a bodyguard flanked on either side. Kakarroto and Bardock couldn't help but gape and stare, accompanying their humble kneel. Every super elite on their sides, however, gave little more than a quick bow, as most had undoubtedly seen the king on a weekly basis, if not more. The king, with his ever-present widow's peak and smutty eyes, had always been one to make anyone feel inferior. Kakarroto often wondered afterwards if King Vegeta had written the book of pride.
He stopped where the plush, ret, velvety carpet ended, not three meters directly in front of the third class pair. He stood with his hands behind his back, his chest and armor stuck out like a hill from his body, his shoulders erect and strong like a heavy titanium pipe, and his legs as sturdy and as present as mountains. Kakarroto never knew anyone that filled him with such out-of-breath awe—and terror—at the same time. Not even his father had ever had that much of an effect. He swallowed. No matter how much he couldn't stop staring, and no matter how envious he was of the hearty king, Kakarroto didn't like this rare, frightened feeling.
With an abrupt turn of his head, as if he could sense the third class's gaze all along, King Vegeta turned and pierced the subordinate's stare with a look of his own. Kakarroto immediately bowed, lowering his face and flashing the back of his neck to his superior; he wasn't sure how long to keep his gaze to the ground, or if he had even been dismissed at all. But when he chanced to glance back up, the king had gone to staring up at the sky, the rain pouring on his hard features and running into his dark beard.
Bardock glanced at the sky as if looking for the sun, now hidden behind the heavy belly of clouds. He opened his mouth to speak, but before he got a word out, King Vegeta's booming voice announced the words for him.
"QUIET!" he shouted to open space above, and silence spread like a plague through the crowd. Everyone turned to look at the sky. "THEY ARE DUE ANY SECOND NOW!"
Kakarroto stared above him with anxiousness more than anticipation. His breath was deep but forced, and his stomach was crouched and ready to jump. After nearly a minute of blindly winking up at the clouds, rain constantly falling in his eyes, he turned his face to the ground, stretching the crick out of his neck. He absentmindedly noticed that the ground was now soaked and soggy, and his feet, along with his father's, had sunk about half an inch. He groaned and shifted his boots, cursing the suctioned sound that followed. It felt like he was standing in gum.
Shortly afterward, a nearby thundercloud exploded with a blast of thunder. The low class Sayian instinctively searched the sky for lightening, though, of course, there was none to be seen.
He grinned. Lightening… didn't that make for poor landing weather? What if it struck the ship? He entertained his mind with absurd pictures of Burnt Toast a' la' Raditz before a sharp whistling noise interrupted his train of thought.
Kakarroto blinked and looked up at the sky, and his eyes widened when he spotted it. Several of the Sayians pointed and began to murmur excitedly. A weight felt like it had dropped in his stomach; there the ship was, slowing down with all its might, peeling back the dark and threatening clouds with bold, shining, and untouchable aplomb.
Sooner than he had hoped, the ship finally came to a stop. The chatter around him, which had grown climactic the past few seconds, came to an abrupt halt. Tangible silence replaced it. When Bardock suddenly clutched his arm, Kakarroto knew it to be involuntarily, and he didn't even have enough spunk left in him to tell his father to let go. Every muscle seemed to have seized itself, along with Bardock's hand.
Droplets rolled off the side of the spaceship like they would off the back of a bird. Kakarroto swallowed, watching in silence, along with thousands of other eyes, as the spaceship door opened with a hiss. No one heard it, though. Thunder clapped as soon as the door opened.
It was as if time had tripped on itself and was now crawling at an unbearably slow rate. Each beat of Kakarroto's heart was loud in his ears and ever-present in his throat. He watched in agony as out stepped a muscular beast of a man, tall, scarred and menacing. He swallowed tightly, clenched his fists, and sized the man up: there was a hard past buried in his eyes, and though he stood erect and proud, it was more defensive than dignified. Kakarroto took a deep breath and tore his eyes away from the stranger to glance at his father.
Bardock shook his head.
"Not yet," he whispered. "That's not him. That's Elite Superior Nappa."
Everyone was silent in awe—the elders not believing what they saw, the younger generation wondering exactly who it was they saw. Kakarroto breathed again; the initial shock and dread was over, and all that was left was a dull, numb anxiousness. He half-mindedly watched the so-called Nappa step off the ramp and approach his king, growing taller every second. When he reached proper kneeling distance, he crouched down and genuinely covered his heart with his hand.
Another being stepped out the door.
But Kakarroto had no doubt in his mind as to who this was. As soon as he saw him, he knew. In fact, Kakarroto had even looked back to check on King Vegeta and make sure that he was still there, and that he was not the one walking off the ramp. He swallowed and turned back to the former—turned back to Prince Vegeta.
There was something utterly indescribable in his eyes that kept everyone silent and on their toes. The aura around his eyes was harsh and untrusting, full of disbelief, as if almost certain it would find out that this was all a cruel trick, and that it would be ordered back into the flanks of Frieza's army again. There was a bobbing of several Adam's apples throughout the crowd. Kakarroto had never seen such hateful eyes—and yet he wanted more of them. He wanted to sit and stare at them forever, as if their barricade might give way someday, and he'd find out what had caused the force field in the first place. When Vegeta finally reached his father, the two stared long and hard into each other's eyes, Prince Vegeta's hand rising up to his heart. From the distance he was at, Kakarroto was able to see the tremble of hope—and maybe relief—in his prince's limbs.
"Kneel!" Kakarroto heard his father hiss from far away. He blinked out of his gaze and turned to look at Bardock, who was bent at the knee, along with every other Sayian present. He blushed, despite himself, and fell into place.
