Now, time for some canon siblings! Now presenting… Vegeta and Tarble! Y'know…they should make a special revolving around these two…like when they were kids or something.
Girlie: Thanks you for your review! Here's an update :D
Disclaimer: Do you really think I own Dragon Ball Z? Heck, no! But it would be nice to…but it belongs to Akira Toriyama-sensei.
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Siblings : Drabble 2 : Vegetable
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Could this get anymore boring?
A young Saiyan Prince scowled heavily as he was surrounded by small, slimy, green creatures known as Saibamen. The little beasts annoyed him greatly, counting the fact that they were a bit taller than him (now that was dreadfully irritating). They were loud, screechy, slimy, gross—did he mention slimy?—and had the IQ of a nut. However, they were—he reluctantly admits—great training tools; he could blast them without getting in trouble with his parents (and heaven knows how many times he had gotten in trouble for breaking something valuable).
The Saibamen circled him hungrily, flexing their sharp claws. Drool dribbled down from their mouths onto the tile flooring of the training room; beady red eyes flashed with anticipation and excitement.
Disgusting…
A Saibamen on his right—which was the tallest of the five—suddenly lunged at the young Saiyan, screeching in delight and hunger. The jaded look did not leave the prince's features as all the Saibamen followed suit of their leader.
The little muscles of the 4-year-old tensed and he leaped with grace up into the air, avoiding the plant creatures' claws. They squealed and squawked in confusion.
Idiot plants… he thought disdainfully. He summoned a sparking, purple energy ball in his right hand and looked disinterestedly down at the Saibamen. I choose…you. The little prince chucked the ball of sparkling energy at the far left Saibaman. Its head jerked upward just in time to see it come hurtling towards it. Nevertheless, the creature did not have enough time to dodge, and it was fried instantly into a charcoaled body.
The other four shrieked in surprise and terror as they looked up at the Saiyan. Their scarlet eyes then narrowed and they snarled with rage.
Ooh, scary…
Leaping up into the air, the Saibamen charged at the prince, wildly lashing out their claws at him. With great finesse, he evaded the mad attacks without breaking a sweat, the scowl still prominent on his soft, somewhat pudgy features, sharpening them. His sharp, onyx eyes were emotionless.
Yawn…
Having enough of the wildness, he thrust both his left and right arm out and punched the Saibamen on his sides. They screeched in pain and fell down to the floor. With the other two, he kicked his legs out, sending them flying into the walls.
Pathetic, he growled inwardly. They did this on purpose, sending out these weaklings. Don't they know I already outclassed Level 10 Saibamen?
The young prince quickly landed back down onto the floor, his furry tail lashing back and forth with exasperation. I'll be getting this over with now… he said to himself.
The Saibamen recovered soon enough, shaking the dust off of themselves. They squawked out to each other, as if they were planning an attack—the IQs of nuts, he told himself—and they all charged towards him.
3… … …2 … … …1… … …
He pulled his arms towards his chest, crisscrossing them to make an X shape, and growled out softly, purple ki lightly glowing around him. When they weren't even an inch away, he let out a sharp cry and released a powerful kiai. "Yah!"
"Skreeeeee!" all the plant beasts screamed in agony and they crashed hard into the walls, leaving dents. They did not move again.
A bored scowl still present on his face, the prince blasted the remaining four Saibamen with finger beams, leaving nothing behind but smoldering ash.
"Hmph, boring," the little boy scoffed, blowing his bangs out of his face. He adjusted the white gloves on his hands and walked stiffly over to the door. "I'm DONE!" he hissed loudly.
"Snrk?! Oh, uh, yes, Prince Vegeta!"
Prince Vegeta growled under his breath, something about sleepy, moronic soldiers, and waited impatiently for the door to slide open. Beep! A green light flashed above the door and he opened with a futuristic hiss.
Finally…! The 4-year-old prince walked regally out of the training room, his head held high. His fuzzy tail swished back and forth, as if it was showing off.
"Prince Vegeta!"
