A Tail To Remember
by Gie (phowah@cs.com)
****

A Tail To Remember
Chapter Thirteen: Circlin' the Wagons

They glanced between each other. "How do you know that?"

Vejiita flashed out of view and appeared behind them,
latching onto their tails. "These." He squeezed them tightly, and
made the strange males wince in pain. "Now, tell me who you are.
There are only four Saiya-jiin in existance, and you are not the
other two."

Akane stepped forward, and stumbled a little. "Vejiita, calm
down. And for Kami's sake, let go of their tails."

Vejiita just squeezed harder. He snarled loudly. "Tell me, or
I rip them off!"

The purple haired male gritted out a word. "Trunks."

The tri-colored male uttered another. "Tobuma."

Vejiita dropped their tails and watched them hurriedly wrap
around their respective owner's waists with a snort. "Those aren't
Saiya-jiin names." He walked over to Akane and gave her the
support she needed to retain her balance comfortably. "Who are
you really? What is your purpose here?"

Akane, grateful for the living crutch of Vejiita peered at
Tobuma closely, studying his features. Tobuma blushed under the
scrutiny. "You look really familiar. Have we met before?" Tobuma
shook his head violently and backed up a few paces. Trunks just
snorted at him.

"So you're name is Tobuma? My name is Akane, or Seiika,
whichever you want. I answer to both." She smiled. "And the living
sourpuss of a crutch here is Vejiita, my brother. I'd like to thank
you both for taking care of those things, whatever they are, or were
I should say."

Tobuma smiled slightly and bowed. "Hai. My name is Tobuma,
and my friend is Trunks." Trunks bowed in response to his name. "It
was our pleasure to help you finish off the Drones." He saw the look
on Vejiita's scowling face and spoke hurriedly to answer it. "Yes, we
are Saiya-jiin, and no, we are not here to blow up Chikyuu. We really
can't tell you anything else right now. But we do have a question."

Akane nodded and Vejiita just glared at the two males that
claimed to be Saiya-jiin.

"Has Son Goku arrived from space yet?"

Akane nodded. "He landed last week." Vejiita let out a noise
of disgust.

Tobuma turned and glared at the scowling Trunks, who just
snorted. "I told you."

Trunks spoke. "Who can achieve Super Saiya-jiin?"

Akane looked apprehensive as she glanced at her brother.
"Well, me and Goku-san can, spontaneously. This was Vejiita-chan's
first time. He can't control it yet." As she said that, Vejiita
grunted and lost the switch, powering back down to normal levels.
She said nothing to Vejiita, but she stared at the two hard. "Why
do you want to know?"

Vejiita stepped slightly in front of his sister. "Yes, tell us
why you want to know, and why you helped us." His tone switched to
arrogance. "We were doing fine on our own! There was no need for
your interference." His face clouded over in anger. "What do you
want?"

Trunks spoke once again. "We are here to help you fight the
Kiseichiuu Hachi."

Vejiita glanced at Akane, who let out a slight sigh. "Hachi?
It's obvious we were attacked by bee creatures. How do you know
this?"

Tobuma put a hand in the air, halting the line of questioning.
"We will answer your questions as best we can, soon. Why don't we
go where there is some light, and where everyone can gather
together? It'll be easier to explain all at once." He nodded toward
Akane. "And she could use some medical attention."

Akane waved her hand around in a gesture of denial. "All I
need is a Senzu bean, and I'll be fine."

Vejiita glanced at Akane and nodded. "That'll do. But first,"
he turned back to the two males. "First tell me how you know about
the Legend of the Super Saiya-jiin!"

Tobuma and Trunks looked between each other,
communicating silently, and nodded. They both bent their heads
slightly and dirt and small pebbles began to float in the air as the
two males gathered their power. All of a sudden, two bright flashes
occurred and after Vejiita and Akane blinked a few times to clear
the spots, two new Super Saiya-jiin stood in front of them, now
familiar blond hair and green eyes. Athough Tobuma's hair seemed
to have exploded and be literally everywhere.

Akane and Vejiita both widened their eyes at the two's
transformation. More Super Saiya-jiin? Just how many more are
there? Vejiita narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the two, and shook
his head. His temper began to rise again.

Akane soon got over her shock and shook her head in
amazement. She gave Vejiita a warning glare, and after he settled
down slightly, she spoke. "Oh my, two more Super Saiya-jiin. I
guess the best place to go would be Capsule Corp." She glanced at
the horizon. "The sun will be up soon." She gave her twin a look.
"Ranma and Bulma are most likely going bonkers now." She closed
her eyes. "Yep, Ranma is bouncing off the walls with worry."

Vejiita nodded his head. "Onna is in the same state. Can you
fly by yourself?"

Akane stepped away from Vejiita and rocked a few times on
her feet. "I think so. We'll have to go rather slow."

