IMPORTANT: I DO NOT OWN DBZ!

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Vegeta followed his escort towards the throne room. The others had already arrived and were seated around a table laden with a vast amount of food. Goku off course had already started to eat, gobbling down any and every thing in his reach.

"That one has a hearty appetite. He eats like a sayajin." Rotiart commented to Salika who sat at his right at the head of the table with a disgusted look on her face.

"PRINCE VEGETA!" Toria announced as they entered the eating area.

Rotiart stood at the announcement " My Prince, please afford me the honor of sitting beside me."

"Who the fuck are you? "

Chapter 9

"I am Lord Rotiart my prince. The KING OF PLANET VEGETA."

The group of visitors became deadly quiet. They knew that the arrogant sayajin prince would blow up any minute and they all were on the edge of their seat waiting for the explosion. The blue haired genius decided to break the silence "Sorry to brake it to you pal but you see that guy over there, with the unique hairstyle and all, well you see, he is the prince of this planet..."

Rotiart impolitely interrupted Bulma's speech "I am quiet aware of that my dear."

Vegeta narrowed his eyes at Rotiart.

"Are you his father?"

"No"

"Then, it's simple really, you are not the king." Bulma concluded with a daring tone of voice. ::the guy maybe cute but he better have a real good explanation why Vegeta's father is not king, or Vegeta is going to throw a fit!::

"Sopm, ift yours notgf tsee kntrg wherte ifs he?" Goku asked with his mouth stuffed with food (AN: so if you are not the king, where is he?) "Don't talk with your mouth full dear." Chichi reprimanded her husband

"Please allow me to explain,.........my Prince.........please, sit." Rotiart directed Vegeta to the chair beside him

Piccolo sipped his water while closely observing Rotiart.:: something is not right here::

Rotiart took Vegeta's silence as consent and so began his explanation

"You see, a few years after prince Vegeta was taken by Lord Frieza, the king became extremely depressed. No one knew this,"

Vegeta uncharacteristically calm interrupted "And you know this particular information because?"

"I was his most trusted advisor. Don't you remember me Prince? Maybe not, after all you were a little boy at the time you were taken......"

Vegeta growled in response. He remembered his father to be a very proud man and as a result a very private one. The prince himself, because of his father's personality, often doubted his father's love. And this doubt grew even more stronger after he was sent away to his eternal torment with the sickening pink lizard.

Rotiart continued "As his advisor the king would divulge to me his reason for depression, a reason that was a well kept secret through out his rule. As a result of this depression the king became sick, so sick that our most skilled scientist could not find out what was wrong. The king was always in perfect health, we just saw it so strange for these things to be happening. But one night the king retired earlier than usual.......... he never got up the next day."

"That is a lie, Sayajins don't get depressed!! " Vegeta spat his words as if they would leave a bad taste in his mouth after he spoke them

"That's what happen, you weren't here so how would know what's the truth and what's not?!"

"Fine, I'll humor you. Why was he so depressed?" Vegeta asked struggling to hold on to his anger.

"He had lost his only son. That would have been a depressing fact to come to grips with, even if you are the mightiest of warriors. All the counselors were present when the king was found dead in his bed." Rotiart solemnly concluded.

Vegeta exploded with anger and pride "The man may have been old but he was healthier than all of you combined!"

"But your forgetting the most important part my Prince, the king was extremely depressed and depression can cause body functions to break down." Salika carefully replied

"Shut up whore you don't know what you are talking about!"

Rotiart spoke up " Prince please, you must refer to the queen with the proper respect."

"Queen!" Chi interrupted "Shouldn't she be wearing something more.... Oh I don't know .. Queenly?!"

"Ahhh, but Salika is no ordinary queen. She is also a warrior, the most skilled of all our guards. Thus she wears this outfit at all times. I've noticed that the females in your group also wear similar outfits, are they fighters?"

"Yes." 18 replied easily

"How the fuck did she became Queen and how did you become King?!" Vegeta roared above the conversation

"Both of us underwent specific trials to prove that we were worthy of such titles. Section five part two of the Law states and I quote

' If in a specific period of time the land does not have a king, or queen and neither has a descendant present on home soil, members of the court who think they are worthy of such positions must participate in an examination to prove to the people of Planet Vegeta their worth.'

And that is how we became the rulers of this planet." 'Plop' was the sound heard when Rotiart closed the strange looking book.

"There is no such law!" Vegeta angrily replied

"But, Prince, you were a very young man when you were taken, and at such a tender age the law of Planet Vegeta would not have been taught to you." Salika calmly replied

"But Vegeta is here now! And since he is a direct descendant of the king then he should automatically become king! " Bulma pointed out

Vegeta smirked at Bulma's logic ::at least her mouth is good for something................. at least this once ( I know other things Bulma's mouth can be good at) that is besides the point!::

"Yeah!" Chichi agreed (AN: sounds like Chichi is agreeing with Vegeta's inner thought huh? Hehehe. --clears throat-- on with the show)

Krillin's thought :: Vegeta is being thrown of his own planet ::

Yamchua's thought :: I thought my life was a mess ::

Goku's thought :: I wonder if I could get some more food? ::

"Please, everyone calm down," a shadowy figure said while approaching the dining table

"And you are?" Bulma queried.

