"Lovesick
Rather than heal us, love can also harm, unleashing a pandemic of debilitating emotions that transform us into a person we barely recognize and cost us that which we so desperately desire. Sudden outbreaks of insecurity, jealousy, obsession, or just plain fear can be contributing factors in our heartache. And though the symptoms of lovesickness may be many, they all share a single cause and single cure: You."
- Tonya Hurley (taken from "Ghostgirl: Lovesick")
Episode 7
Catch me, I think I'm Falling For You
Today should be the long-awaited day when Prince Vegeta would take over the throne but on an interim upon the declaration of the royal council as preparation for the crown prince to his responsibilities as the future king of the most powerful warrior race in the universe. Most of the people in the palace were unhappy with it for their hearts have been filled with dread at the fact that their ruthless and troublesome heir to the throne would be in control of everything for now. Knowing how strict and hard hearted he was, they worry that he would rule over everyone with an iron fist. But for those who knows the Saiyan Crown Prince very well, they strongly believe that he will be the one to lead his people towards the change that would awaken the Saiyans to the truth of being a proud race of great and powerful warriors.
However, not many Saiyans see this. They only see the arrogance, defiance and merciless upcoming leadership of the Crown Prince as something to be feared upon.
Vegeta stared with an expressionless gaze at the empty halls of the throne room as he entered. Not a single member of the royal council was present before him to officially announce his regency. Behind him, his attendant, generals and a few servants who followed him around looked on with a mixture of shock and sympathy.
Vegeta walked inside the throne room towards the corner where there was a box filled with several scrolls inside. He took one of the scrolls, rolled it out and looked into what was written within. He was terribly displeased with what he read and threw the thing on the floor. He went through several other scrolls, also written with different excuses of being sick from all council members, throwing all of these into the floor as if it were grubby and malodorous trash.
After he was done going through the excuse letters, he let out a sigh before he closed his eyes and concentrated, stretching his ki senses all over the planet and immediately picked up the ki signatures of each and every member of the royal council. What he sensed made him more unimpressed.
"Your highness, should I remind them of the assembly today?" Nappa asked in concern.
"Read the scrolls, Nappa. These pathetic old men are not going to come. Let them have their sick leave. For now, have everyone leave. I'll speak with Broly, alone."
Everyone bowed down and obeyed the orders of the crown prince. Once he was alone with the son of the Prime Minister, Vegeta turned his intense gaze towards Broly. "What do you know in this, Broly?" He demanded in a low but commanding voice.
"My apologies as I have no idea, your highness." Broly answered humbly, bowing down his head sincerely. "My father didn't tell me anything about this."
Vegeta's eyes narrowed, trying to figure out if Broly was lying or not. Knowing Broly for a long time, the general always have a stoic and cool expression that it was hard for someone to read him basing on his physical actions or face. He tried to sense his ki to figure out any lapse to his claims but to his surprise, the general was telling the truth. Vegeta turned around and gritted his teeth together.
"Hmph! How dare your father make a fool out of me?! He was the one who suggested this, wasn't it?" The prince snarled.
"Yes, your highness."
He looked down at each of the scrolls on the floor with narrowed eyes as if those were the most disgusting thing he has even seen his entire life. Broly looked at the crown prince with an expressionless look but he felt guilt and sympathy in his heart. It's true that his father made a fool out of the prince. He somehow felt bad.
Vegeta suddenly chuckled in a dark way, one that sounded cold and psychotic. It made Broly turn his eyes at him, with a slight surprise.
"I see. I see. So that's how you want to play, huh?" He murmured to himself before he threw his head back and howled with a crazed laughter.
"Bwahahahahahahaha!" He laughed out loud. Broly just watched at the prince and thought he has finally snapped and lost his mind. "Funny, I have been anticipating this since the last time I talked with your father! Fine! If they wanted to play this way, then I'll join in!" He grinned in a malevolent way.
"If they're not going to come in here to declare my regency, then I will come for them. It's all that simple."
Then he turned towards the doors and shouted, "Nappa! Summon Malaka before me immediately!"
~=o-O-o=~
Boisterous laughter erupted from a lavished tavern that early morning where the royal council had decided to assemble instead of the throne room. Pleasing, traditional music reverberated in the background as a musician played them with music instruments in the corner. Young and beautiful courtesans sat next to many of the council members and serving them alcoholic beverages and food.
"The Crown Prince must have been shocked to see the empty halls of the royal throne room." Horenso chuckled.
"He must have walked in confidently by now. I can't imagine what kind of face he makes once he finds out we boycotted his declaration of regency. Hahahaha!" Nasu laughed with him.
"Serves him right! That's what he gets for his arrogance!"
"How dare he threaten us?! He cannot rule alone without the officials of the royal court! Who does he think he is?!"
"The royal family and the kingdom have always been in our hands to control, until some defiant, stubborn, arrogant fool was born." Paragus said.
Horenso shook his head and snickered in disappointment, "It was funny how we all used to think that Prince Vegeta was the prophesied Super Saiyan of Legend when he was a newborn. Such a downer he turned out to be."
"A prodigy who turned out to be such a terrible disaster."
(A/N: 'Prodigy' and 'Disaster' are both pronounced as 'Tensai' in japanese)
A loud commotion outside has made the council members turn to the exit and they wondered to themselves what it was about. They decided to come out of the tavern to find a small wooden cart filled with boxes tied with strings with name tags attached to the nylon strings that wrapped the boxes. Each of it seems to be a present for every royal council member.
Horenso stepped forward to take a peek on the tags, wondering why it was named after them. He took the one with his name and opened it up to find medicinal herbs inside.
"What the hell is this?!" he demanded no one in particular, glowering at the contents with aghast.
The bald and burly Saiyan General Nappa along the other protectors and generals of the crown prince appeared. Even the cool and collected Broly was there with them, looking like he was some lost member of the group wondering what he was doing in there.
"Bow down for the Crown Prince is here!" Nappa commanded rather harshly as he glared at the old men with ire in his eyes.
The councilmen shrugged at the sharp, icy glare they received from the four Generals but they immediately put their heads down in submission when the four powerful Saiyans made way for the crown prince to appear before them. Every commoner Saiyans around immediately kneeled before the presence of the strongest and most ruthless Saiyan as he regally walked by.
"Yo," Prince Vegeta greeted the officials of the royal court with a smug smirk upon his lips, his onyx eyes burning with his boiling and seething anger.
"Your highness," Horenso said humbly. "What brings you out of the palace?"
"Enough with the ingenuousness, Horenso." Vegeta harshly ordered. "I think you know exactly why I am in here." He sneered through his gritting white teeth.
There was a deafening silence between the stunned and frozen with horror members of the council upon hearing the seething fury beneath his words. Seconds passed by but it felt like an eternity to the elder Saiyans as they perceived the piercing evil look they were receiving from the irate crown prince.
Prince Vegeta let out a snort as the corner of his lips twisted upwards in a sarcastic smile.
"I was worried about all of you, of course!" The crown prince exclaimed, sarcasm obvious in his words. "You guys didn't attend the royal assembly today! I have found your love letters for me and so I decided to give you all a visit since you were so sick. I also brought you medicines, courtesy of Malaka. I was concerned earlier about how am I supposed to send these gifts to you. It's good we found you all together in one place! Here! Take yours, Nasu!" He handed the box towards the dumbfounded elder Saiyan. "I heard you had an allergy attack. Here are anti-histamine herbs for you."
Vegeta turned to his generals and silently commanded them to pass his gifts to the council members. They obeyed without a single word.
"Take Malaka's advice inside. I hope it makes you feel better." He said with a hint of sarcasm in his tone. "Don't worry, there's no such thing as poison in there."
After they were done distributing all his presents, to the humiliated and gawking old men, the Crown Prince let out a sardonic smirk.
"You know, it's quite surprising how you were all gathered in such a place filled with alcoholic drinks and courtesans. It seems being in here made you recover so quickly! Hmph! I know! Should I decide to set today's assembly in here? Or maybe all of our meetings should occur in taverns and bordellos? Hahahahahahaha!"
At the sound of the heir's mocking laughter, Paragus cleared his throat.
"Your highness, it is improper of you to decide such a thing." Paragus said.