Vejiita just snorted and scooped her up into his embrace.
"Onna is about to go ballistic. We need to get home soon." Akane
nodded and wrapped her arms around her brother's neck and rested
her head on his shoulder.

The fading moonlight caught her attention as it glanced off
the alien craft. "Um, Vejiita-chan, what about those?"

He looked in the direction she indicated. He raised a hand
and blew up one of the pods. "What about them, Seiika?"

Tobuma frowned. "Each pod carries five Drones, making
twenty total. If we killed two tonight, then there are still eighteen
left out there."

Trunks raised a hand and destroyed another. "Hai. Well,
they won't communiate with the Mother Hive anymore." He shot
another blast and destroyed one more.

Tobuma fired off his own ki shot and destroyed the last one.
"Hai." He turned to the two Saiya-jiin siblings. "Shall we?" Vejiita
gave the two new and unknown Saiya-jiin a nasty glare, but grunted
and nodded in agreement when Akane cleared her throat in warning.
He flared his aura and jumped into the sky, headed for Capsule Corp.
Trunks and Tobuma looked at each other and both shrugged their
shoulders, launching themselves into the air to follow the other two
Saiya-jiin.
*******


What they did not realize was one part of a Pod still
continued to function. Its purpose? To record and convey to the
Mother Hive all activity inside and outside the Pods.

But before the red light slowly began to fade and stop
blinking altogether, a line of text flashed across the eye-screen:
::transmission complete:: *****************


~Chikyuu, Capsule Corp, Night~

Back at Capsule Corp, every light that could be turned on, was
lit and burning brightly. Although no one occupied the rooms where
these lights blazed, they were at one time visited, and hurriedly left
alone, once the quarry that was sought was decidedly not there.

Ranma and Bulma were nervously pacing back and forth within
Capsule Corp's walls. Bulma had three different cigarettes going, a
nervous habit she had quit awhile ago, but tended to resurface when
she was worried. Her mouth and hands were otherwise occupied by
her incessant chewing on her almost non-existent fingernails, while
every once in awhile, she unconsciously rubbed her chest in comfort,
feeling something there that was not. Her eyes remained
steadfastly fixed on the dark sky seen through the back door.

Ranma was sitting on a stool in the kitchen, with his head in
his hands one moment; within a blink he would be looking out the
huge bay window in the dining room, and the next, running through a
fast and furious kata in a hallway. At this moment, he happened to
be next to Bulma, scanning the horizon for one or two, hopefully two,
familiar ki signatures.

Finding none once again, he sighed greatly, his tone clearly
laced with worry and concern. "Where are they? I can't believe she
took off with Vejiita-ouji without telling me, or leaving a note,
or...something!" He threw his hands up in the air, frustrated at the
lack of knowledge on the whereabouts of his mate and her twin.

Bulma lit another cigarette and placed it in the ashtray with
the others. " I know. I let him know that I was leaving. Why
couldn't he have said something?" Her frustration and worry was
turning into anger. She stomped her foot, taking out her anger on
the hardwood floor. "This is so like him! To go off and not leave a
trace. He used to do this before. He would be gone for days,
sometimes weeks at a time, with not a word to anyone." She broke
her eye contact with the sky and glanced at the fidgeting Ranma
before returning it to her original post. "Seiika-chan has never done
anything like this before, has she?"

Ranma grunted and shook his head, running his hands through
his wildly-splayed hair. "Iie. Never."

She let out a sigh, her eyes still searching the midnight sky.
"Something's wrong, isn't it? I felt something bad through the Bond
several times--that's why I came home early." Bulma was oblivious
to the blood that started to run down her hands due to her
bitten-to-the-quick fingernails. "I felt something puncture my
chest, and then right away, the 'wounds' started to throb. A few
minutes later, I felt an explosion inside my chest that rattled my
senses." She swore when she saw her blood-soaked hands and moved
into the kitchen to take care of her self-inflicted wounds.

When she returned Ranma was almost out the door. "Where
do you think you're going, Serori?"

He barely glanced over his shoulder at her. "I'm going after
her. Them. Whomever I find. Something is definitely wrong. I felt
her go Super Saiya-jiin. I felt extreme anguish." A flash of his own
anguish crossed his face. "And I felt extreme pain. She's hurt,
mad, and scared. I have to find her now." He flared his aura and
made to jump into the air.

He was stopped by a pair of thin, but strong, arms wrap
around his neck. "And you think you're going to go off without me?
Not a chance, Serori-kun. I felt the same things coming from
Vejiita, and just because I can't fly on my own, doesn't mean I can't
or don't care in the same way you do." Her face was set in grim
determination. He was not going to leave her behind, one way or
another.

He nodded once and wrapped his arms around her waist in
support. "Fine. You can come. But don't wiggle." He grunted loudly
when she wiggled to adjust her grip. "I said no wiggling."