Thunder clapped again, louder than ever, and the rain began to fall with force and a slight breeze of wind. Kakarroto straightened himself up and shifted his feet, absent-mindedly brushing the majority of the mud off his spandex. Somewhere in the back of his mind he realized that the next—and the last—person to step off the ship would really be his older brother.
Now that the prince had stepped off the spaceship, hardly anyone paid Raditz any mind when he arrived on the scene. But Kakarroto did, and he was honestly surprised with what he saw. His father having never taken any pictures of Raditz, Kakarroto was blind as to what he might have looked like. But he knew now. Long, knee-length hair and an unusually long tail that was as fluffy as he had pictured were first to be noticed, but there was something else present that he hadn't expected. On Raditz's face was a scowl—an indifferent, hateful scowl. It seemed to say "F— you, world," and it was not something Kakarroto had ever imagined, especially not from a goody-two-shoes. Kakarroto glanced at his father. Bardock seemed just as surprised as he was, but he had a hard look of solemn acceptance.
The last finally reached his king, and he kneeled down alongside Nappa. Kakarroto watched as King Vegeta smiled, his eyes still on his son, and listlessly motioned for the pair at his feet to rise. The king tore himself away, turned to the surrounding crowd, and bellowed in a voice not natural for a man his size: "VEGETA, PRINCE OF VEGETASEI!"
The noise that erupted shortly after was mind-boggling, and, like most, Kakarroto stuck his fingers in his ears to ease the pain. But while everyone was hollering and clapping out of genuine joy, the youth had to feign his, his eyes never straying from his brother. Raditz's scowl seemed to almost curve into a smile at the ruckus, proud of himself, his prince, and his people. He searched the surrounding crowds for sight of his father, and, upon spotting him, smiled even wider. His eyes strayed just a spot more to the left.
Kakarroto met his brother's eyes with his own.
Lightening cracked and hissed. Thunder bellowed not a split-second later.
Almost everyone jumped at how close the strike was, and they eventually became silent. King Vegeta bellowed slowly again, "JOIN ME INSIDE TO WELCOME BACK OUR PRINCE! ALL, FROM ELITES TO THIRD CLASS, ARE WELCOME TO THIS FEAST!"
There was a hustle and bustle and even a degree of shoving as everyone slowly filed for the palace. Bardock and Kakarroto remained, however, and Raditz headed in their direction. Kakarroto watched him with beady, studying eyes and an abnormally stiff posture. Raditz had that same, long-legged, handsome strut that he and Bardock had. Not to mention that his brother wasn't half that bad looking. Kakarroto's face steadily grew sullen.
"Father," Raditz greeted in a rolling, handsome voice. Kakarroto fought to hide a building scowl. Bardock, however, was fighting back something totally different—a smile, and he was losing terribly.
"Son!" he shouted, and, without a second thought of shame, wrapped Raditz tightly in his arms. Though Kakarroto noticed his brother looked awkward at first, the son soon fell at ease and returned the embrace with a tired, relieved laugh. Both looked so thrilled in the presence of one another that it almost made onlookers think the rain had stopped. Kakarroto, however, could have exploded.
"Ah, Father, Father! Great to see you! So great!"
"I can hardly believe it either!"
"It's been what? Twenty years?"
"Seems like SO much longer! I've missed you so much! Everyone has!"
Kakarroto was half a thought away from spitting. He wanted to take off and never return. Or, better yet, he wanted to challenge Raditz right then and there—challenge him to a death duel, and just see if he didn't measure up. And then maybe he'd take off… Raditz turned and looked at him, however, with such a hearty smile that Kakarroto almost—almost—felt guilty.
"And… and you're Kakarroto, right?" The one spoken to nodded his head. "Wow! It's great to finally meet you! You're taller than I had pictured… I had heard of your birth while on one of Frieza's ships, but that was pretty much it. Just a, 'Your brother was born yesterday' notice."
Kakarroto grunted. That was all he found that he could do. His throat was tight and clogged and his mouth was glued shut. Bardock captured his son's attention again.
"There's a welcome home party set up for you, Raditz! After we're done at Prince Vegeta's party, we'll come back home and enjoy ourselves. I invited everyone I knew!"
There was a pause in speech, filled only by happy smiles. But Raditz's face lightened up in question, and next few words were hesitant, low, and, perhaps, even embarrassed. "Even… oh Father, even Chi-Chi?"
"She's still yours! Has kept herself away from any other these past twenty years!" Bardock laughed. "That's one dedicated female you've got! Very rare, and a very good girl…"
Kakarroto perked up. Chi-Chi? That didn't sound like one of the women he knew or had ever slept with.
"Great, great! How wonderful! I can't wait to see her… It's been so long that all I remember is a small girl with dark pigtails. But I suppose she's a full-grown woman now…"
"Very grown."
Kakarroto listened with interest. Chi-Chi. She was obviously someone his father knew, and most definitely someone Raditz knew. So why had he never heard of her?
"Well," Raditz said, breaking the silence. "Let's go and attend Prince Vegeta's party, shall we? We actually have three seats reserved at the High Table for us. I coaxed the prince into allowing you two to join."
While Kakarroto could have broken his brother's nose, Bardock could have practically kissed his son's cheek. Raditz was finally back—his son, his first, his blood—and Kakarroto had never seen so much pride in his father's eyes. It was a look that was quickly filling him with rage.
"It's been so long," Raditz sighed. And, as if from a sudden thought, he turned to Bardock with a smile, "Oh, I forgot to ask: Father, have you any new battle scars to show me?"
That was the last straw.
Now Kakarroto knew there really was a Hell, and it was the story of his life.
Laughs You guys recognize that last bit? You should! It was in the last chapter, do-dos!
Lovies like always!
Pudgoose