Chapter 4 – Bonds

Vegeta is there in an instant, kneeling down beside his mate, checking his ki. He sighs in relief as he finds that Goku is simply unconscious.

"What the hell did you do?" he spits into Mirai's face. His eyes are burning with rage.

Mirai narrows his eyes, trying to blink away the blood that runs into it.

"I defended myself," he says hoarsely, then coughs up blood. "He was trying to kill me."

"Bullshit," Vegeta growls, grabbing Mirai's shirt and pulling him up. "All he intended was to punish you for hurting his son… and liking it." He looks at Mirai accusingly.

"What's wrong with liking to beat up weaklings?" Mirai's eyes seem to darken. "Goten was no match for me. I made my point to him and that was it."

Vegeta is taken aback by that statement. 'It's like hearing myself talk three decades ago.'

"You used to be exactly like me, Vegeta. Don't be so overprotective. Goten will heal, and so will Kakarot."

Vegeta growls deep in his throat. "Since when did you start calling him that?"

"Why do you want to know?" Mirai glares up at him, his lavender hair half covering his eyes. Blood still trickles down his face.

Vegeta hisses between clenched teeth: "Because no one calls him that but me."

"So?" Mirai's eyes challenge him to react.

Vegeta is still highly pissed, but restrains himself and says in a very dark and threatening voice: "I don't know what you're up to, kid, but I suggest you pay some more respect to older, more experienced warriors. If you don't, you're no longer welcome in this dimension."

For a second, fear is showing in Mirai's eyes. Soon it's replaced by something else, as he realizes how close Vegeta's face is to his own. Lust. Ignoring his pain, he lifts up his head to get closer to Vegeta. Then it hits him: he's in no position to try and seduce Vegeta. He'd instantly kill him if he'd find out now. So instead he whispers: "You may be more experienced, but I just knocked out a SSJ3. Who should pay respect to whom?"

A ki ball grows in Vegeta's right hand and for a moment Mirai Trunks is convinced that he just signed his own death warrant. Then the ki dissolves in the gloved hand. Vegeta releases his iron grip on his shirt and Mirai's body hits the ground once more.

"I'll find out how you did that, brat, and more. Watch your back from now on. If I see so much as you looking the wrong way at one of my friends, I'll make you wish you'd never been born."

"I wonder how," Mirai says mockingly, but Vegeta already turns his back to him to pick up his unconscious mate. Vegeta takes off, leaving Mirai Trunks behind. After leaning back for a minute, Mirai forms a multi-colored ki ball in the palm of his hand and massages his injuries with it. They don't vanish completely, but they do improve a lot. He blazes off towards the Time Machine.

"So what did Dende say?" Goku and Goten both took senzu and are fine again. They have assembled at Goku's house.

"We could have thought of it ourselves," Piccolo says. "We should get back to his dimension in the Time Machine and ask Mirai Bulma what the hell is going on with that kid."

"Any volunteers?" Krillin asks.

"It doesn't matter who goes," Vegeta states. "Mirai Trunks can defeat a Super Saiyan 3. Whoever wants to go can go."

"Say WHAT?" Yamcha shouts. "How can he be so strong?"

"We don't know either," Goku says, a little embarrassed. "He uses ki in a way I've never seen before. I don't know who taught him, but it can't have been Gohan. Or any of us for that matter."

"He probably traveled to other dimensions to acquire new fighting skills," Vegeta theorizes. "He was bored in his own dimension, he admitted that himself."

"But why is he here? What does he want?" Bulma asks.

"He's out seeking mayhem and destruction," Vegeta says coldly. "He likes to hurt other people, even if it's clear that they are weaker than he is."

"Sounds familiar," Yamcha mutters under his breath. Big mistake. Vegeta appears in front of him in the blink of an eye.

"He is my future counterpart's son," he hisses. "And yes, I used to have a tendency towards mayhem and destruction as well. Have you got a problem with that?"

"No sir," Yamcha hastily replies. "No problem at all."

"Good. I've seen enough blood for one day," Vegeta growls.

"I'll go to the other dimension," Goku offers. "Mirai Bulma will trust me."

"Are you leaving right away?" Krillin asks.

"I'll go at sunrise," Goku replies. "We've lost track of Mirai Trunks' ki. I guess it's best as we stay together tonight, since we don't know what Mirai's up to."

Vegeta shoots his mate a death glare as he makes this proposal.

'Baka. I feel no need to comfort these whining cowards all night.'

'They're scared, Vegeta. And to be honest, so am I. I have no idea what he did to me, but it was very effective.'

'I'd love to make you forget all about it, but you just canceled my opportunity of doing that.'

Goku flashes him a smirk. 'We'll catch up soon enough. I promise.'

During their little mind conversation, everybody agrees to stay over at Goku's for the night.

Nobody sleeps well that night…

Early in the morning, Goku and Vegeta take off towards the horizon. Mirai Trunks' ki is still nowhere to be found.

'He might have run back to his own dimension,' Goku thinks.

'No, he's hiding somewhere. I don't know, but I can feel his presence.'

'You've got some twisted family bond going on with him, don't you?'

Vegeta hesitates a moment before he answers. 'It's not a family bond I share with him, Kakarot.'

Goku stops midair. 'What do you mean?'

Vegeta shrugs. 'Saiyan bonding remains one of the most complicated things I've ever experienced. What you and I share, Kakarot, is known as a deep bond. We are compatible, because you changed into a submissive Saiyan and I remain a dominant one. Pack bonds are formed when a Saiyan needs a partner for lust, comfort or whatever.'

'That's what you still share with Radditz.'

Vegeta looks at his mate. 'How do you know it still exists?'

'I can sense that. I don't care. He can never replace me.'

'You're quite right about that,' Vegeta chuckles. Then he frowns. 'But besides the obvious family bond, there's another kind of bond. It's very rare, since it only occurs when two Saiyans share the same nature, the same character or soul so to say. It cannot coincide with a family bond though, otherwise it would happen very often since family share large parts of their genetics.'

'What is it called?'

'It's called a devil's bond, since both partners are very much alike and will probably end up destroying each other over some meaningless issue.'

'Sounds nice enough,' Goku comments sarcastically. 'So that's what you two share?'

'We both have the potential to bond that way, yes.'

'You should have told me sooner, Vegeta.'

'I wasn't sure enough. I had to verify this first, I didn't want to upset you over nothing.'

'So that's why he's here? Because he wants to bond with you?'

Vegeta nods hesitantly. 'That would explain why he arrived all messed up. Remember your own fever when I rejected you?'

Goku shivers. 'Don't remind me. I never want to feel like that again. Ever.'

Vegeta smiles sadly. 'I almost pity the boy now. To be seeking a devil's bond is a torture I wouldn't even wish Frieza to experience.'

Goku's eyes grow wide. 'Is it that bad?'

'Worse. Even I can't imagine how it must feel, after all I've been through. He must be completely insane.'

'In that case, I'd better hurry and get to Mirai Bulma for advice. Thanks for the information, Vegeta. This could turn out to be very helpful.'

While Goku boards the Time Machine, crystal blue eyes monitor Vegeta's every movement.