Disclaimer Chapter two. Don't come near me; I might be radioactive.

Katatsu might be basically the leader of all Namekku-sei-jin, but the family is still a matriarchy, so his wife calls the shots in the family, not him.
You won't get to see Grammy Piccolo anytime soon, though. p
When the ship landed on the Sui-sei, everyone had grown silent. Even the Pasuko-jin, who already believed that what Atsarute was said to have done could have been possible, were rendered speechless by her admitting it.

She put the red mantle back on over the horned cape and nearly marched out of the ship ahead of everyone else, motioning briefly for the others to follow. The Puroeriun soldiers (who strangely didn't wear the same clothing as Atsarute's soldiers did) all saluted her, and there was already chattering about the courtyard, but she continued to walk briskly forward, as if she didn't notice any of it.

The scenery of Sui-sei was bathed in a dusk light, a red tint covering the deep colors of the foliage. There must have been an oceanfront nearby, because crashing waves could be heard from a distance. The landing pad was beside a castle; tall, dark, and cold looking, it looked like a place fitting for someone like Atsarute.

Gohan, like the others, was impressed by what he saw. "Why does Atsarute-san want to take over so much if she's already going to inherit all of this?"

Piccolo answered, not looking back at Gohan as he spoke, "She doesn't want to gain power through lineage alone. Besides, she'll only inherit half of it when her mother dies and she takes the queen's throne. When her father dies, her brother will take the kingship for himself."

The phrase confused everyone, including Vegita. "Doesn't that mean that she'll have to marry her brother?"

"No. She explained the whole deal to me earlier. Whomever they marry gains different titles in the government, and two families are put into rule to ensure balance and have a bigger pool of potential heirs."

"But you said that the queen and king were both her parents…"

"Yeah… apparently, her mother was born the only heir. Under such circumstances, the extra throne is given to the spouse, which is why the thrones are king and queen, nothing else, just incase such a problem arises."

Coming up to the palace, the doors flew open before them, and Atsarute continued through in her pace without stopping. The inner walls seemed dim, only lit by some torches and a few small windows, placed high in the tall structure, by a ceiling that seemed to be half a mile away to their eyes. The soldiers by the sides of the carpet they walked upon immediately went to a kneeling position as Atsarute approached. She stopped before a grand staircase and looked up to the platform that they lead to.

On that platform stood a woman who looked as if she was wrapped like a mummy, white linen gauze wrapped around her entire body, save her face, wearing elaborate and large pieces of jewelry over this and a royal blue cloak over her shoulders. A headdress towered on top of her head, ornate and complex in design, made to gather and reflect light in such a way that it appeared she had a small-yet-brilliant star contained within.

She finally spoke. "Atsarute… what have you been doing to have the kingdom so upset?"

"I've simply been fixing some things."

"You've been gone too long; there are many matters here at the castle for you to assess. First and foremost, even with your rumors of death, I held another test for your suitors."

Atsarute's face betrayed displeasure. "How many made it to the end?"

"Only one. The prince of Berra-sei."

"Damnit! Again?" Atsarute now looked full out disgusted. "Every time, he wins, and every time, I have to beat his ass back out of here. I make the tests harder each time; how does he keep winning?"

The woman sighed. "I understand your discontent, Atsarute. He's not exactly the most agreeable of the suitors. I don't see how the prophecies could possibly be speaking of him as a possible husband for you, but he is strong, regardless."

Piccolo's brow cocked and he moved up beside Atsarute. "Prophecy? Is he one of the men you spoke of before?"

"I'm surprised you remember something from so long ago. Yeah, he's the one that I said is unbearable after about 20 seconds."

The woman in wraps suddenly gained an expression of great ire. "Who are you, Namek, to walk up beside my daughter like you have some authority in this kingdom?"

Atsarute turned back to her. "Give it a rest mother. He's a grandson of Katatsu."

"Wait." Piccolo nearly jumped back. "That's your mother?"

"And what is that supposed to mean?" The woman growled.

Atsarute rolled her eyes. "Piccolo, this is my mother, Queen Aikanefi of Sui-sei and the Puroeriun people. I'll give you a better introduction of everyone else if you wish, but I have business to attend to." She began up the steps before stopping beside her mother. "Mother, these people should be treated as guests to the castle. Some are of races from worlds across the Red Stream, and Piccolo is the highest ranking grandson of Katatsu and will possibly be given reign over some of his army."

Aikanefi huffed. "He'd better learn some manners before then, not like he won't add any more bad habits in my delinquent daughter that you turned out to be."

Kuririn smirked and nudged Gohan. "Remind you of someone?"

"I heard that!" Chi-Chi said, smacking Kuririn across the back of his head.

The queen didn't seem to care about what the Humans were doing. "Besides, isn't the most powerful grandchild of Katatsu Toniko?"

"She is also here, mother." Atsarute motioned back to the group towards the Namek woman. "Please treat them well while they're here. Is the prince of Berra-sei in guest quarters?"

"Yes. He was offered the royal guest quarters, per the courtesy that is to be shown to any suitor that gets this far in the testing."