The little prince's eyes shifted to the right to see his "bodyguard", Nappa. The man was large and burly, over towering the 4-year-old prince greatly. He deduced that even on of Nappa's legs was wider then his princely self, which bugged him a bit. A large patch of hair covered Nappa's head, but Vegeta guessed it would be gone in years to come.
"That was great, Prince," the older Saiyan said; a large, prideful grin plaster onto his face. "You literally blew them away!" He knelt down to the small prince's eyelevel and held out his armor.
"Whatever. Those slimy little beasts were weak," Prince Vegeta scoffed in his high-pitched voice and took the armor without giving a thank you. The boy slipped it over his head, shaking his head of flaming, black hair afterwards, and forced his arms through the openings in the sides. A blood-red cape was draped over his tiny shoulders, falling down to reach his ankles.
"But of course! You're the best!"
"Enough with your flattery," the boy growled in annoyance, crossing his slightly chubby arms over his armored chest. "Let's go already, this place smells."
…
Prince Vegeta led the way down the halls, Nappa following close behind. Despite being a boy of only 4, his attitude and regality matched his parents, maybe even overshadowed their own. His little stride was proud and he practically radiated confidence.
"Oh, I almost forgot t' tell ya something!" Nappa said suddenly, clapping his large hands together.
"What is it, Nappa?"
"The Queen requested your presence," the burly Saiyan explained vaguely, a smile growing on his face. He added quickly, "She's in the maternity ward."
Maternity ward? "What does she want?" the prince asked flatly, masking his curiosity.
The grin suddenly grew as Nappa said, "Prince Vegeta, you are now an older brother!" He received no answer, which was somewhat expected, as he kept walking, but his smile didn't fade. The little prince was good at hiding his emotions. And besides, he had always heard the prince complain about nobody to play—no, wait, train—with that wasn't low-class or a slimy, bug-plant creature—what the prince called them, besides slimy, little beasts.
The large Saiyan guardian shot a glance to his left and found an empty spot where the young Vegeta should be. "Huh? Prince Vegeta?" Nappa stopped in his tracks and fully turned around in confusion, wondering why Vegeta wasn't walking next to him.
Prince Vegeta stood a couple paces behind him, frozen in place. "Uh…sir?" Nappa called out to him, cocking his massive head. "Are…you okay?" He unsurely strode back to his prince.
The prince's eyes were glued to some invisible object straight ahead, widened to what would be comical for him. His usual scowl had faded and had been replaced by a slightly agape mouth. His fingers twitched and his lips fluttered as he breathed out quietly, "…What?"
Nappa blinked a couple times at the prince's unusual behavior, shaking his head. "Well, Prince, you have a little brother now, so I've been told. The queen wants you to see him."
Vegeta's expression didn't falter. "What…room…?" he asked almost silently. His tail tip flicked.
"Room 302. But, hey, Prince—"
Prince Vegeta's red cape disappeared behind the corner up ahead.
…
"Come in, sweetie," the queen said, beckoning her eldest son into the room. Vegeta blinked and slowly crept towards her bed side, taking note of the blue blanket she cradled in her arms. His mother smiled at him sweetly. "How was training today?"
"…Fine…" he lied absentmindedly. It had been as boring as his father's lectures about politics.
She rolled her eyes knowingly; her smile grew warmer as he eyes fell back down to the bundle in her fairly toned arms. The now oldest prince reached his mother's bedside curiously. He stood on his tiptoes to peer into the fuzzy blanket, his tail wavering intriguingly behind him. The prince had noticed that his mother's belly had gotten bigger over the course of some—how many months was it?—months.
A tiny, pudgy face peeped out of an opening in the blanket. The baby's little eyelashes rested on his cheeks, notifying Vegeta that his little brother was fast asleep.
"This is Tarble, Vegeta," his mother explained with a warm tone, "your little brother."
Vegeta blinked. My…little brother? The words echoed in his head. His mind conjured up a sentence and the words rolled fluently off his tongue before he could stop them, "Well, he certainly is little."
