Disclaimer: You know what would be fun to do if I did own Vegeta, braid his hair. But, sadly for me and I don't own either Sailor Moon or Dragon Ball Z.. so veggie-head's hair is safe.
Sidebar: I just found out the other day by seeing screen caps of DBZ, there are in fact blond haired sayjins. (There was even a blue haired one.) Fun fact that I didn't know and wanted to share.
Gaijin: Japanese: Literally means "Outside person."
Gaikokujin: Japanese: Literally means "Outside-country person" but translates as Foreigner.
Four
Fear's little ghost-like hands had gotten a hold of Usagi sending shivers up and down her spine with every step she took. The little girl couldn't help but think that if she possessed a tail much like the one her brother had then she would be flicking it wildly behind her. But, because she didn't have the fortune of having that appendage she had to settle on rubbing her gloved hands nervously behind her back.
"Usa, it'll be ok." Tarble, her adopted brother said trying to comfort her. Extending his tail, the four year old tried to reach over with it and wrap it around Usagi's arm but was stopped when his mother's hand shot back, gently taking a hold of the furry appendage.
Tarble's onyx eyes shot to the back of his mother's head, who neither turned around nor broke her stride as she addressed both of her children. "Tarble you can not display that kind of affection towards Usagi in public." Her order came as quite a shock to the two children but the pair didn't even think to question her.
Keiko closed her eyes tightly, "Usagi, you need to fall back one step behind Tarble." Barely speaking above a whisper, Usagi had to strain her ears to be able to hear her adopted mother's command. Hearing her words clearly Tarble opened his mouth to protest but when he caught Usagi's graze the words died in his throat. While smiling Usagi simply shook her head and did as Keiko asked.
"You might not understand things now children but I'm doing this for your own protection. Follow my orders without question, understand?" Keiko stated not bothering to look back to check if the children were nodding- which, they were- or not.
While continuing to rub her little hands together Usagi couldn't help feeling like she was going to throw up as they entered the massive training grounds. It was only merely an hour ago that Keiko had informed her and Tarble that they would begin their training that afternoon.
Considering that the pair had only left the confines of their quarters only a hand full of times and on these rare occasions it had only been for the briefest of moments, then one could only imagine the pair's anxiety. While Usagi didn't quite comprehend the purpose of training Tarble on the other hand did, as his father and King always made it a point to stress the importance of it when he visited the boy.
It had always been the King's plan to have Tarble and Usagi's training to be conducted in private. The King wanted to train them himself but because Sumi had meddled in his affairs once again that plan was no longer a safe option.
All sayjin children usually began their training the day they learned how to walk, some before that, depending on their power levels. But, Tarble's training specifically had been stalled for quite some years. The reasoning behind it had to do with yet another sayjin tradition.
Once they leave the womb all sayjin babies have their power levels read, their bodies and potential examined to great lengths to see if they are fit to carry on the great sayjin name. Babies that don't measure up are purged from the very planet that gave birth to them and sent away on seemly suicide missions on low-level planets.
Considering the delicacy of the situation Keiko had been secluded during her pregnancy. When it had been time for her to give birth she had done so in King Vegeta's private bed chambers, away from any prying eyes, especially those of the Queen's.
It was there in that same room that Tarble's examination had taken place and where his power lever had been deemed unworthy. The look of devastation on Keiko's face was enough to almost bring the proud King to his knees. Without even thinking over the consequences he extended his arm and with a ki blast he exterminated the examiner.
"King Vegeta?" Keiko asked while she clutched her new born son to her chest.
"I already have an heir in Vegeta, his power level will be sufficient enough to lead my people. Even though our son will never amount to anything I will allow him to live." Turning towards the pair a rare smile appeared on King Vegeta's face before his expression hardened once again. "I'll prepare the proper arrangements." After giving the pair a curt nod the King exited his bedroom, his cape ruffling wildly behind him.