With those words, Vegeta's laughter died and his smirk melted into a deep scowl, his eyes turning deadly. The surrounding's temperature deescalated quickly a several hundred degrees.
"Improper, you say?" he said in a dangerously low voice, the boiling rage seething in his tone returned with a vengeance, and even worse. "I'll tell you what's improper, you fucking piece of shit. Making a fool out of me in front of my men in the throne room! You think your political power as members of the royal council controls the royal family, don't you?"
"Absolutely correct, your highness! We can stop your declaration of regency or your rise to the throne or even dethrone you as crown prince whenever we want to."
Vegeta's glare turned colder before he laughed with mockery.
"Ha! Your insolence astounds me, Paragus! Dethroning me or my father will never change the fact that I am the strongest being on this planet! I may lose the throne or any political power if you succeed on your absurd plans, but… I can still destroy all of you with a flick of my finger. Thank the authors of the Saiyan Law for it's the only thing keeping you alive. Oh, and also the fact that you are weaklings. I do not wish to release my bloodlust and waste my power on you. I do know how to handle the pathetic and the hoary trash. While your only threat against me is a simple way to make me lose my royal title, let me remind you that I still have the upper hand. Watch out, because I might bring something else the next time you make this mistake!"
"If you think being such a prodigy allows you to do everything by yourself then you are a naive fool. You may be able to pose a threat to us due to your power and ruthless reputation, but you cannot rule your people without the royal court or people willing to obey your orders! Your imbecilic conceitedness shall be you and your family's downfall! You need us to be on your side!"
"I cognize that, Paragus. I'm not oblivious to that fact. But if those around me are people who are snakes beneath their skin, then I say I'd rather do things alone than to submit myself to recreant bastards such as yourselves. Your view of politics is completely different from mine. We have opposite paths and I have no plans to follow through whatever you were doing. Never." The unwavering defiance is clearly strong with his eyes. "Also… I've known a few people who are willing to follow me to the depths of hell, I am not alone. Funny, because your son is one of them."
Paragus didn't dare to talk back against that claim. He considered how much the prince was completely missing out the fact that Broly was also faking his loyalty to him. It was amazing how he doesn't see it despite having such an amazing intuition. Paragus almost wanted to laugh at the prince's claims of being the strongest. Ah, let him think that way. He can't wait to see his face when Broly releases his full power and show him his true nature!
"Even so, I needed to thank you for postponing the declaration of my regency." Vegeta smiled. "It means I am still free to do whatever the fuck I want as crown prince! Bwahahahahahahahaha!"
Vegeta turned his heels around and harshly ordered to his generals, "Let's go!" before they disappeared to thin air via 'Hibiktus' (teleportation) and left the dumbfounded royal court members and a fuming, deeply insulted Prime Minister.
~=o-O-o=~
King Vegeta was unhappy to receive the news about the declaration of his son's regency being deferred by the members of the royal council not attending the assembly. Were they trying to make the crown prince pay for those times he did not attend royal meetings when needed?
"I heard that Prince Vegeta has threatened the council two weeks ago, your Majesty. It must be the reason for the royal court's insubordination today." Zorn reported.
"What do you mean? Did Yon threaten to kill them all?"
"No, your Majesty. Perhaps, the crown prince was simply warning the opposition in the council to be wary of him taking over the throne and the council thought it was a threat so in order to prevent him from taking over, they decided to withhold the declaration of regency."
The king heaved a sigh. Even so, if the court finds it to be a grave threat to them, they might use this as means to dethrone his son.
The crown prince materialized before him through using his teleportation ability, Hibiktus. His four generals were behind him.
"Yon!" The King called, breathlessly. "What the hell happened? Explain yourself."
The heir turned to face his father with an icy stare. "Leave me and my father to talk." He ordered all the five generals around who bowed before him and obeyed his order. They disappeared using Kakarot's own teleportation technique, the Shunkanidou (Instant Transmission).
"I heard that you threatened the council two weeks ago. Why did you do such a thing?" The King asked imperiously.
"It was a mere warning I gave them. To have them anticipate of what's about to come once I take over the throne on the interim. Hmph! It appears that the cowards saw it as a threat indeed, so they decided to pull back the declaration of my regency today." The prince answered coolly.
The king blinked his eyes perplexed at the words of his heir, "So does that mean you will not take over?"
The prince grinned and nodded. "Yep. They were so afraid of me taking control of everything and not them! It seems my plans did work. Don't worry about those pests; I'll be the one to deal with them. You just go on with your work as king and play along, okay?"
The king sighed with relief, finally understanding the plan his son just put into motion. He purposely announced he would take over the throne on an interim upon Paragus' suggestion and warned them of the possible consequences of him being a Regent. It brought upon the council's dread of having him control everything instead of someone who they can manipulate to do their whims. The royal court wouldn't want that, given the crown prince's defiant and prideful nature. Plus, due to Prince Vegeta's warning, they should have been in surprise that he knows who exactly were his enemies and decided to play along with them.
"Yon, the next time you do something troublesome, try to warn me first." the King told his son.
"No." The prince declared adamantly.
"How do you expect me to know if this is just another nasty plan of yours or something serious? You're such an unpredictable brat." The King pressed.
His son just smiled back at him mischievously. "Because it's always my secret. Sorry papa but you'll know when the time comes. You just have to let me do the work. Okay?"
In his innermost thoughts, the Saiyan Prince laid out his next plans.
This will only end up one way or another. Either the royal council gives up or they proceed with the declaration of my regency some other time. Either way, whatever happens won't be my problem. It's their choice, and I will go with the flow. We'll see who will suffer in the end.
~=o-O-o=~
Bulma was surprised to find Kakarot, Raditz, Broly and the Crown Prince's attendant materialized not far away from her out of thin air. She was wandering around Prince Tarble's palace waiting for Gure to come out when she saw them.
Kakarot turned to Bulma and waved a hand at her. "Osu!"
"Kakarot, you imbecile! Why'd you teleport us here?!" Raditz demanded.
"Sorry, Raditz-niisan. Bulma's ki is the closest thing I found." Kakarot answered.
Bulma approached the four generals as if they were all close friends. Nappa looked at the blue haired girl with curious eyes and found her to be very gorgeous and a brave one for approaching them.
"So you are Miss Bulma," Nappa grinned. Bulma shrugged at the way the huge, burly bald man look at her as if she was a piece of meat. Nappa suddenly remembered her as being the girl Prince Vegeta was staring at two weeks ago, the day before Frieza arrived. (See Episode 4)
"Yes," That was Bulma's only reply.
"I'm Nappa, the crown prince's attendant. It seems to me that you and Kakarot know each other."
"I was the one who assigned her to her work. And we spent some time together with Ve- Ouch!" Kakarot grunted as he felt Raditz's elbow hit him on the side. Kakarot turned his angry eyes to his older brother as he rubbed his side where he hit him. Raditz silently reminded him that Bulma was there.
"Yes. I know these three over here. Sadara usually bring me with him to meet these guys. So we're like… close friends." Bulma told Nappa.
Nappa's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Does she mean Sadara? Vegeta's doll? That Sadara?
Kakarot, Raditz and Broly looked awkwardly at each other, how the hell are they going to explain that to the General? What was Nappa thinking? He was probably confused as to why they allowed an alien palace worker to be close to them. Raditz cleared his throat.
"Bulma, since when did we became close friends?" Raditz spat bitterly at Bulma.
"We're certainly not friends, not even close." Broly glared, looking like he wanted to eat Bulma alive.
Kakarot didn't say anything but he swallowed, knowing what these guys might be thinking.
"I wanted to kill this bitch if only not for Prince Vegeta," Raditz hatefully spat, gazing at the blue haired cook as if she was his greatest enemy.
"Me as well," Broly agreed.
Bulma stepped back, uncomfortable of the murderous looks she received from the two Saiyans. "Uh… Wh-What's wrong with you guys?" she asked.
"Guys, relax." Kakarot raised his hands as he stepped forward in between Bulma and the two threatening Saiyans. "If anything happens to her, Prince Vegeta would have our heads and hearts for his dinner, you know."
"Enough of this," Nappa interrupted. "Kakarot is right. Remember the Crown Prince's decree."
"Of course, we know that." Raditz muttered bitterly as he rolled his eyes at his brother and his superior, crossing his arms across his chest plate.
