Disclaimer: Nothing's mine. Nothing! Nothing, I tell you! Bursts into tears

Author's Notes: I wrote part of this chapter almost four months before I wrote the rest. I've got a reasonable fear that Kakarroto might be a little "peculiar-acting" throughout this chapter…

The Brute

Chapter Five

Up until noon, Kakarroto spent the rest of his time with his friends and with the ladies of his favorite brothel. There was something about their feminine company that was soothingly reassuring to him, and his "friends" were just as pleasant. They were always ready and waiting to fire compliments left and right, out of fear of him if nothing else. But fear was an okay thing; it gave him a sense of power and of control that Kakarroto flourished in. It made him feel important, in command, and recognized.

It also helped him forget the events of that morning; and he certainly didn't want to think about them at all. They fueled him with such an intensifying anger that he was doubly glad of his fight today; he'd be able to spar without hesitation, be able to kill without second thoughts. He wasn't going to go easy on this Brocc character today; no, unfortunately, Brocc had caught him at a bad time.

So help him, all Hell was going to be unleashed in one simple scuffle.

There was a girl in the bar today that he hadn't ever seen before. She wasn't flocking to him, either, like most women did. Instead, she was sitting by herself in a corner of the bar, her lips sipping at her frosted mug. From time to time, however, he had caught several of her studying glances. He rocked slightly in his seat as some nameless slut ungainly massaged his shoulders, drinking at his beer, and listening to the bartender compliment him over and over again on his latest fight.

"You were brilliant, I swear! That Veet guy didn't even know what he was up against! And he should have known! You're practically legend around here… He should have watched himself! Your punches were awesome, but your kicks seemed even greater than that! I couldn't trace them, they were so fast! They were—"

"What's that girl's name?"

"What?" the bartender bumbled.

"That girl. In the corner."

"The one with the blue hair?"

"Yes. What's her name?"

The bartender frowned in thought, while the whore behind Kakarroto began to massage his neck harder than usual, as if trying to get him to notice her. The only response she got, however, was a small swatting at her hands and an uncomfortable twisting of the third class's neck. The bartender finally answered, slow yet confident in his response.

"I believe that her name is Bulma. She's second-class."

"Oh yea?"

The whore behind Kakarroto began to pout. "You don't really like her, do you?" she asked in a childish tone, brushing back several of his bangs. "She's weird looking. Her hair is blue."

"She's more interesting than you," Kakarroto growled, "so shut up." He nodded at the bartender, signaling for him to continue. The servant merely shrugged, however.

"I don't know much more about her. She's a bit brainy for a Sayian female… and her parents died early, I think. If I'm correct, the only living blood relative she has is her sister."

"I see… Hmmm. Interesting. How did her parents die?"

"I really don't know; so many people dying around here all the time, it's hard to keep track. They probably killed each other in a disagreement; you know how some mates can get."

Kakarroto chuckled and nodded, tapping his finger on the side of his frosted mug. He glanced at the girl again. "And she has a sister? Well if her sister's half as pretty as she is, they're a pretty flashy pair." He paused, thinking. "And what is her name? The sister, I mean?"

The bartender hesitated, seemingly in thought again. "Um… Chi-Chi, I believe."

There was a pause. Kakarroto stopped, having brought his drink halfway to his mouth, and stared at the bartender with disbelief. The female giving him the massage felt him tense up, and she blinked with confusion. Glancing up at the bartender, she turned back down to the object of her affections.

"Kakarroto, dear, are you ok? Did I hurt you?"

Kakarroto turned his gaze to the liquid in his glass, though it was evident he wasn't watching it. He looked nothing short of being lost in thought as he absentmindedly swirled the foamy drink in its mug. After about a minute of silence, the two companions jumped slightly when his fingers broke through the glass, making for a loud, shattering sound. The female behind him squeaked and grabbed his hand, spreading his fingers out and checking for cuts. The bartender swallowed nervously.

"Can I get you another… Kakarroto, sir?"

Kakarroto took a long breath, eventually letting it out in a sigh, and turned his attention to Bulma. His eyes studied her hard, and underneath those thick, stormy brows, complicated thoughts were evidently brewing. He finally sniffed and stood up, yanking his hand away from the woman behind him.

"What time is it?" he asked the bartender in a loud voice. The man blinked and checked his clock.

"Almost high time. A couple more minutes should do it justice."

The third class Sayian cracked his knuckles loudly several times, simultaneously working the kinks out of his neck. "Well then," he boomed, chest out and nose high, "seems like it's almost time I show that good-for-nothing what's what!"