It had been quite simple for the King to forge documents and arrange all the necessities his mistress, son and Usagi- who'd arrived on their planet two weeks after Tarble's birth- would need to live in seclusion.
As the trio stepped one foot onto the courtyard of the training grounds, all eyes shifted onto them. The courtyard itself was a raised platform made from brownstone, sectioned off in six equal parts where sparing matches took place.
Sumi, who had been leaning up against the far wall of the courtyard watching her son's sparing match, shifted her eyes towards the trio. The glass cup that she was holding instantly shattered, tiny pieces piercing through the flesh of her hand, as she unconsciously tightened her hands into a fist.
The elite solider that was standing next to her couldn't help but take a step back as Sumi let out a primal growl, her anger, almost like an aura, encompassed her entire body. 'Damnit! Why are they here!?!' She angrily thought, her onyx eyes following their every movement.
It was true that last night Sumi had barged into King Vegeta's bedchamber and demanded to know why Tarble was never to be seen on the training grounds but she hadn't expected them to react so quickly. She'd been planning on using his absence from the grounds to spark rumors stating that King Vegeta had deemed the boy too special to train with the elite soldiers as Prince Vegeta did. Longing and hoping to accomplish two goals with the rumor.
One: that her son would not only hear but believe the rumors which would only serve to fuel his hate for Tarble. Two: it would serve to place Tarble under a microscope and want to challenge the boy deemed special to combat.
Which was something Sumi secretly hope would happen regardless.
Sumi had only the displeasure of seeing Tarble only a few times since his birth but one thing that she'd instantly noticed was that the young boy's limbs lacked definition.
Planet Vegeta's natural strong gravity gave its people naturally defined muscles, which Tarble did not possess. This led Sumi to wonder what Tarble could be hiding. What powers and strength did Tarble possess and was Prince Vegeta strong enough to overcome them?
Sumi shifted her eyes back toward her son, who was in the middle of a sparing match against two members of the elite squad. The Queen narrowed her eyes at her young son, 'I'll just have to make sure your stronger.'
Having experienced the displeasure of rudely being awoken in the middle of the night then beaten, tortured and forced to fight for his very life against a plant-like beast Prince Vegeta was utterly exhausted. By sheer luck when the beast had attacked he'd knocked loose the chain that had been suspended from his tail. It had taken the seven year old nearly forty minutes to defeat the beast before he limped his way through the corridors of the castle to his mother's chambers.
"So you survived?" Sumi had asked while grinning, her black eye now covered by make-up. "Well, then time to take you to the training grounds." Prince Vegeta had been too weak to even try and cover up his shock, his eyes widen and his jaw dropped as his mother delivered him the news. She raised her eyebrow at her son, "Or should we just hand Tarble your crown now?"
"No.." Prince Vegeta said while looking at the ground.
"Then let's go," She pushed past him with such force that she nearly knocked over the weakened child.
Prince Vegeta had lost count of time hours ago and all his opponents seemed to have blended together. The only thing that the child was trying to focus on was to find the strength in himself to endure through the rest of the day. He'd been doing well all morning but when whispers from across the courtyard began to ripple across the room, entering his eardrum Prince Vegeta found himself freezing in mid-punch.
"What's that gaijin doing here?" An elite solider asked.
'Gaijin?' Prince Vegeta thought, 'Who could...' His thoughts trailed off as he spotted a head of blond hair out of the corner of his eye. Forgetting completely about his own sparing match he turned his head and watched as Usagi walked onto the courtyard.
Even though Prince Vegeta hadn't seen her since he was four years old, not to mention she was merely an infant back then, he just knew it was her. Those crystal blue eyes and that hair, yes it had to be her.
Prince Vegeta had been so preoccupied by staring at her he didn't sense or even had time to block it when Nappa connected a left hook onto the Prince's jaw. He fell back but caught himself before falling to the ground. Letting out a primal scream Prince Vegeta turned, extending one arm and let out a barrage of ki blasts towards the taller sayjin.