"You're lucky you are protected by the Crown Prince's decree." Broly growled.
"No one is allowed to touch any of his servants or palace workers without his highness' order." Kakarot explained.
Bulma shrugged. So that was the reason why no one is mistreating her in here. She already had a feeling that Broly and Raditz, even Bardock don't like her at all and the reason why they are putting up with her was because of Sadara and that decree.
Nappa's scouter rang and the burly Saiyan immediately pushed the button to answer the call.
"…Yes, your highness…" he replied respectfully after a few seconds listening to whatever the crown prince was saying.
Half a minute later, the huge General hang up and turned to the waiting three generals. "The Crown Prince says he's back to his private quarters and that he wants us to return immediately." He turned to Bulma. "You should go back to work, I think it is time for you to make his highness' lunch."
Raditz, Nappa and Broly grabbed a hold of Kakarot but before they could disappear, a palace guard came running towards them.
"General Nappa!" the exasperated guard cried out as he bowed down before his superior and panted.
"What is it, soldier?!" Nappa demanded.
"General, the young master has arrived." reported the exhausted soldier.
The eyes of the Crown Prince's generals turned wide.
~=o-O-o=~
A young Saiyan boy arrived at the Palace gates. A wide, child-like smile on his face as his narrowed and slanted eyes gazed up at the royal house. He was a boy who looked like a thirteen year old, almost the same age as Tarble and have the similar hairstyle. He donned a linothorax armor with silver chest plate and golden shoulder straps over blue short sleeved jumpsuit, brown arm bands on his forearms, purple leather pteruges and brown leather belt around his waist, brown knee-high socks and purple loafers on his feet.
He set foot upon the palace and had everyone around bowing their heads towards him.
The boy smiled, "Hello, everyone."
"I have to send a report to Prince Vegeta immediately." a royal guard said as he turned around to run to look for the crown prince's attendant.
Vegeta has arrived on his room via Hibiktus and ordered for his generals to come before him immediately. The four powerful Saiyans materialized behind him via Kakarot's Shunkanidou and immediately bowed down before him.
"What has taken you so long?!" Vegeta demanded without even looking back.
"Our apologies, your highness. But we received news that the young master Cabbe has returned." Nappa said.
Vegeta turned around, "Cabbe?"
~=o-O-o=~
Outside Prince Tarble's palace gates…
"Cabbe-niisan!" Tarble jumped over his older cousin as soon as he found him. Cabbe catches him in his arms and giggled.
"It has been a long time, Tarble. How have you been?" Cabbe asked.
"I am fine. Vegeta-niisan, Onio-san and the palace workers are taking good care of me." Tarble answered.
"That's good to hear. Oh, we need to come to Vegeta-niisan, you know he might get jealous if he knows I didn't visit him first."
"Hmph! What am I? A child?"
They turned to see Vegeta standing behind them with his four generals, his arms crossed over his white royal chest plate. A childish pout was sculpted perfectly over his lips like an upside-down V.
By the icy look on the crown prince's face, Cabbe and Tarble immediately shrugged and bowed down before him.
"I have returned, your highness." Cabbe said.
"I can see that." Vegeta told him coldly.
Cabbe shrugged, feeling awkward upon hearing those cold hearted but straightforward words. The crown prince stepped forward, silently as if he was a predator who found his prey. The young Saiyan squinted his eyes fearfully. "I-I mean… It has been a long time, your highness."
Once Vegeta was a foot in front of his younger cousin on his mother's side, he leaned down and gazed at Cabbe, looking like a kid planning to squish an ant with his fingers.
"Yes, it has been a long time, isn't it?" Vegeta muttered.
"Y-yes, your highness." Cabbe gulped.
"Hmmm…" Vegeta deadpanned as he observed Cabbe with his icy gaze.
Then the crown prince straightened and smiled. "Hmph! It seems you have taken my advice seriously! Good! You've become a lot stronger than the last time I saw you. How about a sparring?"
Cabbe grinned sheepishly, shrugging off his shoulders not wanting to deal with the crown prince's thirst for battle now. Noticing this, Tarble cut in, "Niisan, I think this is not a good time for that."
Vegeta's eyes turned towards his younger brother. "I know that, Tarble. Don't tell me what to do." He frowned. "Anyways, let's come into my quarters. Nappa, tell my cooks to prepare a feast. I'm willing to wait for an additional hour."
"Yes, your highness."
Vegeta led his younger brother and cousin inside his personal quarters where they decided to chat.
Cabbe noticed the doll sitting on the corner and was surprised to see it.
"Oh my goodness!" Cabbe gasped in terror, feeling as if he just had a heart attack upon finding the doll and he had the crown prince's attention, who looked into where Cabbe's eyes was gazing at and laughed playfully.
"Fahahahaha! Cabbe, don't you remember that doll? It's Sadara, my secret double." Vegeta winked at him mischievously.
Cabbe flinched and shrugged his shoulders, "Are you still on with that… you know… that get up?"
"Oh, yes! I'm still on it. That's why Sadara's still there."
"I see… Sorry, I was frightened. It looks very much like you. It's hard to tell the difference."
Vegeta laughed out loud, "Hahaha, everybody says that around here. I usually leave that in here whenever I go out."
And then Vegeta's eyes brightened as if a light bulb has been turned on over his head, a mischievous evil plan formed in his playful mind. "I know! Why don't we go outside and eat elsewhere?" Vegeta suggested.
"But niisan, didn't you just ordered the cooks to prepare lots of food?" Tarble pointed out.
Vegeta mischievously grinned.
~=o-O-o=~
One hour later…
"Your highness! Your lunch is to be served." Nappa announced as he opened the doors to the crown prince's quarters. As soon as he pulled the sliding doors opened, he quickly jumped back in terror as his eyes widened in shock to find Vegeta's doll sitting on the prince's cushion seat. Its lifeless dark eyes stared death into his very soul with a seemingly twisted grin upon his lips. He suddenly remembered Bulma's words earlier, that she was friends with Sadara. Does that mean..?
The burly general quickly felt his blood turned ice at the sight of the fiendish doll. He slowly turned around in horror as he squinted his eyes and gritted his teeth together.
"Of course, he wouldn't be in here. You leave him for one minute and then he's gone. Aaargh! Let's prepare to be scolded by his Majesty once again…" Nappa mumbled bitterly as he paced across the room. That little rascal had escaped like usual and he has to hear it again from the King once he finds out Vegeta is missing. Feeling aggravated, he stopped at the door and screamed at the top of his lungs. "YOUR HIGHNESS!"
~=o-O-o=~
Vegeta teleported outside the palace with Tarble and Cabbe, he was wearing his Grim Reaper's Cloak around him that would conceal his appearance to the public. Tarble also wore a blue cloak around him while Cabbe is in his typical clothes.
Vegeta flinched for a moment, before he let out a sigh.
"What's the matter, niisan?" asked Tarble.
Vegeta chuckled as he rubbed at his right ear. "I thought I just heard Nappa screaming about me from miles away."
Tarble and Cabbe looked at each other with odd looks.
"I know a nice place to eat at the Burokkori Island. I always wanted for Tarble to try the Puhn in there. I'm taking this opportunity for you to get a taste of it." Sadara cheerfully said as he led the way to Citao's Place, humming a happy tune that almost sounded like a theme for the end of the world.
But while on their way, Vegeta found a food stand selling Meatballs on the bustling streets and he grew excited that he quickly pulled his brother and cousin to join him in eating that commoner's food. The two boys found them to be very delicious and different from what they usually eat. But what made them more amazed was the different side of the crown prince that both of them has never seen before. Who knew he could eat a lot of those commoner's food without much disgust or complain? And he really do get along with the people around him.
"It's because I always wanted to know the reality of a commoner's life. If they know who I truly am then they will not treat me the same as how they do when they know nothing. They feared me and respected me for my royal blood and my power. They will try to hide away their true nature for the sake of impressing me."
That was what Vegeta told of them a long time ago. At that time, he openly admitted to them his bitterness at being born a crown prince and a prodigy. He never had experienced a normal life until he decided on his disguising as Sadara. Only a few people know him as he is. Tarble, Cabbe, Kakarot, Raditz, Broly, Bardock and Gine, and Citao and Brocco. Apparently, through this way, Vegeta gained friends and learned a lot of things he was not allowed to learn in the palace. That is why he knows how to do housework or even the palace works - except for cooking by the way.