"Oooo!" the girl at his side admired. "Who's the fight with this time?"

Kakarroto grinned, his eyes twinkling, though he wasn't looking at her. "Some second class loser, I believe. His name starts with a B… Bi or Br something. It doesn't matter, though. He won't be lasting long enough for anyone to use it except on his grave."

Several Sayians had looked up from their drinks and conversations at this loud boasting. They cackled and chortled in their seats. "Look out," one guy in the back barked, "Kakarroto's strutting something bad."

He laughed loudly in response, glancing at the booth in the corner. "You better believe it! Want to come and watch?"

"Of course!" the Sayian replied immediately. Others stood up and followed while several shrugged their shoulders and figured they had nothing better to do. Flashing the crowd a feisty smirk, he turned and led his parade of burly fans out the door.

The sun was high and the weather hot. This heat mixed with the previous day's humidity made for a very sticky feeling, and it made Kakarroto feel like he was swimming through everyone's evaporated perspiration. He made a loud noise and wiped his brow with his arm, taking his shirt off and turning around to throw it to the person nearest him.

"Hold that for me, will you? Don't want it to get in the way while I'm beating the crap out of a certain someone."

The Sayian eagerly nodded, folding the shirt carefully over his arm. Kakarroto took advantage of his turn and checked to see if he'd successfully lured his prey out the door. He cackled delightedly. There was a head of blue sticking defiantly out of the mass of black. Kakarroto turned back around and made a dash for the heart of South Wing, hooting and hollering for his followers to keep up with him.

Sure enough, when Kakarroto skidded to a stop at the destined fighting arena, Brocc was already there waiting for him. Kakarroto held up his arm, abruptly stopping and silencing those behind him. Several Sayians got on tiptoes to see him over the heads of others while some just hovered in the air. Brocc crossed his arms.

"Kept to your word, have you?" Brocc barked. "If I remember correctly, you did say you were going to 'invite everyone you know', yes?"

Kakarroto wiped his brow. The air around him was sweltering. "Of course. I never break a promise."

"Neither do I," the Sayian growled back menacingly. "And I'm going to keep my promise and kill you, in front of all your guests."

A crack of lightening flashed like a whip out from Kakarroto, slicing through the humidity like a knife would through flesh. There was complete silence for almost a minute, in which both Sayians studied the other with keen eyes. Brocc finally began to take his shirt off. Kakarroto's smirk widened.

"Fight," one of the Sayians whispered from the side. "Fight—Fight—Fight—Fight—"

"Fight! Fight! Fight!" another joined in. The chant spread contagiously through the crowd like wildfire, and soon everyone was barking out that simple, five-lettered word. Kakarroto's blood began to boil, and the humidity was pressing on him so fiercely that he had to open his mouth to breathe.

Kakarroto saw a trace of blue from the corner of his eye. That Bulma girl had moved to a better location so she'd be able to witness their brawl with more ease. Kakarroto's smirk grew so wide that his cheek was almost blinding his left eye.

This seemed to be the snapping point for Brocc. The Sayian suddenly disappeared and reappeared in front of Kakarroto with incredible speed, sucker-punching his opponent.

There was dead silence in which no one moved, spare Kakarroto, who was regaining his balance. The Sayian stared at Brocc in shock for a few tense seconds. Even Brocc looked surprised at his own daring. Kakarroto licked away the blood that had spilt from his bottom lip.

"Oh yes…" he whispered, smacking his lips once. He then bared his teeth, the blood from his lip having spread through to his eyes. All he saw around him was red, and all he saw before him was Raditz.

Kakarroto took the offensive, and the crowd burst into cheers of wild excitement, morphing the humidity uncomfortably. He punched, kicked, flew backwards, forewords, and even skipped sideways once, making sure his opponent didn't escape his inevitable wrath. This was very unfortunate for Brocc, who, after only a few seconds into the brawl, realized fully just how out-matched he was. He had tried to beat Kakarroto back once, tried to defend himself a couple of times, but a majority of the time was spent trying to somehow escape. He knew it would be shameful. He knew his father would disown him. But he also knew that if he didn't do something soon, he was bound for death.

Brocc suddenly flew backwards from a punch to the gut, and the Sayian let the blow carry him as far as it would, then he gathered his feet, bounced, and tried to turn around and fly into the air. Kakarroto was already there, however; he grabbed Brocc's ankle and swung him around, straight to the ground. Brocc hit it face first, but Kakarroto spared him no second to breathe; he was on top of him in an instant, pummeling the Sayian's bare back with his fists and fingernails.

