Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with Dragonball Z. The amazing Akria Toriyama does. I only own the plot and my own characters

Bardock's story

Chapter 12: Dating, Saiyan style

After an hour of sitting in the bar waiting, Fasha and the boys were starting to worry about Bardock again. They hadn't seen him since they saw him following Kayla. Was he in trouble for hassling a member of the elite? Surely, if he was, he'd need the healing pods. He was only a young low level after all.

"Hey, maybe we should go and look for him." Borgos suggested.

"Hmm," Tora answered, "I think we should give Bardock a bit more time."

Then something caught Fasha's eye.

"Hey, there's no need," She interrupted, "He's here."

All four turned to see Bardock walking towards them, rubbing his cheek.

"Hey, hey! Bardock!" Shugesh cheered, "We were starting to wonder where you were."

"Well, I wasn't far."

Bardock then sat down, signalling to the bartender for a drink. It was then that Tora noticed the bright pink mark on Bardock's face, near his scar. He recognised the sort of mark, making him smirk. He gestured to the others to look. When they did, they all understood, holding back laughter.

"So, that Kayla's a little minx, is she?" He teased.

Bardock turned to them to see the knowing smirks. But how did they know he was with Kayla? And how did they know Kayla anyway? He had only just met her himself. The team all looked at each other, realising that Bardock didn't know who Kayla really was.

As Fasha and the boys told Bardock about Kayla's father, Bardock's eyes widened. His beautiful new friend was one of the elite. She was possibly one of the most powerful fighters on the planet. When she slapped him, she could've really injured him yet she held back, another indication that she must've liked Bardock.

"So, why did she slap you?" Fasha asked.

"I, eh, opened my mouth without thinking." He admitted.

"What did you call her? Honey-buns?" Shugesh laughed.

"Something like that."

Suddenly, all of Bardock's crew erupted with laughter.

"Ha, ha, ha! Bardock thought he stood a chance against the hot elite girl!"

In his seat, Bardock felt his face flush a little. But he was about to get the last laugh.

"Yeah, well, maybe I do. She wants me to spar with her tomorrow."

That comment made everyone stop laughing abruptly. They all froze with their widened eyes staring right at Bardock. He quickly threw his drink down his throat then got up and strode proudly out of the bar, his friends left with mouths open.

The next day, Bardock landed at the training centre Kayla told him she'd be at then went inside. At first, he couldn't see her. The training centre was strangely busy at this time in the morning. Many of the saiyans were getting ready for their next assignments but one guy caught Bardock's attention. The man was dressed in blue and black amour similar to Bardock's, had a huge mass of spiky dark brown hair and he had a beard and moustache on his face. A part of Bardock shivered as this man looked a bit like his father. But then the young saiyan saw them, two small saiyan children following the man, one boy and one girl. They were both wearing saiyan armour, both with shoulder armour. The boy wore green, like Bardock, and the girl wore red. Their little brown tails were loose, wiggling freely in the air.

"Come on now, you two," The father of the children called, "No dawdling."

"Coming, Papa" The girl announced.

The father smiled as his offspring hurried after him. Bardock felt a smile form on his face as he watched the little ones disappear in to an arena.

'If only my father was like that with me.'

Then, as Bardock was about to relive those bad memories, he felt a small hand tap his shoulder. He looked over his shoulder to see Kayla stood smiling at him. Her hair had been pinned back from her face, providing a better view of her eyes.

"So, you showed up." She said, faking surprise, "You are persistent, aren't you?"

"I wouldn't be good at my job if I gave up so easily." He replied, smirking.

"Good to hear. So, are you ready?"

"Sure, show me what elite saiyans are made of."

Kayla's smile faded and her eyes widened a bit. It was clearly a surprise to hear Bardock knew about her status. He explained that his friends told him. Kayla sighed, realising that Bardock would've found out eventually anyway. She quickly brushed it off and the two saiyans went in to the last available arena to train.

Inside, they warmed up by stretching then started the actual training. It was a challenge. Bardock had to try and catch Kayla with anything he had and he had to do it without his scouter. It didn't take long for him to realise that she was fast. It was hard for him to keep track of her movements. He soon got the rhythm of her movements then kicked out to catch her. But she blocked the kick by grabbing his ankle. She made him flip over backwards. Bardock got his act together with some back flips, following with an energy blast. Kayla managed to dodge it but it was a powerful blast and she was impressed.

