CHAPTER THREE : Preparations

"Damnit!" dhe yelled. "Why does this hurt so much?"

Kakarott finished applying the paste to her arm. "You've got internal bleeding. The wound healed up too fast, and I kept hitting it. This stuff should do the trick"

Liena sneered and looked her arm over as if it were a foreign object. "Well the stuff smells bad enough, it'd better."

Kakarott smirked and sat back. It had been a long day, and they both had their share of aches. It was finally evening, and they were off duty, which brought a sudden thought to his head. At once, he stood "Lets go"

Liena raised both brows from her own seat "Huh?"

"Come on, I'll take you to the springs," he said, heading out the door.

Liena stood in surprise, but followed him down the halls. They walked fast, and she was still computing what he hadd just said. Liena had heard of the springs; Hot water and peaceful surroundings. Not many went there, as it was considered a weak way to get rid of pain. Still, she had a feeling that Kakarott was a bit more intelligent, and as they took off into the air, she couldn't wait to relax.

They flew for a few minutes at top speed, and were out of the kingdom in no time, passing over immense fields and dense forests. The two reached the mountains, which were the only above ground source of water. It was here that they would find the springs.

He landed and she followed, still favoring her arm. Without a word, he stepped in and sat in the water, as if it were a usual thing. Liena looked at him as if he were crazy.

"Isn't that… hot.. and strange feeling?" she asked, looking warily at the small pond of steaming liquid.

He shrugged. "I come here all the time. It acts as a quick heal for my muscles. Of course, everyone thinks I'm crazy," he snorted and waved her in. "C'mon, you'll love it."

Liena trusted him, so she stepped in slowly. It felt strange to have her leg engulfed in liquid. She barely remembered it from the regeneration tanks. She sat down in the hot water and leaned back, finally understanding how this could easily heal ones wounds. Her arm was feeling better already.

After a few minutes, she sent her gaze his way, and found that his eyes were on her already. "It's fine.," she admitted "Why didn't you ever bring me here before?"

Kakarott shrugged. "I just like to be alone sometimes," he answered, but continued. "Well, I did." He smirked again leaned back, letting his eyes close.

Liena smiled , and leaned her head back as well. The day had been spent sparring with her mate, and now they were spending their time relaxed, and in a comfortable silence. How much better could it get?

"Hah!Yyou have yet to find out," Kakarott said in a soft voice.

She jerked her head back up again, still unused to his ability to read her thoughts. To her amusement, his eyes were still closed, and he looked as relaxed as ever. She almost jumped as she felt his tail coil around her lower calf.

Liena sighed, grinned, and wondered how tomorrow would go.

"Ow!"

"Oh shut up, stupid! Yamako, get me that," Kijah pointed to a sharp tool.

Yamako did as she was told, and stood back as she watched Kijah cut the armor off of Chatsu.

They'd pounded each other, to say the least.

"Damnit, Kij! Thats right where the cut is!" Chatsu whined again.

Yamako actually found it amusing how openly pompus he was in public, but around Kijah, he was almost constantly submissive.

She got the armor off, and tore the under shirt around it. "Ah, you moron. You've got pieces of armor still stuck in there, that's why it hurts so badly." Kijah shook her head, and Chatsu rolled his eyes. His own pride kept him from growling out of pain.

Yamako smirked and watched as Kijah picked out what peices she could, while Chatsu's face turned purple. Kijah stood above him, working diligently; her tail lashing behind her. She pulled a long string of thick cloth and wrapped it around the wound.

"It'll bleed more now that those pieces aren't blocking the veins," she said and stood back, observing her work.

Kijah grinned. "Well, well. Looks like the tables have turned, Chatsu! Remember back when you were trying to fix me up?" she laughed as he eyed her.

Yamako stepped back, towards the door. She had seen that look on a male before, and knew she had better to get out before he did what he likely had in mind. She stepped out and walked down the hall slowly, reminding herself to call Golkor. The tournament was only a day away, so it would not be long before his arrival.