Nappa tried his best to block the ki blasts but in the end was overcome by their sheer force that he was knocked down. Smoke surrounded the taller sayjin's body and as it cleared the elite solider shot the seven year old a death glare. "You lose Prince Vegeta, the match rules clearly stated that no Ki was to be used." He stated, a smug look gracing his features.
"Hmpt. Whatever, I was getting bored anyways. You no longer feel like a challenge to me anymore Nappa." Prince Vegeta stated quite arrogantly while crossing his arms over his chest.
"What?!" Nappa practically screamed his jaw dropping at his Prince's statement. 'When did I, the strongest warrior besides the King become a push over compared to a seven year old?'
Meanwhile across the courtyard Usagi couldn't help but tremble as she watched Prince Vegeta attack Nappa. Desperately the young girl wanted to press herself into her brother's back to be able to hide but Keiko's words resurfaced in her mind and she knew it would be a bad idea if she did so.
While gulping Usagi forced herself to look away from the pair, inadvertently catching the many pairs of hateful eyes starting directly at her. While flinching the four year old couldn't help but take a step back, feeling the intensity of their grazes.
"Again, I'll ask what the hell is a gaijin doing here?" A voice called out causing all the elite solders to part, creating a path for him.
Keiko's eyes fell on the taller muscular sayjin immediately recognizing him to be Zorn, King Vegeta's personal advisor and bodyguard.
Zorn came to a halt when he stood in front of the trio. Usagi gulped once again as he eyes scanned the sayjin in front of her; he stood in typical sayjin armor, adorned with a blue cape. The spiky haired man glare rested upon Keiko, "You. Woman, what is the meaning of this," Not bothering to even look at Usagi he pointed at her with his index finger. "Gaijin? She is neither Sayjin nor Ice-jin, so the question begs to be answered." He paused, "why was she brought to our most sacred of training grounds?"
Painfully Keiko's chest tightened as she heard a tiny gasp coming from behind her. "W-what do you mean not a sayjin?" Usagi timidly asked.
"Wha-" Zorn began to ask but then when the realization hit him he couldn't help but burst out into laughter.
Across the room both Prince Vegeta and Sumi saw their opportunities being handed to them on a silver platter. Sumi thought to exploit Usagi's obvious weakness in her naïves. While Prince Vegeta knew this was his chance to save her, meanwhile getting her attention.
As he crossed his arms Prince Vegeta walked away from Nappa towards the trio never noticing that his mother, while smirking was quietly following his footsteps. Remaining quite the pair stood a few paces away from Zorn.
With mirth still dancing in his eyes Zorn grazed upon Usagi. "Girl, you couldn't have possibly thought you were indeed a full blooded Sayjin, could you? Even though it looks like our planet's gravity has shaped you somewhat," He stated in reference to her muscular limbs. "You do not however possess the one appended that our species pride ourselves in having, a tail."
"Enough," Keiko demanded causing Zorn to refocus his attention on her.
"Mom, it's not true right." Keiko heard Usagi's little voice pleading with her from behind her back.
Sumi's smirk widened. "Yes, please inform this gaikokujin what she truly is."
Prince Vegeta stiffened when he heard his mother speak, while it wasn't shocking he was hoping that she would have stayed out of this situation. 'No matter,' He thought. 'Just a bit more and then I'll step in and claim that she's worthy enough to train here then it will all be over with.' Steaming from past experience he knew that if he expressed his opinion over a situation everyone always followed his actions.
Prince Vegeta didn't quite know if it was the girl's eyes that had haunted him since he'd first saw them or if it was because of the way she had made his chest warm that made him desperately crave to get her attention. He wanted those crystal blue eyes of hers to graze at him with admiration and see him in a different light than all his subjects did. The Prince wanted to protect her and allow it to be known that he wanted to so.
He'd hoped that by rescuing her today that it would inspire genuine feelings in the young girl.