It was also through Sadara that Vegeta met Bulma once again…
Vegeta paid for the food and decided to just sit on a nearby bench along his brother and cousin.
"It's nice to be out of the palace for once." He muttered.
"Hmmm… yeah," Tarble agreed with a sheepish smile. "You get a little cranky sometimes in the palace. It's good of you to relax sometime."
Vegeta narrowed his eyes and put on a childish pout as he mumbled, "Who wouldn't be cranky when you have traitorous bastards looming around you and waiting to fire at you behind your back?"
"You mean the opposition in the council? What happened earlier this morning?"
"Turns out the pathetic old men thinks I'm a fool so I played with them. I visited them this morning since they were all so sick."
"Were they really sick?" Cabbe asked.
"Of course not! They just made a lame excuse to prevent the declaration of my regency!"
A sudden feeling of dread made Vegeta narrow his dark, slanted eyes, a sense of danger looming behind them and he automatically turned his head towards the source of the odd sensation. It was a business establishment that had its shutters locked up in the middle of the day.
"Hey, isn't that place supposed to be a bank? Why is it closed in the middle of the day?" Vegeta wondered.
Tarble and Cabbe turned to look at the odd place the crown prince was pointing at.
"Maybe because it's lunch time," Tarble answered.
"Even so, it shouldn't be closed that way at this hour. That's strange." Cabbe said.
Vegeta put all the meatballs he was eating into his mouth in a hurry and swallowed it all in one gulp, rose to his seat and faced the building before he pointed a finger towards the shutters. Tarble and Cabbe immediately pulled his forearm down.
"Niisan, what do you think you're doing?" the two young Saiyans asked him, knowing exactly what Vegeta was trying to do.
Vegeta gazed down at them before his senses picked up the danger; he immediately pushed the two young Saiyans down just as a loud explosion burst out from the said bank. Cabbe and Tarble were both stunned at what just happened and they both turned their huge eyes from the blighted structure towards the growling heir to the throne. How did he know something like this was about to happen? Is that the reason why he wanted to fire his Galick Beam towards the bank earlier? Rings of alarm reverberated nearby and Cabbe snapped out of his shock and immediately picked up his scouter to call the local police and soldiers. He stood up before the two princes to protect them. Tarble immediately hid behind his older brother like a scared little child. Vegeta protectively secured his younger brother in his arm.
"Cabbe, you may go and do your job. We'll be fine here." Vegeta told him coldly. It was obvious he was trying his best to control himself from aggressively stepping in to deal with the problem after seeing his terrified brother.
"But…"
"I told you, we'll be fine. We'll be waiting for you here until you finish your job."
"As you wish." Cabbe bowed down obediently. "But before anything else… Please do control yourself and don't interfere. Please let the local police take care of this problem."
"Fine, fine. Just go and do your job right. If you don't then I have to step in." Vegeta mumbled as he waved his hand with an annoyed look on his face.
"Yes." Cabbe said before he sprinted off towards the smoke. A group of ten burly Saiyans came out of the destroyed bank with bags full of robbed money, looking like they just won the lottery for a job well done to their vicious plans. However, a lean and petite Saiyan child stepped in front of them to block their path.
"I'm a member of the Saiyan Police Department!" Cabbe announced as he showed them his police badge. It's not like he was trying to be cool and impressive because he was in front of the crown prince. "You are hereby under arrest for damage of government property and robbery! Surrender yourselves properly or you might feel excruciating pain until you do!"
"Areh? Don't they look kind of familiar?" Vegeta muttered to himself, wondering where he might saw these fools.
The ten Saiyans looked at the petite Saiyan Policeman before them and laughed mockingly, "What? Is the police department shorthanded or something? Why would they recruit a brat to be a policeman?" laughed the leader of the group, who was towering at Cabbe with his gigantic build. He is almost as big as Nappa.
Cabbe was not pleased with those words and his eyes narrowed. "Are they underestimating me?" He stepped forward indignantly. The bully leader snarled at the kid's audacity to stand against them.
"Hey, brat. Get out of our way before I roast you with my power!"
Cabbe snorted quietly as he swiftly dodged a powerful straight punch aimed for his face coming from the titanic leader.
"I wonder if your mothers ever taught you not to underestimate the small things." Cabbe told him as he let out a low kick to make the leader stumble into the ground, grabbed his opponent's arm and easily tossed him aside as if he was only as light as feather.
Completely humiliated, the leader of the robbery group snarled and quickly picked himself up to blast the annoying brat's head off but before his powerful blast could his target, Cabbe disappeared, leaving only an afterimage from where he previously stood.
"What-?!"
Cabbe appeared behind the leader and knocked him off into the ground. Using strong ki rings, he bound the leader's limbs into the surface to prevent him from escaping, much to the evil Saiyan's aggravation.
"Nice one, Cabbe." Vegeta smirked proudly as he watched at his cousin with his arms crossed over his cloak.
"Stay still if you wouldn't want me to torture you from the inside out." Cabbe coldly threatened. "Now, as for your little friends… Areh? Where the hell did they go?"
Vegeta hung his head in disappointment and sighed. He honestly was on the edge of howling for his cousin-slash ex- martial arts student.
"Cabbe! They went that way!" he pointed to his left where the others went to. "And that way…" he pointed to his right. "And that way… Wait a sec - Tarble! What the hell are you doing?!"
Vegeta was horrified to find his younger brother missing beside him but instead was having a tug-o-war with one of the robbers for a crying Saiyan boy who seems to be a civilian these criminals wanted to take as hostage.
"Let go, you stupid kid! Let go!" growled the kidnapper.
"Nooooo!" Tarble cried out as he tried his best to prevent the kidnappers from taking away the civilian boy.
The wailing of the kid made Cabbe and his capture turn their heads to their loud commotion. Vegeta sighed again, wondering why he has such an idiotic brother and cousin.
Tarble was able to take the boy off the kidnapper's hands and fell into his behind as he grabbed the crying child as if it was a doll he loved so much. The said kidnapper snarled and kicked the two boys so hard Tarble and the kid was thrown off and rolling a few meters across the ground.
Despite his earlier musings, Vegeta's eyes flashed red at the sight of his brother being beaten up by that trash. Cabbe growled to himself and was about to take care of the problem, how dare they do that to poor Prince Tarble? Or to a child, since it's impossible for commoners to recognize a prince not wearing royal armor.
The kidnapper grabbed the wailing child and took off into the sky, with a huge sack of money on his shoulders too. The other eight reunited with him there as they escaped.
"Cabbe..!"
As if someone had brushed an ice cube on his spine, Cabbe automatically shuddered at that low, icy sound coming from the irate Grim Reaper. "Heeeee!" He squeaked.
"Stand aside. I'll take care of these fucking low-lives myself…" Vegeta muttered in a horribly low and cold murderous tone that has made the surroundings deadly. The horror and tension rose immediately around them, making them feel the seething rage boiling within him.
"B-But…"
"This has turned personal now. Anyone who hurts my brother… shall suffer my wrath…"
"Uuuh-oooooh…" Cabbe muttered fearfully as he gulped and instinctively stepped back.
"Black Cloak..?" The caught robber said, as he seemingly recognized it. "Ah! I remember now! There's a young Saiyan rumored to be going around the planet to take the souls of his enemies! The Crown Prince's strongest protector! Nobody knows who he really is, but he's widely known to wear a black cloak around him to conceal his true face! He's feared around just as the crown prince; for they said he is almost just as ruthless and powerful as Prince Vegeta…"
Sadara gradually ascended up to the sky, his black cloak billowing in the wind just as his body begin to be enshrouded by a bright blue aura. The wind around his form thickened and blew around him and his surroundings like a maelstrom of pure destructive power as he dramatically powered up.
He gradually raised his right index finger to point at the dots who were the nine criminals and a kidnapped kid. Vegeta's eyes narrowed as his finger glowed with bluish white plasma and sparking with blue bio-electricity.
"…The Grim Reaper, Sadara-sama!"