She heard the door slam, and turned to see Kijah trotting towards her, pulling her armor back over her head. Obviously, she had been right about Chatsu's intentions. "Whats up Kij?"

Kijah scowled and kept her look forward "Queen calls," she answered as she ran past, picking up speed as she got her armor on.

Yamako shook her head, smirking. So much time had passed since their childhood, when the only thing that matter was who owned the dirt pile that day. She sidestepped into a public terminal room and sat at one of the many desks.

"That brat had better be on his way, I'm starting to get cravings"

She thought of how much time she had left before her child should be put in the tank; not much longer at all

"She was just dizzy... you don't need to be here," Vikaro glared at Kijah as she tried to see into the queen's quarters.

Kijah angled her black gaze to meet Vikaro's in challenge. "She called me here. Now I suggest you let me in, whether her sickness has passed or not."

He straightened and folded his arms. Vikaro's height alone was enough to belittle any Elite. Kijah, on the other hand, could care less. She reached over, shoved him aside in one push, and strode in on her own whim.

Bulma smiled from her seat. "Hello Kijah! I just got a bit dizzy there, and sick to my stomach. Probably morning sickness....at night," she made a strange face.

Vikaro stood outside scowling. His retaliation had apparently been cut off by the sight of the queen's smiling at Kijah. He shut the door, his anger still very apparent.

"Have you been eating well my Queen?" Kijah asked as she looked over the tech reports given by her eldest guard.

"The woman eats like a Saiyan," a sharp voice snapped from behind her. Kijah turned at attention to see the king. He was usually gone when she visited.

"Yes sire," she said simply, looking back to the reports. Kijah had no idea what to do now. She had become used to the queen herself, but being under the king's watchful eyes actually made her nervous.

Bulma saw the display of hierarchy and bit her lip, wondering whether to relieve Kijah, or tell Vegeta to leave. Either way, someone would get angry.

She sneered and looked to Vegeta. "Why don't you go check on the Arena. I gave your off world engineers the stats, and they should be done now. Last minute checks should start tonight."

Vegeta narrowed is eyes "The tournament doesn't start until tomorrow evening. You wanted last minute checks to start tomorrow morning." His tail lashed around behind him, raised as high as could be to show her his 'place'.

Bulma stood from her seat, making Kijah look to her. "I think you ought to take some responsibility and check on it first. Being the king, your foremost opinion counts more than anyone's." Her eyes narrowed in challenge.

Kijah had the urge to duck and roll out of the way of this battle. She knew why the king had found this woman attractive: she was likely the only one brave enough to retaliate against his words.

Vegeta snorted and wheeled on his heel, his tail jerked around behind him now, showing anger. "Don't expect me to bow down to your whining tonight. I'll be training."

He made his grand retreat and took off in a blaze of light, blatantly ignoring the rules of the palace halls.

Bulma sat down, her eyes filled with victory. "Well, sorry you had to witness that! I'm sure he'll be in a much better mood tomorrow!"

Kijah smirked, not knowing what to say. She looked back to the reports "I'd try to eat more meats. The plants and things you've been eating are alright, but your body will need much more energy to keep the Saiyan baby growing correctly."

Bulma nodded. "Thats what my father told me. I just talked to him, and they'll be sending me some food from earth when they send the little knick knacks my mother insists on getting to me."

She rolled her eyes and looked to the report, and then to Kijah. "Oh my! Why do you have all of that blood on your armor? Are you hurt? What happened?"

Kijah gritted her teeth. She had been in such a hurry to get to her, that she had forgotten to clean Chatsu's blood off of her own armor, and fix the cuts on herself.

"Forgive me my queen. I was training. Most of the blood is my partner's," she admitted quickly, knowing she was violating the queen's strictly set armor code.

