Chapter 15 – Conflict

Vegeta lies on the beach of the lake nearby the cabin, the warmth of the sun drying his wet body. Mirai is still in the water; he can't seem to get enough of it. Vegeta dozes off, a smile on his lips.

He is rudely awakened as Mirai drops down from the sky and uses Vegeta for a landing place. The ground shakes underneath them. Vegeta is given no time to curse at Mirai though; Mirai kisses him passionately, looking at him with bright blue eyes.

'Fucking moron,' Vegeta thinks. 'You're so happy, it disgusts me.'

'Aw, shut up, Vegeta. You were actually smiling in your sleep,' Mirai retorts, not impressed by Vegeta's comments.

'I was? Damn…'

'Dreaming of me, doubtless.' Mirai grins at him, breaking the kiss.

'Maybe…'

Their bodies have completely healed now. All that remains from their bonding night are the small white bite scars.

Thinking back, Mirai rolls off of Vegeta and settles down beside him.

'Vegeta… Did I hurt you when I took you that night?'

Vegeta avoids looking into Mirai's eyes and remains silent.

'Vegeta?'

Without a word or thought, the Saiyan Prince gets up and walks to the cabin. He doesn't look back.

Mirai sits up confused and looks at Vegeta's bare back retreating from him.

The next few days, Vegeta is very taciturn. Mirai tries to talk to him a few times, but Vegeta wants to be left alone.

This morning, Mirai loses his patience. He's tired of this so-called 'silent treatment'. He tries to convince Vegeta to talk to him, but it doesn't work. Vegeta's stubborn silence drives him crazy!

"Don't you dare walk away from me," Mirai hisses as Vegeta turns his back to him. "I'm your mate, Kami damn it. Spill it or I'll make you tell me what's bugging you!"

Vegeta keeps walking and Mirai attacks, tackling him from behind. Vegeta reacts immediately, sweeping Mirai off his feet as well. They jump back to their feet simultaneously. Mirai growls in frustration. He hates it when Vegeta shuts him out. He severs their mental connection; it would be impossible to fight otherwise. They'd know each other's every move before they made it.

Vegeta unleashes a ki drain attack, thinking he can win this fight easily. Mirai however fires an ice blast at it, freezing it. Then he hits it and blows it into smithereens.

"New trick, huh?" Vegeta says, more than a little impressed. He has to learn not to underestimate Mirai Trunks. Vegeta falls back onto his old battle routines, hoping that it'll confuse Mirai.

He finds that Mirai's battle experience is more varied than he expected. Mirai adapts to Vegeta's moves with ease. Doubts cloud Vegeta's mind.

'He's drawing power and knowledge from my past experiences… How come I can't do the same with his past experiences? This bond should be allowing two-way traffic…'

Mirai's sharp senses pick up on Vegeta's doubts. He shakes his head with a grim look on his face.

"You won't be able to draw power from my experiences when you shut me out, Vegeta. You may be able to do that to Goku and Radditz, but I'm dominant. I'll let you choose right now: continue this fight that you cannot win or tell me what's on your mind."

Vegeta grits his teeth in frustration. He isn't used to getting ordered around by someone else.

"I've been holding back on you, Vegeta. If you choose to continue, I will hurt you."

Vegeta never cared much about getting hurt. His bond to Mirai forbids him to be so indifferent though. Captured by his own thoughts, he winces in pain as Mirai attacks him unexpectedly and pins him down to the ground, twisting his arm behind his back.

"Now tell me what's going on," Mirai growls impatiently.

"You didn't…" Vegeta struggles to break free, but to no avail.

"Didn't what?"

"You didn't… hurt me… that night… I enjoyed… every second… of it…" A tear rolls down Vegeta's face.

Mirai's grip on Vegeta's arms loosens a bit.

"Then why all the secrecy?" Then it dawns on Mirai Trunks.

"You're ashamed…"

"What Frieza did to me was horrible," Vegeta whispers. "I always thought that submitting to anyone was weak and humiliating. But it isn't… Not when I'm with you."

Mirai lets go of Vegeta's arm.

"Thank Kami for that," he says relieved. "You shouldn't be ashamed, Vegeta. You just need some time to get used to it."

"Hn." Vegeta gets up and rubs his shoulder. "Kakarot accused me of being conservative and narrow-minded in the past. He was probably right." He looks at Mirai and says: "We should be getting back to him. We've been gone for a long time."

"A week isn't such a long time."

"It is if your mate isn't around."

"Then how does Radditz cope?"

"Different kind of bond. Sometimes I think I need him more than he needs me. My agenda is going to be very full the next couple of years, trying to keep all of you happy."

Mirai nods. Three bonds is more than a handful.

"In that case, let's get going."

They take off into the blue sky.

Goku feels their kis approach and looks at Chi-Chi.

"They're back."

"About time," Chi-Chi comments. "I've had it with you hanging around the house sulking all day. You're like Bulma crying over Yamcha!"

Goku flashes her his trademark goofy grin. "I can't help it Chi… Without him around, I'm incomplete. Simple as that."

"You never seemed to have a problem leaving me alone for a week," Chi-Chi says sarcastically. When she notices how hurt Goku looks after that remark, she puts an arm around him and smiles.

"I didn't mean it," she says soothingly. "Jeez, Vegeta not being here really makes you vulnerable."

"I know. That's why I stayed here for the week. I'd probably end up killing people otherwise."

"You Saiyans are so weird," Chi-Chi says, shaking her head. "Just go outside and greet them. Kami, I hope I have enough food to feed all of you…"

Goku bounces outside, looking up to the two figures dropping down from the sky. He takes off and meets Vegeta halfway down in a fierce embrace.

'I've missed you so much…'

Their tails curl around each other while their lips lock in a passionate kiss.

'I've missed you too Kakarot.'

Vegeta turns his head at the mental growl of Mirai Trunks. He is shocked when he sees how Mirai powers up to SSJ3 and charges at them.

"What the…"

Goku is kicked away from Vegeta violently.

'Trunks, you baka, calm yourself down!' Vegeta scolds his new mate mentally, but to no avail. Mirai Trunks turns around and glares at him. Then he draws his sword and blasts off towards Goku.

"Kuso," Vegeta curses. He never saw this coming. He blazes down as well, powering up. It's his duty to help Goku defend himself… but because he's bonded to Mirai Trunks as well, he can't hurt him. Not too much anyway.

Vegeta's golden battle aura flares up wildly as he crashes into Mirai's back, pinning him down to the ground.

'Kakarotto, get your ass out of here.' It costs Vegeta much effort to keep Mirai down.

'Like hell I will,' Goku replies. He powers up as well.

'Nani? You dare to defy me?' Vegeta puts his knee into Mirai's back, trying to restrain him.

'If he wants to fight, so be it. I'm not a coward.'

Vegeta looks at Goku, concluding that the current situation is hopeless. Kakarot used to be dominant and will never run from a fight. Especially when his relationship with Vegeta is at stake.

'I'm not asking you to take sides, koi.' Goku nods at Mirai Trunks. 'Release him so we can settle this once and for all.'

'You're aware of the fact that he wants to kill you?'

'I'd rather die than lose you.'

Convinced by Goku's strong willpower, Vegeta steps back and releases Mirai Trunks. He gets kicked right in the face and falls back, hitting the ground hard. Mirai growls at him, pissed off because his own mate had the nerve to attack him. Then he turns to face Goku.

Two SSJ3 warriors lunge at each other and collide. Chikyuu trembles underneath them as Vegeta watches his mates fight one another to the death.