Sadara fired his Galick Beam towards the retreating figures. A potent lightning like spear of blinding blue light burst from his finger towards the escaping criminals and then the thunderous explosion of power rattled across the red skies, surprising the nine criminals and causing Cabbe and Tarble to cover their ears. Due to this, the young hostage fell from the arms of his kidnapper down into the ground. Vegeta phased in to catch the boy in his left arm and fired another devastating Galick Beam towards the nine Saiyans. It was not enough to skewer them, but the force of the blast hit them all down to the ground. And then a volley of energy rings rained down from the sky to bind their limbs tightly on the ground.
"Amazing…" Cabbe gasped in awe.
Vegeta landed gracefully into the ground, putting down the completely stunned child looking up at him in wonder and he straightened up as he turned his head back and glared coldly at the pathetic fools.
"But that technique…" said the criminal caught by Cabbe. "That's the Galick Beam… It's a forbidden and rare technique only Prince Vegeta can do for it requires so much power it's more than enough to destroy an entire planet, isn't it? How is Sadara-sama able to -?"
Sadara grinned to the child and told him to return to his home. He watched as the boy thanked him and sprinted away.
"Don't you get it? And here I thought you used to work for the crown prince's palace?" Sadara said.
The leader furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. That voice sounded so familiar. Wait… Sadara? That's the name of Prince Vegeta's doll, isn't it? He looked up into the Grim Reaper's cold eyes glaring down at him with a murderous intent.
"So it's you, Your highness."
"It seems you finally recognized me, fool." Vegeta said. "You didn't just disappoint me due to your incompetence but also your stupidity. I didn't expect for Saiyans with Elite Skills to use their power to do lowly crimes such as robbery and kidnapping. And another thing, your friends seemed to fail to recognize they just hurt a prince. With no questions asked, this shall end with just one way. A punishment of death."
Vegeta fired a potent blast that completely obliterated the nine former Palace Guards behind him to atoms. Not even their screams were heard. The leader could only watch at the gruesome death of his comrades.
"You monster!" growled the remaining criminal in anger as he tried to resist. "You have no idea how much our jobs worth to us! And you fired us because of such a simple mistake of leaving our posts for a minute or two! That's completely unreasonable!"
"Unreasonable, you say? Your incompetence almost got me into trouble, fool!" Vegeta growled back. "I was lucky enough to escape it, though. I did not expect any more than my servants doing their jobs right. You should be lucky that I simply fired you and not killed you for what you did. I didn't really expect for you to do this. I'm disappointed not once but twice.
"Tell me what your job was in the first place? Has Nappa ever taught you anything right when you first entered my palace? Even so, if your job truly is worthy, why did you neglect your duties? Even a simple mistake could cause a big trouble!"
The ex-palace guard turned criminal was stumped at those words and realized how wrong he was. Yes, he and his friends neglected their duty that day because they thought the crown prince will not notice them leaving their posts. He finally understood.
"Your highness! I have committed a terrible sin! Whatever punishment you put on me, I am willing to accept it!" cried the Saiyan.
"Hmmm… It seems you finally understood your mistake. You know how this would end and you are willing to accept this punishment?" Vegeta said. The Saiyan lowered his head and squinted his eyes.
"Yes, your highness!"
Tarble and Cabbe walked beside the crown prince and looked up to his deadpanned eyes. Their eyes widened as Vegeta raised his hand with his palm facing towards the ex-palace worker.
He closed his hands into a fist and destroyed the ki rings binding the criminal's limbs. It made the Saiyan's eyes widen in shock.
"What's your name?" The crown prince asked.
The Saiyan looked up to the crown prince and replied, "My name is Shoga, your highness."
"I am giving you a last chance to redeem your ways. I will not have you escape your sentence in jail for what you did in here but while you spend your time in there, think over of what you plan to do with your life. Then perhaps, after you are finished with your jail sentence, you may come to me and tell me your decision."
The policemen have arrived to take Shoga into their cab, with ki cuffs to put on the criminal's wrists to prevent him from fighting back. Shoga smiled at the opportunity.
"Thank you very much, Sadara-sama!"
Sadara simply snorted out loud. "Hmph! At least you know what to do about you knowing this secret. If you spill it out, I guess you have an idea what I will do to you."
"Yes, Master."
Shoga willingly surrendered to the police. Vegeta, Tarble and Cabbe watched as he was taken away to jail by the police vehicle.
"Cabbe, you did a good job." said the chief of police.
The young Saiyan bowed humbly at his superior and straightened his back, blushing and rubbing his cheek with his index finger, feeling abashed at the recognition.
"Not really, it's all thanks to Sadara that I managed to catch him."
"I thought you said there were ten of them, did the other nine escaped?"
Vegeta shrugged at the question, looking like he was some robber caught red handed.
"Uh… Uhm…" Cabbe averted his eyes uncomfortably.
"I killed them," Vegeta admitted. The chief of police turned his eyes towards the black cloaked Saiyan, completely stunned at his downright admission. "They hurt Tarble, it's a downright punishment for anyone who lashes out on a royal prince."
The chief of police nodded in acceptance. "Oh, I see. I guess we're done here. Thanks for your help, Sadara."
"Don't mention it."
And then, Vegeta, Tarble and Cabbe went to Citao's restaurant to eat Phun.
~=o-O-o=~
An hour later…
Vegeta also tend to his brother's injuries using Citao's first aid kit.
"Waaah! It hurts, niisan!" Tarble cried out while his big brother applied healing cream over his wounds using cotton smeared with the said cream.
"Stop whining, would you?! You're annoying me!" Vegeta scolded. "You asked for it. This shouldn't have happen if you have not left my side to save that stupid brat!"
"But they were going to take the boy away so I decided to interfere with them…" Tarble sniffed.
"Hmph! As if you could stop those fools by yourself!"
"Well… At least I tried. Even though I know I was no match against them…" Tarble muttered hurtfully.
Vegeta stared at his brother for a moment. This was the first time he saw his brother tried to face a fight on his own accord even though he knows he couldn't win. It was the same situation he had with Frieza, Zarbon and Dodoria. He smiled to himself, feeling proud of his younger brother's bravery.
"You did a good job, Tarble. I'm proud of you." Vegeta said.
Tarble blinked at his older brother's words, "Eh?"
"Like you said, you still tried even though you know you cannot win. That's courageous of you to do, even though it's foolish but it's enough for you to show me that at least, you had a small speck of Saiyan Pride within you. You made me proud."
Tarble blushed at his brother's words, feeling shy and happy at the same time. Vegeta used this opportunity to tend to his sibling's injuries. Tarble was too much in shock to complain of the pain.
~=o-O-o=~
"Aaah! That felt good!" Vegeta exclaimed as he stretched his arms in the air with a smile on his face. They were now walking back to the palace after spending time going around.
"It seems that you ate a lot today, Vegeta-niisan." Tarble commented.
"Well, all that action has made me hungry in the first place. I think I'm still in the mood to eat the lunch in the palace. And then on Bardock's place and then…"
"Ehehehe…"
"Oh, by the way, I have someone for you to meet, Cabbe." Vegeta said to his cousin.
"Someone to meet? Who?"
"You'll find out later. Anyways, I'll go ahead. I needed to do something."
Vegeta sprinted happily towards the palace, leaving Cabbe and Tarble alone. He went directly to where he sensed Bulma and Gure were talking, sitting on a rock near the pond.
~=o-O-o=~
Bulma was having a heart to heart conversation with Gure about something that annoyed her these past few days.
"I don't know why but I feel like the more time I spend with Sadara, the more I feel this… this unexplainable emotions around him. When I'm around him, I feel happy. When I know I'll see him, I feel excited. When I don't see him, I'm longing for him. This isn't right. I know this isn't just right because I despised these Saiyans with all my heart, especially when he openly admitted that he's on that jerk's side. But ever since I first met him, all I could think about was him. I think I'm going crazy! I could not even sleep thinking about him at all!" Bulma told Gure.
"The way you speak tells me that you like Sadara. Do you think you have fallen in love with him?" Gure said.
Bulma shrugged and nodded grimly, it's the same thing she thought over these past few nights.
"Yes, I… think so…" she admitted truthfully. "But… This feeling… It's wrong. I don't know the reason why I feel contradicting emotions towards that fact. It's wrong for me to love someone who is on the side of my enemy and yet every time I was around him, it felt so right. I wish he's fighting on my side instead of Prince Vegeta's side. I wanted him to be on my side but it's seemingly impossible. I think I'm losing my mind. I don't know what to do."