"Gomen. Are we going to go or not?"

"Hai." He flared his aura and jumped into the air. He
hovered there for a few seconds, trying to decide which direction to
take.

Only to lower himself back to the ground. He released Bulma
and stared into the sky. Bulma still had her arms around his neck.
"Nani? Why did you stop and land? What's wrong? Aren't we going
to go after them?" She stared into his face hard.

He only pointed into the sky. She released his neck to turn
and squint into the direction he pointed. "I don't see anything.
What is it?"

"Akane. Vejiita-ouji. They're coming. Fast."

Bulma stared into the sky. "I don't see anything--wait, is that
them?" She pointed to three bright, rapidly moving dots on the
horizon. Two seemed to be set farther back from the first.

Ranma nodded. "That's them." He frowned deeply when he
realized something. "I knew it. She's been hurt. He's carrying her.
Although, I don't recognize the other two with him." He blinked
several times. "They're powerful, though." The three dots became
small figures as they got closer. Bulma stepped away from Ranma
and watched as Vejiita landed softly on the ground.

The Prince glanced at the worried looks both mates gave the
pair as he released Akane so she could stand on her own. He turned
to Ranma and grunted, "Senzu bean. Now." Ranma nodded and shot
into the house.

Akane held onto Vejiita for support as he guided the two of
them inside, where Ranma waited anxiously. He let Ranma take over
the duties as Akane's crutch and watched as he led her over to the
table, where he sat her down gently. He watched her consume the
Senzu bean and caught the other that he was tossed. Relief washed
over Vejiita as he watched her open wounds close themselves up, and
she looked better visibly.

"Better?" He questioned her with a smirk.

Akane nodded and sighed. "Much. You?"

He nodded and was overwhelmed by a tornado of blue hair
that launched herself onto him and latched on tightly. His surprised
look turned slightly tender and he rubbed the back of his sobbing
mate. "Shh, Onna. I'm okay, Onna. Stop your bawling and look at
me."

He was greeted by watery blue eyes and tear-stained cheeks.
"What happened, Vejiita? Where were you? Why didn't you say
anything? I felt pain! What happened?" Her babbling was starting
to wear on his nerves. He glanced over to his sister and found her in
a bone-crushing embrace by Serori, face and hands buried within
that mop of tangles he called hair.

He turned back to Bulma, who was starting to get agitated by
his silence. He leaned forward and bit her nose, leaning his
forehead upon hers, and closed his eyes when she responded
appropriately. "We're fine, Onna. We went hunting."

Bulma blinked. She leaned back slightly so she could see his
face. "Hunting? You went hunting in the middle of the night?" He
nodded. "That's it?"

Akane lifted her head and swore, startling the others in the
room. "We forgot our deer, Vejiita."

He smirked and nodded. "Well, I wasn't about to carry both
you and that carcass home. One sack of dead weight was enough."
He smirked wider when a raspberry was blown in his direction. His
face went serious, though, with his next statement. "The deer was
not high on our list of priorities." Akane sobered up as well and
nodded in agreement.

Ranma looked into his mate's face with concern and a
question. "What does he mean by that, Akane?"

She sighed and disentangled herself from Ranma. "What he
means, Ranma, is that we ran into some trouble while we were
hunting."

"What kind of trouble, Akane?"

She sighed once more. "Enemy trouble. They're here. And
they're nasty." She started to explain what happened to them in the
woods, but paused, looking around. "Where are they, Vejiita?"

Ranma looked confused. "Where are who, Akane?" His face
turned into shock. "Did you bring the new enemy home with you?
How could you, Akane?"

She stepped away from Ranma, and throwing him a grimace
and a shake of the head, left the room. She returned a minute
later, a smile upon her face and two unfamiliar males in tow. At
least to Ranma and Bulma. "Found them, Vejiita-chan! They were
waiting outside." Vejiita just rolled his eyes at her jovial mood
switch.

Ranma stood up hastily. "Who are they, Akane? Are they the
new enemy?" He forcefully walked up to the two new males and put
himself in-between Akane and the strangers. A slight glow started
to form around him. "Who are you? What do you have to do with
the new enemy and what do you want with Akane?"

Akane rolled her eyes and forcefully pulled Ranma away from
Tobuma, who happened to be next to her. She sat him down in a
chair. "Oh, hush, Baby. They mean no harm. Actually, they are the
ones that destroyed the Drones that attacked us."

Bulma got up off Vejiita's lap and walked over to the new
males. "Drones? What are Drones? And who are you?" She stood
very close to Trunks and studied his features for several minutes.
"Do I know you? You look awfully familiar." She fingered the
familiar logo on his jacket. "My name's Bulma. Do you work for me?"

Trunks blushed slightly and shook his head. "Iie, I don't work
here." Vejiita growled slightly under his breath, his tail lashed back
and forth to show his irritation. Trunks noticed the short male's
temper and took a few steps back.