The crowd was becoming larger and wilder than ever. Two Sayians near the back had gotten into a scuffle just from the excitement of watching Kakarroto and Brocc fight. People from nearby bars, brothels, and homes dashed down the streets to the center of South Wing, encircling Kakarroto and Brocc completely, though making sure to stay their distance.

Kakarroto was in a blind fury. All the anger and hate he had felt yesterday and that morning was pouring out of him into his opponent. He saw Raditz underneath him, no one but Raditz, and his stomach was so tight that he was sure he would vomit. But he had to keep going; he had to punish Raditz somehow.

He grabbed a fistful of black hair—Raditz's black hair—and pulled back. His fist came down to meet Brocc's back higher than he had anticipated—

There was a sickening crack that erupted from somewhere around Brocc's higher anatomy. Everyone silenced, and this seemed to bring Kakarroto back to his senses. He let go of Brocc's hair abruptly, close to being horrified with himself. The head flopped back to the ground with a soft thud, several of the bones of his neck sticking out at odd angles. He lay motionless.

Kakarroto's eyes were wider than they had been in days. His stomach relaxed from its curled state, but now it seemed like it was going to try to swell and explode inside him. The silence was broken again by incredible cheers, but Kakarroto wished they would stop. He felt his head spinning slightly. Normally he was excited by death like this, by blood spilt by his own hand. But not now—not now—and why was that?

"Three cheers for Kakarroto, our own third-class Super Sayian!" the guy holding Kakarroto's shirt shouted. There were three unorganized shouts of congratulation, and Kakarroto numbly carried himself to his feet. He watched the crowd around him, feeling very unattached. It was almost as if he was watching himself from the surrounding crowd, and he saw a scene that was petrifying.

The color blue caught his eye, and he turned to look at Bulma. She had crossed her arms, her blue tail curling about her waist. She was smirking. He accepted her greeting graciously and hurried over to talk to her, some of the feeling in his legs returning back to him. Anything for a distraction.

"And?" he said when he reached her. She quirked an eyebrow at him, her expression wry.

"And what?"

"And what did you think of that performance back there?"

She inhaled deeply, her eyes darting to the inert, bleeding form that was Brocc. "Not bad, not bad…"

"Not bad?" he asked, pulling out his lady-killer grin. He saw a fleet of emotion flash through her eyes, and her cheeks tinged pink.

"All right, you're actually really good. And you're what class?"

"Third."

"NO WAY!" Bulma suddenly shouted, but it was hardly louder than the cheering and hollering that was going on around them. Her arms dropped to her side. "YOU'RE SO KIDDING ME!"

He shook his head. "'Fraid not." He turned, lifted his fingers to his mouth and whistled; the Sayian that had been holding his shirt trotted over.

"Here it is, sir. All nice and clean."

"Good. Now scram."

Kakarroto wiped his brow with his shirt, then grinned wryly at Bulma and tossed it to her. She caught it, her eyes grazing over the front till she caught sight of his third-class seal. She sputtered in shock and looked up at him, her expression one of incredulous disbelief.

"You're—wow, you're—" She bumbled over her words, searching for the right way to describe him. "You're really good for a third-class," she finished lamely.

"I'll take that as a compliment," he purred. He opened his mouth to say more, but someone tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around to glare at whoever had interrupted him, only to meet a chest covered with shining, expensive armor. He craned his neck to look up at a Sayian with a bald head, bushy eyebrows, and a close-shaven mustache. His eyes widened.

"Elite Superior Nappa!" he said, taking a step back and saluting. Nappa nodded, signaling for him to relax. He did, halfway glancing at Bulma. She seemed just as surprised as he.

"Nice battle. You've got an interesting technique to your form."

"Wait—you mean—you were watching us?" Kakarroto whispered, almost breathlessly. Nappa smirked, obviously pleased with all the awe placed upon himself.

"Heard the crowd. Came to see what was up."

"Oh. Right."

"Let's get straight to the point. I was waiting for someone on the far side of town, actually heard the noise from all the way out there, and came to investigate. I didn't really expect to see anything too great, you know, because you really don't see the good fights out in South Wing. But I came anyway, and when I finally reached here, I just lifted myself up in the air and watched. I admit it; I'm kind of impressed with the way you fight, even if you are a…" He glanced at Kakarroto's crumpled shirt in Bulma's arms, and his nose wrinkled. "What class are you again?"

"Third," the Sayian answered back quietly.

His large nose wrinkled even more, making it look like a sort of overgrown raisin. "Yes, even if you are third… Well I've been bored lately, and you look like a nice challenge. You and I will spar some time later. What do you say… about four days from now? At about the same time, in King Vegeta's palace? Good, I'm free that day." Nappa paused and looked around. "I'd fight you now, but I'm on some important business for our honorable prince, Vegeta."