Not far away behind them, Sadara silently approached and overheard their conversations. It has made him stop on his tracks for a while. It didn't come as a surprise to him since it was always obvious to him how Bulma feels about Sadara. He always knew she likes him as Sadara, and it was somehow pleasing to know she's falling for him. But then, the truth about his true identity made it feel so wrong as well. She shouldn't be doing this.
~=o-O-o=~
Vegeta quietly growled angrily to himself, decided to turn back and teleported himself back to his dressing room to change to his royal armor. He strolled towards his private chambers, looking so cold and stoic that his guards and servants thought he was in one of his moods once again.
He said he wanted to be left alone for the meantime and he sat on his bed, completely lost in his own thoughts. Inside him, his heart was bursting with lots of different and contradicting emotions. He was happy, angry and sad at the same time. Happy to hear Bulma's true feelings for Sadara, angry at himself that he was living on a lie and sad that he knows how she would feel once she learns who he truly is. Just the thought of that pained his chest so much and angered him. He shook his head, this shouldn't be happening. Why does it even matter to him what she would think? She is nothing but a mere, weakling alien slave that will never be allowed to be on his side forever because he is the crown prince of all Saiyans. It doesn't matter if she hated him to the core or doesn't want to be with him as he truly is, even their social status and racial differences would bring them apart. She was right, this is completely wrong and yet.. Why does it feel so right?
What is this? This annoying feeling?
~=o-O-o=~
When Bulma returned to her quarters, she found a note on her bed that read:
"I changed my mind about tonight's training. Come to the meadow later, I have someone for you to meet. Sadara."
~=o-O-o=~
That evening, after eating his dinner, Vegeta dressed up as Sadara again and took Cabbe with him to his meadow where Bulma waited for an hour already.
Before Bulma could make his ears bleed with her incessant barking, Sadara quickly made an excuse. "I brought you a sparring partner." Sadara told Bulma. "Bulma, this is Cabbe." He gestured to the young and polite looking Saiyan beside him. "Cabbe, this is Bulma, my new student."
Cabbe's eyes widened at the introduction. This is a first time Vegeta has agreed to train an alien who seems to have no sort of special powers at all.
"She is your new student? Why are you training her?" Cabbe asked.
"I'm training her to last a second or two against Prince Vegeta when she tries to kill him."
"Huh? She's trying to kill… the crown prince?"
"She has a grudge to settle with him for destroying her home planet."
"Eh?"
Sadara winked at his confused cousin and silently ordered him to let it be before he addressed Bulma, "During my absence, Cabbe will be your training partner. He is my former student whom I trained to become a strong enforcer. He can patiently help you enhance your skills and you'll get more comfortable around him than me."
"What? You won't train me anymore?" Bulma asked, feeling sad and rejected.
Sadara smiled, "I will. I'm just a little busy in the palace. I'll check on your progress every now and then, don't worry."
Bulma pouted like a child and Vegeta felt bad for doing this. But he has to do this in order to stop this foolishness. He put his hand over her shoulders and smiled at her. "Good luck." he told her.
~=o-O-o=~
Days had passed but Vegeta found no such luck with trying to escape the annoying feelings bothering his system since that night he learned that Bulma was the same girl he met on Earth thirteen years ago. He would sometimes stalk her around, watch at her training with Cabbe, in which he felt angry and jealous and wondering why he decided on such a stupid thing. He would want to take back his decision but decided he wouldn't want to later. His mood swings came worse these past few days too, he was angry and childish most of the time, in which his generals, guards and servants would think he's like a moving landmine ready to kill or beat up anyone who gets in his way.
Vegeta also found his thoughts being intrusive with fantasies and daydreams of Bulma. It made his concentration on his own training and political affairs with his father and the council travel miles and miles on fantasy dreamland and go lost in that world his mind has created. This is completely aggravating him to the core. All these annoying things had made him unable to sleep a wink for a few days either or eat as much as he normally does. His guilt for living a lie also made matters even worse. His anxiety and over thinking made him miserable and desperate. He was going crazy with it!
No matter how Vegeta tried to cling on to his Saiyan Pride and his act of cold heartedness, it didn't help much when he's all alone, so he would sometimes spar with Kakarot and Raditz, but it's not enough to make him forget these damn feelings.
~=o-O-o=~
One day, Vegeta watched at Raditz train the soldiers whose expertise is archery and would be protecting him during war. He overheard the conversations of the giggling and squealing servant girls behind him about how cool and badass Raditz was as he swiftly dodged and blocked the ki enhanced arrows aimed at him.
"Woah! Raditz-sama is so cool and badass! No wonder he is called the Amazing Raditz," said one of the girls.
Vegeta scowled in jealousy upon hearing those words and became annoyed at the noise, feeling a throbbing in his head since he was not able to sleep a wink last night. These bitches think Raditz is cool and badass?
In his annoyance, Vegeta rose to his seat and picked up a bow and arrow and threatened to shoot at his servants who instinctively screamed in terror. He growled to himself and turned to shoot at Raditz instead.
"Y-Your highness!"
The long haired Saiyan was too shocked to respond as the arrow hit his abdomen. Vegeta narrowly avoided Raditz's vitals though.
"Hmph! I guess your Amazing Raditz isn't as cool and badass as you thought of him to be." Vegeta bitterly spat out before he approached his General who looked at him with seemingly betrayed eyes.
"Trying to show off with the sluts in front of me, you fucking piece of shit." Vegeta growled at Raditz as he smacked his head. "Enough with this bullshit! Go away! I'll train the soldiers myself!"
Raditz's eyes widened in aghast, "But your highness, are you sure you'll be alright?"
One furious and malevolent glare made Raditz step back in fear.
"Go away!" Vegeta yelled like a spoiled brat.
"Okay, okay. I understand, your highness."
Raditz obediently bowed down and walked away to have his injury taken care of by the doctors in the clinic.
"As for you, come and aim for me with your full power! Do not hesitate, do you understand?!" The confident crown prince commanded his trainees.
"Yes, your highness!"
His training has not even started yet when Vegeta collapsed to his knees and into the ground. Everyone gaped at the sight of the fallen crown prince who started snoring on the grass, wondering what the hell did just happened before they all ran towards the heir to the throne.
~=o-O-o=~
A few hours later…
Vegeta was too dazed to perceive Malaka's fingers feeling his pulse rate in his wrist. Nappa, Raditz, Kakarot, Broly and a nurse stood anxiously around them inside the crown prince's bedroom.
After Malaka was done with his findings, Nappa asked, "So, how is his highness, doctor?"
"Hmmm… He's in normal condition, even though he seems to be experiencing insomnia for the past few days. I will make herbal tea to help him sleep comfortably at night." Malaka answered as he picked up his bag to make his prince the tea.
"Hey, Malaka…" Vegeta said in a groggy voice, his eyes bored to the reptilian doctor with orange Mohawk hair.
The doctor looked up to his eyes, "Yes, your highness?"
"I feel terrible lately. I can't sleep. I feel hot and uncomfortable. I hallucinate and imagine impossible things. I over think too much and I am losing my concentration on training lately. Tell me, what is going on with me?" He asked groggily, he sounded like he was drunk rather than a person with no sleep at all.
Malaka politely replied, "According to my tests, you are just fine, your highness. It's just insomnia and you need to rest in order to regain your strength."
Vegeta made a doubting expression, "Is that really all? I think you're hiding something. What is the truth? Tell me."
Malaka averted his eyes uncomfortably and bowed down before him, "My apologies, your highness. But I doubt you wanted to hear the truth."
"What is it? I am ordering you to tell me." Vegeta insisted.
"Hmmm… Y-Your highness… The… The symptoms you speak of… is something widows and desperate people experience…"
"What do you mean?"
Malaka looked down, feeling a flush on his face. "Uhmmm… You see… In your case, I could only guess since this could be your first time experiencing this… Uhmm… You see, a man and a woman who love each other would normally go together, but…"
Nappa, Kakarot, Raditz and Broly abruptly turned their heads towards Malaka with wide, shocked and disbelieving eyes while Vegeta raised his eyebrows curiously, waiting for the nervous doctor to continue his explanation. Malaka shrugged uncomfortably at the looks he received from the Saiyans.