Tobuma rolled his eyes but hastily stepped back as well when
he heard Ranma's growl. He tried to remedy the situation with
introductions. He nodded to Trunks.

Trunks nodded back. He gave Bulma a deep bow of greeting.
"My name is Trunks, and my friend is Tobuma." Tobuma bowed at
Ranma and Bulma as well.

Ranma crossed his ams and nodded back. He narrowed his
eyes and spoke. "Ranma, Serori, whatever. Alright, now that intros
are out of the way, what are you doing here? I thought there were
no more Saiya-jiin left except for the ones on Chikyuu."

Akane widened her eyes. "How do you know that they're
Saiya-jiin?"

"Their tails gave them away." Ranma pointed at the
incriminating objects wrapped around their waists.

Vejiita grunted and nodded, impressed his student was
observant. "That's what I said."

Trunks shrugged and spoke quietly. "When everyone gets
here, we'll explain to you as much as we can."

Bulma raised an eyebrow. "Explain what?"

"We'll explain why we're here."

Vejiita snorted and crossed his arms. "They know the new
enemy."

Bulma and Ranma stared at the two male Saiya-jiin. "Are you
going to explain them as well?"

Tobuma nodded. "We can answer all questions," Trunks
grunted and scowled. "Well, as many as we can, when everyone
arrives."

Ranma scratched his head, frowning. "You keep saying when
everyone gets here. Who is everyone?"

Tobuma shrugged his shoulders with indifference. "Everyone
that wants to defend Chikyuu from the Hachi."

Bulma glanced at Vejiita, to see his reaction. He rolled his
eyes and turned away. She sighed and nodded. "Alright, then. I can
wait. I'll start by calling Kame House, and Yamucha. They should be
able to get in contact with everyone." She moved over to the phone
and picked up the receiver.

Akane intercepted her movements. "Why don't we wait until
at least sunrise, and everyone is awake?" Vejiita snorted and Bulma
put the receiver down in embarassment.

Ranma shook his head. "Iie, we need to hear this as soon as
possible. The sooner we are informed, the better we can prepare
ourselves for this 'Hachi.'" Vejiita grunted in approval.

Bulma rolled her eyes and picked up the receiver again. "Fine
then, I'll call now." An idea popped into her head. "We could all eat
breakfast together, then!"

"If you're going to prepare food, then you might want to call
Kakarotto's mate, first."

Akane and Bulma whirled around to stare at the Prince.
"What is that supposed to mean?"

Vejiita stuck his nose into the air and glanced at them out of
the corner of his eyes. "I think you know what it means."

Ranma also knew what it meant, and stepped in between the
two fuming females and the arrogant Prince. "All he means is that
she'd be a big help in the kitchen." Both Akane and Bulma turned
red and glared at him. He started to get white in the face from
panic. "Uh, what I meant is that she'd do everything so you wouldn't
have to dirty your hands?" His eyes darted from one female to the
next.

Akane glanced at Bulma and smirked. "You're lucky, Ranma.
I'm in a forgiving mood." She raised an eyebrow at the two males
and turned away, flicking her tail at him. Bulma just snorted and
followed her fellow female into the kitchen, hitting the swinging
door hard.

When they were out of sight, Ranma let out a long sigh of
relief. Vejiita snorted loudly at Ranma and crossed his arms. "Are
you afraid of your mate, Serori?"

"Hai!" Ranma nodded vigorously, staring at the kitchen door.

All three males laughed in their own way at the shaking
Ranma. He turned around and scowled, trying to recover some of his
dignity and pride. The two younger Saiya-jiin sobered up quickly,
but Vejiita ignored the look and just smirked.

"Oh, Ranma-chan," Akane sing-songed from the kitchen.
Ranma swung around at the mention of his name and called
back. "Nani?"

The door opened and a glass of water flew out. Ranma barely
missed the spray. He stuck his tongue out at the closed door.
"Nyah! You missed, Hima-chan!"

Akane stuck her head out. "Honto? I did? Darn."

He nodded and stuck his tongue out again. "Yup! You gotta
get up pretty early in the morning to pull one over on Saotome
Ranma!" At that moment, he felt a very familiar feeling--water, cold
water, running down his face. He felt the curse shift his body into
his female form. A giggle that sounded behind him made him whirl
around.

Bulma stood there with one hand covering her mouth and the
other holding an empty glass. "It's a good thing, then, Serori-kun,
we haven't gone to bed yet, hmm?" She patted the redhead on the
cheek and walked into the kitchen with a smug look on her face.

Akane glanced at her fellow conspirator and gave her a
high-five as she walked inside. "That's for your earlier comment,
Ranma." She giggled at his sour expression. "Cheer up, Ranko.
Otherwise, I'll make you help out in the kitchen with the other girls."
She stuck her tongue out at him, and disappeared into the kitchen.