'Are they sure he's a low class? If that had got me, I definitely would need medical help. But I'm not telling him that.'

"What do you call that?" She mocked, "I wouldn't have agreed to this if I knew you'd be a weakling."

That just made Bardock more determined to catch her. He then shot another blast at her but this time it was weaker so Kayla decided to block it rather then move. She held out both hands and stopped the blast. It soon fizzled out but Bardock had vanished. She looked around but he had gone from sight. Then she felt him appear from behind her. She managed to catch a glimpse of him before he sent her hurtling to the ground. Before she hit the floor she stopped herself then looked up at him. As he floated looking confident, she couldn't help but think he was handsome. She gathered energy in her hand and shot at him. He also shot a blast. The two attacks met and pushed against each other. They could feel the other one's attack pushing them backwards. Then Kayla dug deep and pushed harder. So hard in fact, that Bardock had to let go and move out of the way before he got hurt. Seeing she was distracted, he moved as quickly as he could to her. As the energy dispersed, Kayla once again was faced with no sight of Bardock. Suddenly, two arms wrapped around her, pinning her arms to her sight.

"Caught you," Bardock whispered in her ear, "I win."

Kayla just gave him a playful pout. "That was just lucky."

They then burst in to breathless laughter. That was more fun than either expected.

For a couple more hours, Bardock and Kayla sparred together. Although Kayla was elite, it was clear that Bardock had more experience fighting. She was often caught off guard by his moves. But she was determined and stubborn, meaning Bardock didn't have it easy, she certainly kept him on his toes. This resilience teamed with her elite power made this sparring session one of Bardock's favourites. And it wasn't just because he was having fun. Every times their eyes met, he got to gaze in to her stunning emeralds. She was just so beautiful. Eventually, though, they landed and sat down on the ground, gathering their breath.

"Well," Kayla breathed, "I can say that was pleasant."

"Pleasant? Is that all?"

Kayla smiled, teasingly, "Ok, it was crap. That better?"

Bardock's eyes narrowed at her. He didn't see any boredom in her face as they sparred. Kayla saw the look and gave a cheeky giggle

"I didn't mean it. That was one of the best spars I've ever had. It was like training with my father again."

"What was your father like?"

Kayla turned and stared at Bardock for a few seconds. She wasn't sure she wanted to show the affection she felt for her father in front of a seasoned saiyan warrior, even if Bardock was a cool guy.

"Well, you know my father was a bastard," Bardock said, "Yours couldn't have been worse. In fact, I can tell by your expression that he wasn't."

Kayla sighed softly then gave a slight smile.

But, just as she was about to tell Bardock about her father, she heard her name being called. The two young saiyans turned to look towards the door. Stood in the doorway was a tall athletic built guy. He was wearing white and gold armour with only armour over the shoulders, blue spandex pants and white gloves and boot that matched his armour. He had dark eyes and dark spiky hair that slicked back and ran down his back, finishing at his knees.

"Roka" Kayla called, standing up, "How did you know I was here?"

"Eh, because you always train here. Now, let's go."

Kayla then noticed that Roka was glaring at Bardock. The low level soldier just stared casually at him.

'That must be Kayla's brother.' Bardock thought.

"I might see you again, Bardock," She said, "Thanks for today."

"Sure, see you around, Kayla."

Kayla then walked towards Roka then carried on walking. Roka gave one last glare to Bardock then marched out, escorting his sister out of the training centre. The scarred fighter stood up, brushed his armour down and sighed. Roka's arrival may have meant that this was last time he'd see Kayla again.

That night, while Tora snored in the bunk underneath him, Bardock lay with his arms under his head. His eyes fixed on the ceiling as he thought. That training session with Kayla had been great. For a few hours, neither of them seemed to care that they were different, that one was elite while one was low level. And, of course her beauty stuck in his mind. But then Roka came and made it clear that Kayla was off limits.

"Oh, well, it was nice while it lasted." He sighed.

Eventually, Bardock fell asleep, Kayla's face in his mind.