"And?" Vegeta urged.
"Uhmm… B-Basing on what you are experiencing… It sounded like… as if… you are a man who wants a woman so badly but you know you cannot own her because of… because of complicated things… This experience is called 'Limerence'… or most commonly known as 'Love Sickness', your highness…"
"Ho!" Kakarot gasped, looking amazed. Is the almighty and ruthless Prince Vegeta even capable of that?
"What?!" Nappa gasped in disbelief.
"So you're telling us that Prince Vegeta is… is… Love Sick?!" Raditz said.
"Exactly, General."
The three generals gasped out loud in surprise, while Broly took the situation like it was nothing but a mere white wall. Vegeta's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, taking in the doctor's words slowly until it dawned on him what it meant.
"What?! Me?! Love sick?!" Vegeta abruptly yelled indignantly, his terrible temper exploding and completely devastating everyone around him. "Don't mess with me! Get out of my sight before I send you to oblivion, Malaka! If you dared to speak of this to anyone else, I will rip your tongue off your ugly muzzle, you useless piece of trash!"
Seeing the sudden change in the crown prince's mood, the frightened doctor squeaked in fear, "My apologies, your highness!" Malaka screamed as he put his things back to his medical bag as quickly as he could.
"Wait," Vegeta called before Malaka could rise to his feet and leave. "Before you go… Tell me, is there any cure?" he asked quite desperately.
Everyone's jaw dropped at that question. Did the powerful Prince Vegeta just admitted that he is indeed Love Sick?
~=o-O-o=~
"I can't believe this! Is that true at all?!" Raditz gasped as Nappa and Malaka left Prince Vegeta and his three generals. He stared at the groggy crown prince eye to eye on his royal bed where he laid comfortably.
"Who is it? Please don't tell us it's that blue haired bitch!" Raditz questioned.
Vegeta scowled deeply at the way his general stared at him and roughly backhanded him aside, "Shut up, Raditz! My head is aching at your loud mouth! Stop pestering me with your stupid questions, would you?!" he angrily yelled as Raditz was sent flying across the room.
"I will kill her," Broly coldly announced as he turned his heels to find Bulma and assassinate her for doing this to the heir to the throne but Vegeta immediately commanded him.
"Aah! Hold it, Broly! That's a direct order!"
"But your highness, you're love sick because of that lowly slave! If she did this to you, she must die!" Raditz insisted.
"If the king and the council learns of this, they will kill her. You must do something, your highness." Kakarot pleaded.
"Please remember that you are forbidden to feel love for you are the crown prince of all Saiyans." Broly reminded him. "Foolish and soft emotions such as love for another being is a weakness and should become your greatest downfall. That is why you are not allowed to feel this kind of affection towards a woman."
"Much less an alien slave," Raditz continued.
"I said shut up!" Vegeta screamed at the top of his lungs, causing all things made with glass around him to explode and his generals stared at him with paled faces. "I swear if you touch Bulma, I will rip your heads off and feed them to the Gushopeyas!"
…But the Gushopeyas are just fictional monsters… right?
"And I don't fucking care about such forbidden rules! I decide on whatever I want to do as crown prince! No rule or law would dictate me what to do or not to do!"
The Generals could only sigh and shake their heads at his defiant and stubborn nature. He glared at them with murderous intent despite his groggy state and they simply shrugged.
After a few tensed seconds of silence, Vegeta finally broke the tension. "The wish lantern festival is getting close, isn't it? I was wondering if you want to go there."
~=o-O-o=~
One week later...
Everybody in the crown prince's palace thanked the supreme deity of the Saiyans for a miracle that has happened today. After those days of the crown prince being in a terrible mood, a miracle so rare has occurred. And for the first time, he was in a good mood to give all of those serving him in the palace the luxury of a vacation. Though it could only last on the day and night of the wish lantern festival, it's still something to thank for, a chance for them to be with their family. To watch and fly wish sky lanterns tonight.
Vegeta just received the news from Nappa about how everyone was happy about it and that Prince Tarble and his father decided to also give their servants the same opportunity. Tarble decided to go with Onio and Gure tonight, while Vegeta was thinking of asking Bulma later.
The wish sky lantern festival is a yearly celebration across Planet Vegeta where everyone gathered in the royal city, buy lanterns made of oiled rice paper framed on bamboo sticks, with an opening at the bottom where a small fire is to be suspended to make it fly into the sky. It is surrounded by a stiff collar that serves to suspend the flame source made of a small candle on the opening to keep the fire away from the walls of the lantern. People write their individual wishes on their own wish lanterns and they would release it to float to the sky altogether, cheering for their wishes to come true.
It is also believed that if a person goes with a loved one in a lantern festival, they will be together forever. Vegeta doubted this, but he decided that it won't hurt him if he tried.
~=o-O-o=~
That evening, Vegeta dressed up as Sadara and went to the festival with Bulma, both of them hoping that their wishes would come true. It was bustling with lots of people but for the two of them, it feels like they were the only people there. They spent a lot of time playing games in the funfair and eating street food together. Sadara taught Bulma how to use the bow and arrow to hit the figures for a big stuffed toy prize but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get the first prize. Sadara insisted for her to try once again, and Bulma did so. Vegeta shoot an arrow towards the first prize behind Bulma, who jumped around joyfully, thinking she did it by herself.
"Uwaaah! Did you see that? Sadara-sama! I did it! I'm amazing, right?!" Bulma jumped. Vegeta snorted out loud and smirked at how joyous she was. He told her to pick up her prize which was a big, black stuffed cat with a sharp, cold gaze almost similar to Sadara's eyes. It was adorable.
"Aww… How cute!" Bulma squealed. "Heehee… I think I'd want to name him Sarada, because it looked very much like you." Bulma announced as she hugged the stuffed toy.
"I swear if you name that thing after me, I will destroy it." Sadara growled in her ear playfully.
"Aaah… You're such a grump! Hmph!" Bulma huffed in the air.
"Plus, dogs hate cats. I wouldn't want something named after me to be your enemy."
"I am not a dog, you monkey!" Bulma bawled at his ears.
Vegeta rolled his eyes but smiled at that. Ah, how he missed teasing her this way.
Finally realizing what time it was, he said, "Oh! I guess I have to go and buy the lanterns. Stay here, okay? Stay." he commanded like a master telling his pet to stay to wherever he was leaving her.
"Okay! Okay! I'm not a dog!" Bulma growled with an annoyed look on her face. She really hated it when he treats her that way.
Sadara laughed at her indignant reaction. He really loved it when her blue eyes blazed with fire when she becomes angry. He turned and sprinted towards the people selling the sky lanterns.
~=o-O-o=~
While Vegeta was busy choosing over the several lanterns displayed on the ground, his attention was caught by a little girl moving towards the people passing by and asking them to buy her lanterns. He felt something odd about the young one and decided to approach the little girl, who looked up to him with her big, innocent eyes. She was a young Saiyan girl, she could be around six years old. Her dark hair was tied into a high spiky ponytail and she wore a dirty, white chiton.
"Mister, please buy these wish lanterns." She told him.
The Saiyan Prince looked down at the girl, "How much is your lantern, girl?"
"Six bronze coins for each, mister."
"Hn," he muttered as he gave the girl sixty silver coins. "There you go. I don't need any lanterns."
The girl frowned, looking deeply insulted. "Mister, I am not a lowly beggar to be treated as such! Please take this back!"
Vegeta's eyes narrowed as he found the girl glaring up at him with fiery eyes. Such pride for a young one, he could say. Unbelievable. Her parents must have taught her well. He sighed before he smirked proudly at the girl, taking back his money.
"I'm sorry I didn't mean to do that." He said. "I just thought you needed money so much."
"It is true that I do need money for my father who is in the hospital. I need money to pay the doctors in order to treat him! But I will receive money through my own work and not through being a beggar!"
Vegeta's smirk melted upon hearing that, "What do you mean you pay money to have doctors treat your father?"
"The public hospital won't admit and treat my father's injuries if we don't pay enough money. So I work hard in order to pay them so my father stays in the hospital until he gets better."