Ranma cursed under his breath at the slowly swinging door.

Vejiita just sneered at the hapless 'female.' "Are you male or
female, Serori? Don't let Seiika push you around like that." He
snorted and shook his head, turning to the picture window. "A
female should never be able to control a male, especially a Saiya-jiin
male, like a puppy." He crossed his arms and closed his eyes.

He soon felt hot breath upon his neck. "What was that,
Vejkiita-baka?" Bulma gritted behind clenched teeth.

"You heard me, Onna."

'Well, then hear me, O mighty Saiya-jiin no baka." Vejiita
opened his eyes and turned to face his pissed-off mate. Bulma was
getting very red in the face, and her eyes sparkled with anger. To
him, she was the most gorgeous creature alive. "This 'female' will
treat her Saiya-jiin like a puppy if she wants to. Especially if he
acts like one."

"Listen here, Onna. No one tells the Saiya-jiin no Ouji what
he can or can not do." He looked her up and down disdainfully and
snorted. "Especially a blue-haired weak Human female."

Bulma's face turned as red as a cooked lobster. "Weak
Human female, am I? Well, I'll show you weak!" Vejiita smirked
widely, waiting and inviting her next move.

Bulma raised a hand and moved to slap him in the face. But
when she reached his face, instead of slapping him, because she
knew it wouldn't affect him; only her by hurting her hand, she poked
him in the nose with her finger.

"It's the couch for you, Otoko!" She poked his nose a few
times for good measure, and turned away abruptly. As she was
walking back into the kitchen once more, she called out over her
shoulder. "Oh, and by the way," she paused for effect and glanced
at her bandaged fingers. "Until you act your real age, and not a
puppy's, I'm not going to fix the gravity room." She slammed the
kitchen door closed. A burst of giggles could be heard from within.

All four males, well, three and one male/female water
shapeshifter stood there, silent, with Vejiita blinking rapidly.

Trunks broke the silence by letting out a low whistle.
"Oooh...denied access to the bedroom. That's harsh."

The two current resident males of Capsule Corp whirled on
the new arrivals and focused on the purple-haired youth. Vejiita
growled deep within his throat and glowed bright. He started to
advance on Trunks, his tail lashing back and forth, showing the
barely concealed emotions.

Trunks, eyes wide in surprise, backed away hastily from the
irate Prince. "Gomen nasai! I didn't mean anything by it!"

Vejiita just spit to the side and brightened his aura. "I'm
tired of waiting for you and your baka friend here to explain
yourselves. Either I get some answers now, or I beat them out of
you."

Trunks sighed, and shook his head slowly, frowning slightly at
the ultimatium. "I can't say anything now. Not until everyone is
here." He backed up more, seeing the evil glint in the older male in
front of him.

Vejiita just shrugged and smirked, cracking his knuckles.

"Alright then, if it's a beating you prefer, it's a beating you'll get."
With that, Vejiita began to take out his frustration on the young
male with a high swing of his fist.

Trunks, even with the ability to go Super Saiya-jin waiting in
the wings, was having a hard time blocking the infuriated Prince's
blows, and trying to avoid wrecking any furniture at the same time.
Bulma shouted out from the kitchen, "Take it outside!" Vejiita
snorted and dragged Trunks out the door by his collar and into the
yard.

Ranma and Tobuma glanced at each other and followed the
brightly glowing Saiya-jiin outside, where to their surprise, Goku,
Gohan, and ChiChi had just 'popped' in, thanks to Goku's teleporting
abilities. The three Son's walked around the dueling pair and joined
Ranma and Tobuma on the sidelines.

"Ohiayo, Serori-kun!" Goku cheerfully greeted Ranma, smiling
and waving. Ranma nodded in reply, keeping a critical eye on the
match. "Who's Vejiita sparring with?"

"Trunks."

Goku scratched his head in confusion. "Who's that?"

"Ask him." He nodded his head at Tobuma. "He came with
this one here. They won't tell us anything until everyone arrives."

Goku looked at tri-colored male over. "You're Saiya-jiin,
aren't you?"

Tobuma nodded and waved his tail. "Hai. Tail, right?"

Goku nodded. "Sugoi! More Saiya-jiin. I bet Vejiita is happy.
Well, I'm Son Goku, and this is my son, Gohan, and my mate, ChiChi."
Both Gohan and ChiChi nodded tiredly at their names.

Tobuma nodded and bowed slightly. ""I'm Tobuma, and the
purple-haired victim of Vejiita-ouji's rage is Trunks."

Ranma glanced at the three for a moment and turned back to
the fight. "The girls are in the kitchen making breakfast,
ChiChi-san, if you wanted to know. Could you try and keep Akane
away from the food, please? It'd be preferable if the food is
edible."