The queen laughed—Vegeta secretly thought his mother's laughs were pretty—and sighed lightly at her son. "Well, of course he is. He was just born, silly."
"Hn…"
She laughed again.
Baby Tarble suddenly stirred, grunting inaudibly, at the sudden increase of noise and his eyelids twitched. Scrunching up his little nose, he slowly forced his eyes open; they were a soft ebony color. He grunted again and studied the new face.
"Oh…somebody's up!" the Queen cooed pleasantly down at the baby.
"Duh." Vegeta rolled his eyes.
"Hush."
Tarble blinked and his mouth opened to release a little cry.
She chuckled softly, "Aw…he's saying 'hello' to you Vegeta"
Vegeta hmphed dispassionately, flicking his tail. Babies couldn't talk. The queen frowned, sighing through her nose, and gently told her son, "Now, Vegeta, promise me that you'll be good to your brother."
"Yeah, yeah, sure, whatever," the eldest prince said inattentively, dismissively waving his hand. A little smile returned to his mother's face and she looked back at her newborn son. The tiny baby returned her gaze, blinking his big eyes.
The queen beamed tenderly at Tarble and said, "I should warn you now, little one, your brother is a crazy one like his father."
"Mom!"
…
The 3-month-old Tarble sat on the soft, fuzzy rug of one of the castle's spacious rooms, babbling happily and annoying his older brother to the point of banging his head on the wall once or twice.
Vegeta scowled and crossed his arms over his chest, his tail thumping on the floor. He was asked by his parents—he didn't have a choice, so why did they even bother?—to watch his baby brother until all the political meetings of today were finished—once again, he didn't have a choice. As much as the young prince despised politics, the concept sounded practically like heaven compared to this. This, he had repeatedly told himself, this was torture!
Tarble's chubby hands gripped a small red, rubber ball and he summoned up a huge grin. He giggled playfully and tossed the ball to his elder brother. Said ball hit big brother in the nose. Vegeta grunted in surprise—more so in boredom and just because. Tarble laughed and clapped his little hands together. The rubber ball rolled back to him, causing the baby to laugh even more in glee.
Oh, for heaven's sake, will this kid ever SHUT UP?!
Besides the fact that his baby brother was extremely noisy, Tarble, to Vegeta's observations, had no battle-hungry spirit within him. If Vegeta would hit him—not that hard!—the child wouldn't hit back or growl, he would whimper and cry in pain, leading to the miserable timeout in the corner on Vegeta's part. The kid was a Saiyan—and royalty, for crying out loud!—and he didn't have a warrior's soul!
Vegeta huffed exasperatedly through his nose and glared at the kid before him. The babe seemed to take no notice of his brother's expression, and he continued to play with the toys sprawled out on the floor. Tarble grabbed a toy that resembled a space pod and started making rocket noises, waving the plaything in the air.
"Byuuuuuuuu!" Tarble jabbered cheerfully, giggling in between each "byuu". "Byuuu! Byuuu!"
And I thought Nappa was annoying… Vegeta growled inwardly. Tarble cackled and pretended to make the pod crash into the floor.
"Boom-boom!"
Oh…I'd love to make someone go boom-boom…!
Clapping, Tarble squealed and giggled.
When I become king, the first thing I'm gonna do, is outlaw happy-go-lucky, crybaby…babies.
The little child's monkey tail swished back and forth behind him and the child took notice of it. "Ooh?" he grunted curiously, reaching for the furry appendage. His chubby fingers curled around the tail, gently holding it in front of him. Tarble cocked his head and studied his tail.
Vegeta narrowed his eyes. If he's gonna do, what I think he's gonna do—
Tarble grunted again and started nomming on the tail.
"Eww…" Vegeta groaned in disgust, hunching his shoulders. Gross…
Tarble stopped nibbling on his tail, raising his head to look at his brother, who had finally uttered a sound. He smiled as his older brother and, letting go of his tail, waved his tiny hands at him. Vegeta frowned, shaking his head. Seeming to be amused by his brother's bangs swishing about, Tarble giggled, and Vegeta scowled soon after.