--- Flash Back ---

"MIMBEK, you will be punished for the crime you have committed against the state! The crime of treason and the crime of falsely accusing the ruling of this nation! Your punishment is eternal banishment from this planet! You will be sent to a planet that will prove difficult for you to survive despite your sayajin heritage! Take him away!"

"Mark my words Vegeta, I will return and when I do you will be sorry!"

--- End Flash Back ---

"I am Counselor Mimbek." He smiled while bowing to Bulma. Mimbek continued "This problem can easily be remedied."

"How?" Piccolo surprisingly asked.

"The prince can take part in the examinations."

Vegeta slammed his fists against the table "I am not going to waste my time just to prove to you that I am worthy of my birthright!"

"Please Prince," Mimbek interrupted "It is the Law and as such it is the only option you have."

Vegeta glared at the counselor "Fine, but mark my words when I become king you'll be the first to die because you have defied me. And trust me, I. WILL. PASS. THIS. TEST!"

Rotiart stood to gain everyone's attention "Since all the formalities have been taken care of lets eat."

"It's about time, I'm starving!" Goku shouted causing everyone to stare at him strangely.

"What?" Goku innocently asked when he realized everyone was staring at him. "Do I have something in my teeth?"

"Imbecile." Was the last comment heard before everyone started eating.

Vegeta's Chambers

Vegeta lay on his bed staring at the ceiling trying to figure out what sort of scheme Rotiart was planning. :: This doesn't make any sense :: It wasn't long before his thoughts began to wonder. And as usual they led him to a certain woman.

:: She may be weak physically but her brain power is incomparable. ( why don't you ask her to stay after all this is sorted out?) I can't do that ( why not?) She is too attached to her family and that mud ball of a planet. (have you asked?)::

Knock, knock. The knocks were so soft emphasizing the person's uncertainty. Vegeta knew who it was, he always knew. She was the only one dumb enough to try and have conversations with him :: (or is it her being smart and making the first move)::

"Go away woman!"

"How did you know it was me?" Came her muffled reply

"You smell!" He smirked as he can imagine her absolute rage at his choice of words

"Let me in jerk!"

She listened outside the door. Movements was heard from the other side but the door was not opened to allow her admission. She rested her hand on the knob and slowly turned. The door responded to her touch and opened allowing her entrance into the room. The first thing she noticed was the unique aroma in the room. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"What are you doing here?"

Bulma blushed at her foolish actions, temporarily forgetting that he was there in the room waiting for an explanation for her presence. She opened her eyes and looked in the direction where she heard the voice. There she saw Vegeta dressed in nothing more than a boxer, something she was definitely not prepared for. He was leaning against the bathroom's door frame.

:: breath Bulma, breath, it's not like you haven't seen guys half naked before ::

Once again a blush crept to her cheeks. Vegeta was no ordinary guy, therewas something more to him than other guys she have met and she wanted to find out what it was.

"Well?"He noticed she was staring. Andnot just any type of staring there was a type of longing there in her eyes. He walked towards her, the closer he got the more uncomfortable she seemed to become.

"Oh sorry I, I just came to say goodnight. And, And to tell you that you don't have to worry about our support,"

::why is he standing so close?:: Her voice dropped to a whisper, he was so close now that she could feel his breath against her nose, and his heart beating :: or maybe it's my heart ::

"We will help out in whatever way we can with this test...... " Her voice caught in her throat when he raised his hand and stroked her hair. She closed her eyes awaiting whatever move he decided to take and hoped it would result into a pleasurable contact.

"I don't need your help." He bitingly replied

Bulma's eyes flew open at his harsh tone and at once she noticed that he was no longer in close proximity to her. ::That arrogant son of a bitch. He's so stubborn. Is it so hard to say thank you?::

"Whatever" and with that she walked towards the door.

"Watch out for insects woman. The bugs here aren't as harmless as those on earth."

Instead of replying to his warning Bulma slammed the door shut and headed to her room. ::That's why he was in my hair.:: subconsciously she ran her fingers over the exact spot he touched.

"Well tomorrow is another day, besides seeing their type of testing might be interesting, the technology they might use. I better get some sleep, tomorrow will be a busy day, I can feel it."

TBC

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AN: O.K. I know this might not be a lot of B/V action for you but there will be more in later chps. Hope you enjoy! Oh isn't this chap. Long! Man my fingers will be out of commission for the next couple of weeks! Lol

Until next time on Dragon Ball Z!