ChiChi smiled slightly at the redhead. "I'll see what I can do,
Serori-kun. Or should I say, Serori-chan?" Ranma flinched slightly
at the suffix. "Would you like some hot water?"

He sighed and nodded. "It would be nice, ChiChi-san, but not
necessary. I believe I'm being punished right now." She raised an
eyebrow in question. "If you ask the girls, I bet they'd love to tell
you." ChiChi just glanced at him oddly and went inside.
******************** Their attention was abruptly brought back to the fight when
it escalated to ki blasts. Ranma threw up a ki shield when a wayward
shot flew a little close for comfort. He shot a low-level one of his
own into the fray. "Watch it, you two! You'll hit the house, and then
Bulma will really be pissed!"

"Yeah, or you might hit my car!" The four non-combatants
turned to the new arrivals. Yamucha, Kurillin, Tenshinhan, and
Chao-tzu arrived in Kurillin's car, and were crawling out of it
cautiously.

Gohan waved to everyone in greeting. "Ohiayo, minna! It's
early, isn't it?"

Kurillin covered a wide yawn with his hand in emphasis. "This
better be a good reason to disturb my beauty sleep. Bulma said it
was really important," he winked at Gohan, "but you know her."

Goku smiled at his long-time friend and nodded. "It is,
Kurillin. There's new information on the enemy."

As the others talked, Yamucha glanced around. He watched
the match a little, but his eyes got blurry from trying to follow the
dizzying speeds that the two combatants were fighting. But his
eyesight cleared up quickly when he spied the gorgeous redhead that
was engrossed in the match.

Yamucha sauntered up to Ranma and cleared his throat. "Hey
there. Ohiayo. I've never seen you here before."

Ranma raised an eyebrow at him and shrugged. He turned
back to the fight in progress. "I arrived several days ago."

Yamucha put on his best smile and bowed slightly. She was
talking to him! "My name's Yamucha. What's yours?"

Ranma quietly sighed. He turned his head and looked the
male next to him up and down. He wasn't too impressed. "Saotome
Ranma."

Tenshinhan glanced over to the small female, recognizing the
name Kami-sama mentioned as one of the two new Saiya-jiin on
Chikyuu. "Do you know someone else with your name? A guy,
perhaps?" Tenshinhan quirked an eyebrow at the busty young
female. "Probably around your age?"

Ranma frowned slightly, not expecting a slightly vague
description of his original male form. 'How do they know me? I've
never met them before, have I? Unless Kurillin said something to
them...' "Iie, I know no one else with my name."

Kurillin chuckled under his breath. He saw Yamucha go up to
Ranma and start to get friendly with him. He hadn't told anyone of
Ranma's curse and shapeshifting abilities. He wanted them to see
for themselves, because they wouldn't have believed him, even if
tried to explain it until he was blue in the face. Kurillin sat back and
tried to keep his laughter to himself as he enjoyed the show.

Yamucha, however, was oblivious to everything around him
except for the stunning female that radiated perfect beauty and
grace directly in front of him. "That's sort of funny, then. We've
heard of a guy with your name, once. Say, you wouldn't want to go
and see a movie with me or something later? After I'm done here,
of course." He puffed out his chest and flexed a few muscles. "Did
you know I'm one of the Chikyuu's defenders? I've helped save this
world countless times."

Ranma rolled his eyes. "No, thank you." He crossed his arms
in irritation, glancing around to try to find a way out of the corner
he had become trapped in by the scarred male.

Yamucha, sweet, but clueless soul that he was, was innocent
to Ranma's ever growing bad mood. He wasn't going to let the catch
of the decade slip through his fingers. "Well, we could leave now, if
you want. I can find out the details about whatever we're going to
talk about from someone else. How about it, baby?" Yamucha put
his hand in Ranma's shoulder, caressing it softly.

The now female Saiya-jiin just glanced at the weathered
hand that belonged to the tall warrior and scowled darkly. 'He
doesn't know--he doesn't know.' Ranma just chanted a mantra to
himself under his breath. "You really shouldn't place your hand
there." He glared up into the bandit's face.

Yamucha raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Honto? And then
where do you suggest I place it?" Yamucha then proceeded to move
his hand to Ranma's cheek, and caressed it with his thumb.

While Yamucha was busy impressing female Ranma, Kurillin
was quietly explaining to Tenshinhan and Chao-tzu who the petite
redhead really was. All five of their eyes widened drastically.
"Honto? Cold water switches him to female, and hot reverses it?
That's amazing!"

Kurillin nodded his head. "Believe it. Serori doesn't like it
much at all, but he's had it for several years now. I've seen him
change. He got it on a training trip in China with his father, who has
one, too. He changes into a panda."

"Sugoi! If he doen't like it, why does he keep it?"