Bulma waved her hand around in the air as she spoke "Oh, no big deal! I shouldn't have called you here anyway! Go on, I'll be fine. Just tell Vikaro to get me more meat next time! And thank you, Kijah!"

Kijah bowed as a wave of relief flowed over her. She exited and walked out. She turned as her tail lashed free of her waist and raised up about as high as the king's had been.

"Vikaro, the queen says get her more meat next time eh?" she winked at the scowling face and turned, walking back to her quarters for the evening.

She hoped to get a bit more practice in before the next night, but knew she needed sleep to go along with it.

Shinto groaned as she applied the liquid to his back.

"Stop it, you infant! This is just juiced up tank liquid! Would you rather go to the tank?" she purred.

Shinto snorted and braced his arms against the steam-room walls. They both bathed in the thick moisture, while she applied the stinging stuff to his back.

"So I'm ready for that tournament?" he said deeply.

Raleiko nodded. "Just remember to block phase outs, Shin. That's why I'm stuck listening to you whine. You aren't without weakness you know." She closed the top of the wooden looking flask and stepped out, fluffing her tail to dry it.

Shinto let his eyes wander as he thought of a comeback for being called weak. But of course, his own begotten hormones took over as he slunk out after her, following her to the bed.

Raleiko grinned to herself as she curled up in the pile of cloth. She knew she had this male wrapped around her tail, and loved it. Maybe she would just stay with this one. He seemed stubborn enough. Her grin turned to a smirk as she felt him slide behind her, and slip an arm around her waist.

Nothing turned a Saiyan's heat on more than a good battle, and Raleiko needed some extra exercise before the next day.

Bulma sighed deeply as she lay on her side in bed. This baby was getting harder and harder to deal with. Her mother had ordered her to stay in bed and eat like a horse, and her father was busy drawing up technicalities for the differences between a Saiyan system, and human. Her eyes were heavy lidded, and all she really wanted was a good rest before the next day.

"You'll get that, and tomorrow, you'll do no running around." Her mate's voice pounded into the room as he did the same.

She was too tired to be surprised, and only opened one eye to catch a glimpse of him peeling off a sweaty shirt, before he dissappeared into another section of the room to take a steam bath.

Bulma smirked and sighed again. "I'll still be attending the tournament, you know. All of my work wasn't in vain, you'll see."

Vegeta scowled as he rubbed sweat off of himself. "You will attend, but you will not be getting up and sitting down so often. If you need things to be done, you're guard will get them for you."

"Vegeta, they'll be in battle!" she said in a tired voice.

He stepped out and glared at her, still dripping with steamy water. "They won't be fighting at the same time, Bulma. I thought you knew that. When they aren't up on the roster, they'll be at your side as their duties demand. As will my honor guard." He snorted, and mumbled something to himself as he dried off and wolfed down a peice of meat at the same time.

'What talent.' Bulma thought as she closed her eyes, not wanting to argue for anything.

Sleep finally came as Vegeta put on his stealth mind frame, making it impossible for her to hear him at all. She loved it when he did this, as she knew it was all to let her sleep. Bulma drifted off quickly, and didn;t even notice when Vegeta finally slipped in behind her, and slept himself.

She stepped into the room and felt her way to the bed, pulling off the clothes she had worn to see the queen. Kijah was particularly glad that she had been relieved of her duties, since tomorrow would be the biggest day of the season. She sighed lightly as the cool cloth of the bed slid over her skin, and she settled in next to Chatsu.

"Mm…want to finish what we started?" he said in a low, sleepy voice. At least, she guessed it was sleepy.

Kijah sighed and scowled. How was she expected to get any sleep at all? She turned over on her side and folded her arms, trying not to be enraptured by his scent (which seemed all and too appealing about now).

Chatsu grinned and got out of the bed silently, and Kijah figured he was just going to get another steam bath to calm down. She sighed once more and began to drift off in a dream of victory.

And then, he pounced...