"You are an easily enter…entertained kid," the eldest prince grumbled crossly, drumming his gloved fingers on his arm. Tarble just babbled.
Alright, that's it!
Vegeta's eyes darted around the room in search of an object to deal out the punishment. His sharp eyes fell upon a small vase on a table, and he grinned mischievously. Perfect. The 4-year-old prince slowly rose to his feet, the motion going unnoticed by Tarble, and he crept over to the vase, grinning wickedly all the way.
Oh yes, this'll shut him up! The best case would be if it knocked him out!
His hands gingerly grasped the highly-detailed vase, snickering silently, and turned back around, eyeing his brother deviously.
This will be…hilarious!
He snuck his way back over to Tarble, his tail sweeping low over the floor. The evil grin on his face didn't leave even as he finally stopped; his larger form towered over his baby brother. He raised the container over his head…
Tarble cooed happily until he noticed the shadow come over him. He grunted in confusion and curiously glanced up—
The vase hit Tarble square on the head, shattering. The child yelped in surprise and pain and toppled over, his short limbs sprawling out over the carpet. A strange black powder showered down from the vase covering the rug and Tarble's forehead. Vegeta, being too caught up in his triumphant feat, didn't notice the ashy substance. The prince snickered, the upper half of the shattered vase still in his hands.
Finally! Some peace and quiet—
Little whimpers drifted towards Vegeta's ears. He froze and his eyes widened with shock as he looked down at the small body. Tarble's body twitched a few times, the baby's eyes watering heavily and his bottom lip trembling.
Oh—
The babe abruptly started screaming bloody murder.
Vegeta jumped when the shrill sound penetrated his ear drums, his tail fur spiking out with surprise. I didn't plan this far—
He heard footsteps pounding on the hallway floors. "Vegeta, what's—" The feminine voice was cut off. The Saiyan Prince's pupils shrank to tiny dots and he gulped and slowly turned his head to the left. His mother was standing in the doorway, staring at the sight before her with wide, disbelieving eyes.
There would be no excuse, no alibi from Vegeta, for he was the one who was holding the broken vase. He had been caught red-handed. "Uh…"
In a flash, Vegeta was suddenly hoisted up by the back of his collar. "Agh! Mama!" he cried out, struggling to free himself.
The queen's thin eyebrows were knitted, twitching comically every once and awhile, and her beautiful brown eyes were closed. She held the bawling Tarble in her right arm, the limb tucked under the child's belly. The said baby cried excruciatingly, heavy tears rolling down his heavy cheeks and falling to the floor.
"Vegeta…" the queen said rather calmly—Warning! Danger!— with impatience etched in her tone, "what…have I told you…about using your father's things to hit your brother?" Her tail was wrapped tightly around her thin waist, but Vegeta noticed that the fine hairs were standing out stick-straight.
He was…in deep, deep trouble…
And to make matters even worse…
"What in the world is going on in here—AGH! MY MOTHER'S URN!"
…
Prince Vegeta sat with hunched shoulders in an uncomfortable, wooden highchair, a pouting scowl donning his tan features. A thick, black rope was wrapped around his waist and tied to the leg of the chair he was sitting in—his punishment. And to add to it, his mother had attached a blue bow to his tail. And it, he might add, was a sparkly bow. Oh…the shame…
Tarble sat in his crib beside the grounded prince, still sniffling from the harmful incident. A piece of gauze was taped to his forehead—the little Ouchy had been bleeding. There was evidence of tears stains on his pudgy face.
One would think that his parents couldn't be that stupid to let the estranged prince near his brother after hitting him with his father's mother's urn, but, the royal couple had threatened the boy with forcing him to eat a can of worms if he hit his brother again.
He instantly obeyed.
Tarble sniffled, and he rubbed his eyes, whimpering. His little tail thumped behind him in misery. Vegeta scoffed at the display.
"You're such a crybaby, y'know that?" he growled at him. Tarble stopped his sniffling and raised his head, blinking. He then turned his head to look at his older brother and glared at him. Vegeta glared right back, though he was inwardly surprised. The young child then stood up, his hands clasping the guard rail of the crib to be eyelevel with his brother.