Vegeta's eyes narrowed suspiciously at that. Why would the public doctors ask for money from the peasants who they know was impossible to pay them back? What is the Ministry of Health been doing? The government should be the one paying the public doctors to do their job for the commoners.
"You seem to be a man of noble blood so you have no idea how we peasants live." The girl said.
Vegeta sighed as he asked the girl, "How many lanterns do you still have, girl?"
"I still have four lanterns, Master."
"I will buy-"
"Give me one lantern, please." said a Saiyan lady wearing a black and pink armor who stood next to him. Vegeta turned his eyes towards the woman with black layered hair that reached her shoulders and big, black eyes and fair skin. She seemed familiar, must be a daughter of some noble blood he knows of.
"Here, Miss!" said the young girl as she handed the lady a white lantern.
"Areh? Where is it?" The lady muttered to herself as she picked on her pockets and under her armor. It looked like she lost her wallet or money somewhere. Vegeta snickered in disappointment before he turned to the young girl.
"I'll pay for this woman, give it to her." He ordered the young one. The little girl did as she told and the noble lady blushed in embarrassment as she took the offer. She turned her big eyes to him and found him to be looking familiar. Vegeta averted his gaze and silently told her to go away. Then she finally realized who he was but she decided not to speak of it. She bowed down to quietly thank him before she turned around and walked away, cursing at herself for such embarrassment.
"I'll take the other two," Vegeta said to the girl. She gave him the two lanterns.
"How about the last one?" The girl asked as she received his payment.
"Hm, the last one is yours." Vegeta told her. "Write down your wish. I know you have one, don't you?"
The girl's lips twisted downwards in disappointment. "Yes, I have one wish but it is impossible to happen."
Impossible? What does she mean by that?
"Why do you think so? What is your wish?" Vegeta asked curiously.
"I am just a young girl who belongs to the low class society. There is no way I could ever meet the crown prince and talk to him personally."
Vegeta laughed whole-heartedly at that, he was expecting for her to wish something like for her father to get better but of all wishes, she wanted to meet the most powerful and most ruthless Saiyan of all. The guts of this girl amazed him indeed. Perhaps, she was confident she could manage to keep up her own efforts for her father and his hospital bills.
The girl pouted, looking like she was offended by Vegeta's laughter of her wish, "See? You're laughing at me, mister."
Vegeta stifled his laughter and asked the girl curiously, "Why do you wish to see the crown prince? What is it that you want to talk to him about?"
"I hear he's going to take over the throne in his upcoming regency, I just want to tell him to please look down on his people and hear our pleas. I heard many great and bad things about him. They say he is very strong and smart and that he is heartless and evil. I don't believe those bad things. What I believe is that the crown prince is the perfect example of a Saiyan with true Saiyan Pride in him. I also believe that he has it in himself to hear his people."
"So specifically, you want to tell him the condition of your father and personally ask his help?"
"Not exactly, mister. What I'm saying is that I want to ask him to help us from our misery. For him to help us eliminate those who are not doing good to the people, like corrupt officials or the dictatorship of a tyrannical Galactic Emperor. For him to set an example of what Saiyan Pride means to the Saiyans and lead us to become a great race of proud warriors the universe will learn to fear and respect."
"Hmmmmm… I see." Vegeta nodded as he listened to the words of the smiling girl. He was impressed of her outlooks on life and of her incredible fortitude and courage. "What's your name?" He asked.
"I am Eschalotte, mister."
"Eschalotte-chan, I think you should think of another wish to write." he suggested.
"Why?" asked the confused girl.
"Because your wish has been done."
The young girl named Eschalotte's brows furrowed in confusion before it finally dawned on her. Her jaw dropped at that realization as she looked up at him, completely star struck at the sight of the crown prince himself. "Y-Y-You're…"
Vegeta put his index finger over his pouting lips and winked at the girl. "See you again sometime, Eschalotte-chan. Be a good girl." he pat her head before he walked away, taking the two lanterns he bought from her.
"Th-Thank you very much, mister!" she shouted at him, a bright smile upon her lips.
Vegeta returned to where he left Bulma and found her waiting for him on the same spot. He smiled to himself as he sprinted towards her and showed her the lantern he bought for her. "Here's your lantern, pup."
"Stop calling me that! I was on the verge of leaving; I thought you already forgot about me." Bulma pouted, feeling angry.
"Did I leave you that long?" Sadara wondered out loud. "Things just came, you know." He excused himself lamely before he snorted out loud. "Bah! Forget it! Let's write our wish down now. It's almost time."
They went towards the nearest table they could find and jot down their wishes on the paper lantern, keeping each other from seeing whatever they were writing because they feel embarrassed of it.
And then finally, it's time to release the lanterns into the sky. With everyone around the royal city holding their lit up lanterns, all of them started their countdown to midnight. As soon as the countdown ends, they altogether released the lanterns, shouting their wishes for everyone to hear.
"Please make our people prosper!"
"Please guide the king and the crown prince in their leadership!"
"Please give us more strength!"
"And good health!"
"And lots and lots of food!"
Vegeta listened to each of their wishes as he looked up at each of the lanterns levitating into the sky. With his sharp vision, he was able to read his people's wishes. Among the floating wish balloons, he found Eschalotte's wish lantern, hoping for him to grow stronger and for him to have a long life. He also read several others wishing for simple things like food, shelter and a decent work, or good health or money. There was one wishing for everyone to realize the true meaning of being a Saiyan. Another wished for greatness for their glorious race. Most of the wishes were materialistic or selfish or even had hidden goals that they would gain profit for. Only two lanterns have wishes almost similar to each other but different from the others.
Those wishes from two lonely hearts who wanted the acceptance of the other.
"Please accept my feelings…"
"Accept me…"
Vegeta looked up at the blue and pink lanterns he and Bulma just released freely and took a deep breath. It took him a long time and lots of self-debate to decide on this. His pride was to blame for such indecision. And now, he's ready for it. No matter how tonight's encounter would end, he decided he was ready for it.
"Wait, before you leave, tell me… is there any cure?"
That was what he asked of Malaka that day he consulted the royal doctor turned love advisor.
"The only way is for you to tell her how you truly feel, your highness. No matter what the consequences may be, you must accept it whole heartedly."
That was Malaka's advice. Easy and simple to think about but considering Vegeta's own situation, it was one of the hardest, if not the hardest, situation to be in.
For several days this past week after the day he consulted with the royal doctor slash love advisor, Vegeta mentally argued with himself about finally revealing his true identity to Bulma. He was afraid and it made him feel disgusted of how he foolishly acted and the realization of him being scared by the consequences of his actions. He is Vegeta, the Crown Prince of all Saiyans, one of the most powerful and ruthless warriors in the universe. The feared Legendary Destroyer of Worlds and the Grim Reaper, Sadara! Entire civilizations tremble in fear at the mere sound of his name and titles. He was a straightforward person with a strong heart, mind and sense of pride! No matter what the consequences may be, he will face it courageously with his pride! He will not live on a lie forever for it's even more humiliating to his pride!
He also thought of several ways on how he should reveal the truth to Bulma, and after a few tries of imagining and practicing stupid and lame lines like some theater actor on how to properly tell her his secret, he decided to simply be himself. Not as Sadara, the Grim Reaper but as Vegeta, the Crown Prince of all Saiyans.
"Uh… Bulma…" he muttered quite awkwardly.
What the fuck am I doing? Stop stuttering, Vegeta! He mentally slapped himself for feeling awkward. He swallowed, as means of getting courage from deep within himself.
He turned his head to Bulma's direction and said,
"I have something to-"
But his words were suddenly cut off when Bulma abruptly took his face in between her warm hands, pulled him towards her and pressed her soft lips against his.
At that same moment, something within him just snapped and then he found himself lost in a void of blurry and confusing visions. He could not exactly tell which was past, present or future but all these things somehow didn't just belong to him alone. It was from both of them. That something turned into invisible strings, connecting every bit of his being with hers. His every fiber sparked to life as if they were live wire, zapping with electricity that tingled across his skin. And he was on fire. He felt his heart pound inside his chest, loud and hard. Every cell in his body ablazed with this new sensation. A sensation he has never felt before.
For the first time in his life, Vegeta, the Crown Prince of all Saiyans was completely frozen in shock and disbelief at his own helplessness at this unexpected turn of events.