Kakarroto's chest swelled, and he glanced at Bulma. She was looking at him through lowered eyelashes and glittering eyes, obviously impressed. The Sayian turned back around and crossed his arms importantly.

"All right. I'll see you then."

"Elite Superior Nappa, good day!" a voice called out, and the Sayian trio turned to see none other than Chi-Chi approaching them. Chi-Chi smiled brightly at Nappa, curtseying for him. "I hope I find you well!"

Nappa surveyed her as if she were dirt. "Who're you?" he grunted.

Chi-Chi blinked politely, her wide smile flickering on her face. "Elite Superior Raditz's betrothed. Ah, yes, we never have been properly introduced, have we? But Raditz talks about you so much at home that I feel like I've known you forever."

Nappa snorted. "That's rich. Raditz, talking about me of his own accord? Please." He rolled his eyes. "I know that bumble-head better than that. He'd sooner talk about me than I'd talk about the whore I spanked last night."

Chi-Chi looked slightly uncomfortable, but she laughed good-naturedly nonetheless. She glanced at Kakarroto and her sister. "Ah, I see you've met Raditz's brother, Kakarroto," she quipped sweetly. Nappa's bushy eyebrows jumped.

"That guy's Raditz's brother?" he asked, taking a second look at Kakarroto. "Yea… yea, I guess he is. I see the mild resemblance." He laughed loudly. "Well no wonder you fight well! You must have gotten it from your brother!"

The corner of Kakarroto's mouth twitched. "No, actually, I'm proud to say I've taught myself." He either spoke too quietly or neither Nappa nor Chi-Chi cared, however. They paid his comment no mind.

"What are you doing in a place like this, Nappa?" Chi-Chi continued to ask. Nappa straightened his posture, looking taller than ever.

"Prince Vegeta's orders. I'm actually looking for Raditz. Where is he?"

Chi-Chi gave him a pleasantly puzzled look. "Well you've picked an interesting place to look for him. He wouldn't be here. He's back home with Bardock."

"Back home? But why? Prince Vegeta sent him orders to be here at high time."

"Really?"

"Yes, of course. By letter."

Chi-Chi paused. Kakarroto was sure he saw something pass quickly through her eyes when she shot him a look, but she merely frowned at Nappa instead.

"We've gotten no such letter."

"Oh yea?" Nappa grunted, his burrows frowning. "I'll have to remember to kill that messenger. Good-for-nothing piece of… But never mind. Where is Raditz's home?"

Chi-Chi turned and pointed in a westerly direction. "If you fly that way for about five minutes, you'll reach it. It's a rough-looking building. Holes in the sides, the front door has come off—" She shot Kakarroto a sour look "—and the paint's peeling and everything."

Nappa nodded and grunted for the third time, hovering off the ground. "Thank you, betrothed of Raditz." He turned to look at Kakarroto. "And I shall see you four days from now."

Kakarroto bowed. When he straightened himself up again, Nappa had disappeared. He turned and looked at Chi-Chi instead. She was looking haughty, staring in the direction Nappa must have gone.

"What are you doing here?" he barked. Her eyes flashed as she turned her fiery gaze onto him.

"Don't try that shit with me, Kakarroto. Raditz might be more lenient than I am about this stuff, but I refuse to stand it. I am two class levels higher than you, and insult to a superior officer is punishable by death." Her eyes flashed again, but this time a more wicked tone accompanied them. "I won't hesitate to report it to King Vegeta, either."

Kakarroto scoffed and crossed his arms, earning himself an awed look of admiration from Bulma. "I know." Chi-Chi glared at him, but Kakarroto looked to Bulma. "Now if you'll excuse us, I'm in the mood to buy this beautiful lady a drink."

He took Bulma's arm in his own, and, with a grace and poise he had only dreamed himself containing, led her through the crowd of people with a charming smile.

---

Oh I enjoyed that one! Introducing two characters in one chapter… xD. That's some coolness right there! These chapters are so short though… I need to work to make them longer, or something.

So what'd you think?! The plot's really gonna start moving now; only a couple chapters left to go. Bulma's character will develop more as the story goes on, but because Nappa doesn't really have a big part, I tried to cram as much Nappa-ness in there as possible. Hehehe… Nappa's so hilarious. I swear I love that guy. (Another love I've picked up from Stef-chan…) But I really hope you guys caught his verbal irony that I worked so hard to include. I'd be so upset if you didn't… Lol, just kidding!

Take care all,

Pudgoose