They stared at each other, black clashing with black, until Tarble suddenly reached his hand over and smacked Vegeta on the head.
Vegeta's eyes widened and he grunted in shock, "Hnh?!"
Tarble scowled at him. "N…N…Nii…san!"
The eldest brother blinked and looked at the child in disbelief. "What?"
Tarble's scowl turned into a pout, and, as he stuck his tongue out, he repeated himself, "Niisan!"
"Ah…" Vegeta's eyes fell to his lap in contemplation. This…this would be his first word, right? His mother would be parading around the palace, bragging about it, if he had already said one. Niisan was his first word? Where would he learn that from? Maybe he heard their mother say it, or a servant?
And…that meant…brother, right?
I'm his first word? Vegeta thought with wonder. The corners of the boy's mouth twitched, and they slowly curled up to make something that resembled a smile. But, it couldn't be a smile. No, the mighty Vegeta, Prince of all Saiyans, didn't smile…
But, then again, he hadn't been told or given anything to make him smile like he was now.
He looked back at Tarble, a small smile spread across his face. His dolled-up tail flicked with contentment and pride. The prince took his small hand and reached it over to Tarble. In response, the child hunched his shoulders defensively, a little, squeaky growl rumbling from his throat.
Vegeta placed his hand upon Tarble's head and ruffled the child's hair. "Y'know, you're actually not that bad, kiddo."
Tarble blinked and stared at his brother's hand on his head. He shifted his gaze back to Vegeta's face and smiled back at him, his tail wagging happily.
"Niisan!"
…
Tarble would be turning 1-year-old soon.
The 5-year-old prince finished his training with ease. He seemed to be completing his training more quickly now—why? People could only guess.
"That was great, as usual, Prince!" Nappa gushed.
"Whatever, Nappa," Vegeta said dismissively, his eyes glued to the space in front of him. His pace was faster today, and although Nappa could easily keep up with the prince, the burly guard took notice of the change.
"Prince Vegeta, is there something wrong?" he asked, a tinge of concern in his voice.
"Huh? No, nothing's wrong… I just need to do something important…" the boy said absentmindedly.
Nappa grinned knowingly. Rubbing his thin mustache in said knowing way, he spoke up, "Ya know, Prince, you don't have to wait for me."
Vegeta slowed a bit. "Hn?"
"Go ahead, and do whatever you gotta do, kid. I'm sure it's important enough to leave this old guy behind."
The look that crossed the prince's face was thoughtful, processing his bodyguard's words. He grunted thoughtfully, his tail swinging to and fro. "…Well…alright, if you insist. Thanks, Nappa!" The boy took off running down the hall, his red-and-orange cape billowing behind him.
When the prince disappeared behind the corner, Nappa smiled, taking note of Vegeta's thank you, and said aloud, "I don't care what anybody says, that kid's a great older brother."
…
Vegeta raced towards his brother's room, something that could be called a grin plastered to his face. He had made a quick trip to his room to grab some of his toys that Tarble liked (Vegeta was too old for toys). It would be like an early birthday present in a way.
The 5-year-old reached his baby brother's room, and he sang out, "Oh, Tarble!" He walked into the room. "I brought'cha some toys—" Vegeta's voice caught in his throat when he saw his mother, staring out the window. Her tail hung limply behind her, signaling that she was…sad?
"Mom?" Vegeta called out unsurely, taking a few tentative steps towards her.
The Saiyan Queen blinked and turned towards her eldest son. Her chestnut eyes were unusually puffy and rimmed red—that meant that… A look of worry passed over his features.
"…Mama…?" he squeaked.
The queen sighed and stepped lightly over to her son, kneeling down in front of him. Placing a hand on his shoulder, she said softly, "Vegeta…you know your father loves Tarble no matter what, right?"
"H…Huh?" Vegeta stammered. "What do you…" He froze.
The toys clattered on the floor and Vegeta was gone.