Kurillin shrugged, and almost choked when he saw Yamucha
putting the moves on Ranma. "I don't know. I've only known him
since the beginning of the week. We've sparred a couple times, but
he's pretty damned good for being a teenager. If he had his
Saiya-jiin heritage and abilities his entire life, I really don't think I
could have stood up to him, or anyone else on Chikyuu for that
matter, save Goku and Vejiita."

Chao-tzu looked around. "So Vejiita's sister is here, too?"

"Hai." Kurillin nodded, glancing around as well. "I don't know
where she is, right now. Both her and Serori have moved into
Capsule Corp. But she's a really nice girl. Kawaii." He smiled wide.
"She has a really cute older sister, as well. She's almost the
complete opposite of Vejiita. Except when she's mad. Then, look
out!" He puffed out his chest slightly. "We're sparring partners,
now, because she beat up Gohan too much. She can turn Super
Saiya-jiin. Me, Goku, Gohan and Vejiita have been training with both
Serori and Seiika for the past week. Talk about fast learners."

At that time, everyone's attention was brought back rather
abruptly to the fight. The area exploded in light because Trunks
went Super Saiya-jiin. The crowd was silent, in awe of the power
that he radiated.

The Senshi that haven't seen a Super Saiya-jiin were
speechless. They couldn't believe the power that he radiated.

Tenshinhan gaped widely. "That's a Super Saiya-jiin? That's
incredible! Just feel the power he gives off! Goku can do that?"

Tobuma, who had been silently listening and absorbing
everything throughout all of their conversations, just smiled a
secret smile and backed further into the shadows, letting Trunks
steal the limelight.

But his limelight was abruptly stolen away when Vejiita
floored the crowd by breaking the barrier once again, and showing
the world around him, that, he too, was a Golden Warrior.

A Super Saiya-jiin.

Ranma turned his attention to his brother-in-law, cracked a
wide smile and shook his head in wonder. "He did it. He finally did
it. I knew he was close."

Goku smiled brightly and jumped up and down in excitement.
"Vejiita is a Super Saiya-jiin!! Yatta! Sugoi!"

As everyone gaped and stared in wonder at the frenzied
attacks of the two newly identified Super Saiya-jiin, Ranma took the
opportunity to sneak away from Yamucha's unwanted attentions. He
crept away slowly and was about to enter the house when the door
swung open and Akane inadvertently ran into Ranma.

She looked stunned for a second, then glanced around at the
scene. "What's going on, Ranma?"

Ranma gave her a guilty look, he didn't know why, but he did,
and stuttered, "Wha..what do you me...mean, Akane?" He nervously
glanced around trying to get away as fast as possible. He didn't
want to risk Yamucha seeing him again in this form.

Akane glanced roughly her still-female mate and scowled.
"What are you talking about? Why is Vejiita beating up Trunks-san,
and why are you skulking about? What did you do?" She frowned,
putting her hands on her hips.

Ranma waved off the sparring Super Saiya-jiin. "Ah, they're
just letting off steam. Did you know Vejiita-ouji could turn Super?"

Akane smiled and nodded. "He did it for the first time when
I got hurt. I'm really proud of him." She looked at him critically.
"Now, when are you going to? You're next, you realize."

He waved off her accusations with a shrug, his hackles rising
slightly. "Don't worry about me. I'll get there when I get there, and
it will be soon. I can feel it. You're just lucky because your genes
decended from the original." Akane stuck her tongue out at her
mate, receiving a bite on the nose in return. Ranma glanced around
and spotted Yamucha headed in her direction. "Oh great, here he
comes again. Ya gotta hide me, Hima-chan." Ranma darted behind
his mate, shielding himself from the unwanted bundle of rampaging
hormones known as Yamucha. Akane glanced confusedly around,
looking for the creature that would make Ranma run and hide.

"Hey, there you are, Ranma. I thought I'd lost you in the
excitement for a minute." He smiled at the beautiful brunette in
front of his ravishing redhead. He went around and placed his hands
on Ranma's shoulders. "Say, who's your gorgeous friend, here? I'm
Yamucha."

Akane snorted rudely but manners overrode her distate of
the pickup line. She felt Ranma stiffen dramatically and growl under
his breath. "Saotome Akane." She turned toward the desert bandit
and narrowed her eyes. "You might want to let Ranma go. He
doesn't like to be touched in that way."

Yamucha raised his eyebrows questionably. "If she didn't like
it, then she would have said something, right, baby?"

Ranma growled out loud this time, and emitted a small, hot
aura. "I don't like it."

Yamucha, finally opening his eyes to the situation, removed
his hands from Ranma and backed up a few paces. "Hey, I
understand some chicks are like that. All you had to tell me was
that you were lesbian lovers, and I would have backed off."

Akane and Ranma stared at him in shock. "Lesbian lovers?"
They cried out in unison.

Everyone within hearing distance turned toward the trio,
wondering where that conversation was going. Ranma and Akane
went red-faced; a mixture of anger and embarrassment flushing
their features.