"No, Usagi you are not a Sayjin." Keiko stated while glaring at Sumi, whose smirk had transformed into a smile. "You were given to me as an infant for me to raise."
"W-what about my real parents?" Usagi asked nearly causing Keiko's heart to break.
"Usagi, now isn't the time for this." Keiko stated while returning her graze towards Zorn. "We are under the King's direct orders to report here for training."
Zorn raised his eyebrow, "King Vegeta?" He snorted. "Excuse me if I find it hard to believe that our King would send a gaijin to be trained by our superior race."
Prince Vegeta smirked seeing his opening. 'Alright, just keep it short. Just say that she's allowed to train her and is not to be called a gaijin.' He thought and right as he opened his mouth another voice that wasn't his own rang out.
"Stop it!" Tarble yelled as he stepped out his mother's shadow. Zorn and the other elite soldiers graze shifted towards the short sayjin child. "No matter what race Usagi is she is still my sister and you will stop disrespecting her right this instant!"
Zorn snorted as his eyes ran up and down Tarble's form, who was dressed in a navy blue body suit with white gloves and boots. 'Who does this brat think he is?' He thought angrily. As he looked at Tarble he couldn't help but think that he looked familiar but couldn't place where he knew the boy from. Tarble's short black hair- which seemed to defy gravity- did nothing to indicate his parentage either.
It wasn't until Zorn's eyes rested upon Tarble's armor that his eyes widen, shock running through his system. "Prince Tarble I didn't mean any disrespect." He stated while getting on one knee.
Behind him Prince Vegeta couldn't help but narrow his eyes at the royal insignia that was stamped on Tarble's breastplate.
Zorn shifted his eyes towards Keiko, "You must be the King's mistress Keiko. Forgive me for my rudeness; I was uninformed of your arrival today."
"It's not us you should be apologizing to," Tarble stated while wrapping his arm over his sister's shoulder.
"Right," Zorn looked upon Usagi. "My apologies," He stated while Usagi simply nodded her head in response.
"Treat her as my sister because that's what she really is." Tarble demanded receiving nods of approval from all the soldiers in front of him.
Keiko couldn't help but smile despite her heartbreak, she was so proud of her son for standing up for Usagi but couldn't help but still feel awful for letting the girl find out this way that she wasn't a true sayjin. 'I should have told her soon,' She thought reprimanding herself. 'I'll have to explain things when we return to our quarters.'
Usagi, herself couldn't help but feel shocked and somewhat hurt in finding out that her family wasn't her real family but was comforted in the fact that Tarble had stood up for her. While smiling she caught her brother's graze and desperately wanted to pull him into a hug but restrained herself.
Meanwhile Sumi and Prince Vegeta were internally seething. Prince Vegeta because Usagi was now grazing at Tarble the way that he wanted her to be looking at him and Sumi because she had lost her tiny battle against the trio. While biting her lower lip almost painfully Sumi continued to graze at Keiko. 'This isn't over,' She mentally declared.
"What brings the three of you here?" Zorn asked trying to be respectful.
Keiko crossed her arms while momentarily shifting her graze towards her children. "The brats need to be trained."
--
AN: Hey guys, hope you enjoyed this new chapter. Guess what, I finally got over being sick then my wisdom tooth stopped hurting and finally when I was going to have a weekend with perfect health I happened to catch yet ANOTHER stomach bug. Eh, I defiantly need to up my Vitamin C. Been sick far too many times this month.
That in turn explains why I haven't updated Obsession like I usually do every Sunday. I took the day off today and since there is nothing on TV I'm going to try and work on it… but I still feel weak so no promises.
Sidebar: Zorn is actually from DBZ, he was shown in a flashback eps.
Thanks for all your guy's reviews! I really appreciate them!
And if you like Vegeta/Usagi pairings be sure to check out Chizuru, it's a collection of drabbles and one-shots I'm working on.
Again thank you guys for all your reviews! Please continue to support me in the future and leave me love as well as motivation!
Ills