…
Vegeta came to a screeching halt in the throne room, panting. He had sprinted the whole way. "F…Father!" he gasped out, using what strength he could muster to jog up to the throne.
King Vegeta looked up, pausing his conversation with his attendant Zorn. "What is it, son?"
Vegeta took a deep breath and bit out, "…Where's Tarble?"
Vegeta Sr. blinked in silence.
His dark eyes narrowed, and Vegeta growled again, "Where…is…he…?"
King Vegeta blinked again and sighed heavily. He cleared his throat and calmly stated, "We're sending him to another planet." The eyes of the 5-year-old prince darkened considerably, turning into black chips of ice.
"…What?" he hissed flatly.
The boy's father winced inwardly at the cold gaze. Outwardly, he knitted his thick eyebrows and a soft scowl formed on his lips. "The boy did not have the fighting spirit of a true Saiyan, so, we've decided to send him off planet, where he won't be such a weak disgrace."
"What?!" Vegeta shrieked angrily, his tail snapping back and forth. "How dare you?! You can't do that!"
The king's eyes narrowed and his scowl deepened. "I can, and I already did, boy," he growled.
Vegeta snarled in rage and frustration; an enraged, murderous look crossed his features. The young prince suddenly whipped around and bolted out of the throne room without another word.
King Vegeta huffed, an unknown emotion clouding his eyes. Squeezing his eyes shut, the king placed his hand on his forehead and shook his head.
Zorn said nothing; he just watched Prince Vegeta's tail and cape disappear from sight.
…
Vegeta's feet carried him back to his room and onto his personal balcony. He desperately searched the red skies for a moving, his eyes darting around frantically.
He saw it.
His eyes locked onto a bright blue light shooting across the sky, seemingly getting farther and farther away. Vegeta's mouth fell open a bit, eyes widening. A space pod…
No…it can't be true…
It couldn't be…
Not his brother, no way…
Vegeta's eyes glazed over. He kept staring at the spot where the light once was, long after it faded. His gloved hands had an iron grip on the railing, causing the stone to crack under the pressure. His tail quivered violently.
Tarble was gone…
Forever…
The young prince's heartbeat sped up and his chest heaved. He inhaled great intakes of oxygen. Tiny damp spots appeared on the stone railing as Vegeta trembled.
His baby brother gone for good…who knows when he'd see him again…never, probably never, not in his life time…he didn't know what planet he was sent to in the first place! Why, why, why! Why didn't he ask?! But, he was so angry at the time! What was he supposed to say?! "I understand; it's for his own good" was that what he was supposed to say?! Then "By the way, what planet did you send him to?", did they expect him to say THAT?! It wasn't fair, it wasn't fair!
It's not fair…
Vegeta threw his head back and screamed at the darkening sky as tiny white lights appeared in it. Something that resembled tears started to stream down his cheeks. But no, they weren't tears, they couldn't be. He didn't cry, he was a prince—the Prince of the mighty Saiyan race. The blood of fierce and mighty warriors coursed through his veins. He was a noble, proud prince. He was a strong prince—the toughest of the tough—who didn't let petty emotions cloud his mind…
…And yet, he was also a prince…who had just lost his baby brother…
…
Vegeta was just as surprised as anybody when they saw a young-looking man with a tail and a short, white creature standing before them at Hercule's party. The man was a Saiyan, no doubt, clothed in Saiyan armor and donned with a blue Scouter. It could've been anybody in the Saiyan race, a random elite or low-class…
But…that hairstyle…it was unmistakable…
"Tarble!" Vegeta called out, walking down the steps.
"Huh? Tarble? What?" the Z Fighters chattered in confusion, parting to let Vegeta through.
The Saiyan's dark, intelligent eyes brightened significantly, shining like the sun. A huge grin spread across his face as he joyfully called back:
"Niisan!"
… … …
I made Tarble 4 years younger than Vegeta, sound good? Cuz I have no idea how old Tarble is in Yo! Son Goku and His Friends Return! *sweat-drop* Roll with it.
REVIEW, MY READERS! XD