Yamucha nodded, already back in his oblivious little world.
"Yeah, and I'm completely cool about it. It's not your fault you feel
that way. I read an article in one of Muten Roshi's magazines..." He
trailed off, finally sensing the tremendous auras in front of him. He
backed away a few paces, holding his hands up for shielding. "Is
anything wrong, ladies?"

Akane struggled vainly to keep her temper in check. "Iie,
nothing's wrong. Yet. Come on, Ranma. Let's go get some water."
She tugged at the smaller redhead, trying to turn his attention away
from the oblivious warrior in front of them.

"Water? Make it hot. The hotter the better." Ranma gave
the bandit one final scalding glare and followed Akane inside the
house.

Yamucha watched them go inside and shrugged to himself.
"Maybe they're in denial?" He turned back around quickly, though.
It took a minute, but something registered in his mind. Kurillin,
Tenshinhan and Chao-tzu walked up to him with knowing smiles
plastered upon their faces. "Did I just see right? Did those two
girls have tails?"

Kurillin shook his head in wonder and clapped his hand on his
shoulder. "I really don't want to be in your shoes later, Yamucha."

"Why? What'd I do?" He glanced from one face to the other
cluelessly.

Kurillin was just about to explain the sitaution when Bulma
stepped outside and announced breakfast was ready. Everyone
rushed inside, Goku leading the pack, all eager to get at the food.

Tobuma finally stepped out of the shadows with a giant grin
on his face. He had heard the entire conversation, and just laughed
silently to himself. He turned toward the two dueling senshi, still
going at it. He cupped his hands and shouted, "Trunks-kun,
breakfast!"

Trunks glanced at Tobuma for only a second, but that was the
distraction that Vejiita was waiting for, and taking full advantage of
it, threw a well-placed punch into his stomach. When Trunks bent
over, Vejiita jabbed both of his elbows into his exposed back,
knocking Trunks to the ground, and out of Super mode. This
effectively ended the match.

Vejiita floated down to the ground, breathing heavily and
gushing blood everywhere. Trunks was in the same state, albeit on
the ground, and clutching his stomach in pain.

"A weak excuse for a Saiya-jiin, Super one at that." Vejiita
smirked slightly and turned his head, spitting out a mouthful of
blood.

Trunks grinned through the pain, and nodded. "You're not
half bad, yourself." He pulled himself up into a standing position,
waving off Tobuma's hand for assistance.

Bulma came back outside, frowning at the mess the two males
made. "Just look at my lawn! There's barely any grass left!" She
turned toward the three and wrinkled her nose. "Ugh! Before you
eat, you will clean yourselves up. I don't want any blood at the
table!"

Trunks nodded. "Hai, Bulma-san." He waved to Vejiita, and
bowed slightly to him, before he followed Tobuma inside.

Vejiita scowled at the retreating Saiya-jiin, then at his mate,
who had a questioning look on her face. "What are you staring at,
Onna? You know better than to tell me what to do. I'll clean up if I
want to, and only then." He brushed by her, on his way inside. But
she grabbed onto his arm and stopped him.

She walked around him, running a hand across a bicep, and
touching his hair in wonder. "You did it. You reached Super
Saiya-jiin."

He smirked wide and when she was in front of him once more,
brought her into his arms and nibbled on her ear. "Of course I did,
Onna. Did you not believe I would? Do you have that little faith in
me?"

Bulma wrapped her arms around his neck tightly, hugging him
close. "Of course I did, Otoko. I just thought you'd tell me right
away."

He nuzzled her neck, laying soft kisses up and down its
length. "Maybe I did, Onna. You just didn't read it right."

Bulma frowned, thinking over what he said. She shook her
head, placing that statement on the back burner for the moment.
Her attention was refocused on the bloody mess she called a mate
and a husband. She pushed away from him and stuck her tongue out
in disgust. "Otoko, you will bathe, and bathe now, or no food!" She
stomped her foot menacingly.

Vejiita just smiled and caught her waist with his tail, bringing
her into his arms once more. "I guess I'll have to bathe, then. But I
may need help..." He trailed off, brushing his lips across her
forehead before delving his nose into the sweet aroma of her hair.

Bulma sighed. A good fight always brought out the sex fiend
in her mate. She pushed away and stepped out of his embrace,
unravelling his furry appendage from her waist. It just wrapped
around her arm in protest. "Not now, Vejiita. We have guests
inside, and I don't want any blood on me."

He grinned and shook his head. "Too late, Onna. Now it looks
like you need that shower after all." Bulma snorted when she saw
his blood all over her.

"Fine! But let's make it quick, all right?" He shrugged his
shoulders and reached for her, pulling her close. He jumped and
flew up to the balcony that was their room to 'clean up,' as Bulma
thought, hopefully.

******************