"I figured as such." She started up another set of connecting stairs to the left to a large doorway, stopping right before it and kneeling in. "Kenturion!" She screamed. "Get your fucking ass out here so I can smack it back out!"

Piccolo involuntarily cringed when he heard the name. No… it couldn't be…!

A tall, muscular man walked out, adorned in armor that looked like something one would expect to see if they mixed a samurai and a Roman soldier together, but it definitely looked more decorative than practical. His pale-lavender hair, long and clean, partially obscured his lean, angular face and the smile he was giving the woman before him.

There was no doubt; this was the same Kenturion.

The human women began to chatter among themselves, complementing his looks while trying not to be heard by their men.

"Atsarute… I'm so glad the rumors being spread of your demise turned out to be untrue, not like I ever doubted that such a beautiful and powerful woman could ever get killed. Under normal circumstances, I would hope that you would accept me for who I am as your husband…"

"I wonder why Atsarute is so reluctant with him?" Videl muttered to Bulma and Chi-Chi, who just shook their heads in compliance.

"…But if I must beat you into submission with the legendary power that is the royal energy of the Berra-sei-jin."

The three women almost fell over. "He was doing so well till then!"

"Just get in the ring." Atsarute hissed. "I'll catch up after I send some orders out."

He kept his smirk. "Very well, Atsarute." Kenturion left through a different door.

She turned to a soldier. "Prepare the Three Twenty-Two immediately for my guests. They will be using it to communicate with people across the stream."

"Area you certain, Atsarute-hime?" The soldier looked at the Pasuko-jin in the party with an air of hesitance.

"If you feel that you don't trust Dr. Arufuredo and his group, you may keep tabs on them while they use the Three Twenty-Two. Besides, they're not going to be using it; the peach-skinned aliens are the ones that will be communicating."

He nodded. "I will escort them to the machine when it is ready, then?"

"Yes, that'll be good." Atsarute went towards the ring after Kenturion. "Those of you who wish to watch the battle may do so."

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Most of the Saiya-jin wouldn't be caught dead not seeing such a fight. All of them were quite curious about Atsarute's skill, especially after getting a sneak peek of her ki earlier on Palus IV and after sparring with some of her soldiers.

Piccolo, of course, had his own reasons to watch the battle.

Kenturion and Atsarute took position on opposite sides of the ring and got into stance. Kenturion pulled out his sword from his hilt and held it before him in the classic plow stance. Atsarute didn't bring weapons, so her position didn't break.

"Oi," Kuririn tapped the shoulder of one of the soldiers surveying the battle, "Isn't this a little unfair? She's unarmed…"

The soldier raised a brow to him. "It doesn't matter. The battle is in Atsarute's favor, anyway."

"Eh? How?"

And then the battle began. Kenturion started off with a frontal attack, aiming to swipe at his opponent. He sliced through air instead as she jumped up and practically bounced off the air to end up behind him. Atsarute threw a punch toward his head, but he managed to dodge while preparing a counter attack, using the same motion to twirl around and try to catch her in his second swipe. She shifted backwards out of the blade's length.

"I don't get it," Gohan said, following their moves with his eyes as he spoke, "Why does Atsarute have to fight him exactly?"

The soldier answered, "By Sui-sei law, a warrior woman of the royal family cannot be married to a warrior man that is unable to best her in combat. For that reason, the battle is necessary. She and her parents have the right to impose tests before they get the right to battle her, as a method of thinning out the suitors who may appear as she's gone, but any who pass these tests must engage in battle with Atsarute-hime before he can marry her. If he wins, he may marry her, whether she likes it or not."

"Eh?" Everyone looked at the soldier as if the idea was insane. "But why?"

"The reason is not told to those outside of the royal family. Disclosure of such information is forbidden. It's assumed that it's just to ensure superior offspring."

The two fighters had already exchanged a lot of slashes and punches, but they mostly blocked and avoided each other instead of actually gaining some sort of damage themselves. Atsarute seemed to be the one that had to use the most imagination in the fight, since she would have to be careful getting into the range of Kenturion's sword.

A slice managed to reach the skin of her arm, but she didn't really heed it. She took it as an opportunity to bash her fist into Kenturion's jaw, sending him back a few meters. He held his face briefly before getting in to position again and going into the offensive. She dodged again and went for his right side, but he managed to catch her side with the hilt, causing her to be thrown backwards.

Her hand unconsciously went to her side. What the…? She didn't have much time to contemplate what just happened before he gave her another flurry of slices. Not in a position to dodge them, she had to block them with her best ability, gaining more and more cuts in the process.

This can't be right, Piccolo thought, She has to be better than this…!

The swipes soon forced her to the edge of the ring. As a final effort, Kenturion made the last swipe towards her head. Atsarute fell backwards to avoid it, but the tip still sliced into her cheek, and she landed on the grass outside the ring.

Ha!
Heh. Couldn't help it.
Okay, the poll seems pretty much won by the Namek girls, but I'm going to keep the poll going until the next chapter, so if anyone was planning to ambush it, they have their chance.
Sui-sei is sort of a play on the word "suisei", which is the Japanese word for the strength of a river current, a fitting name since the Puroeriun are somewhat Aquarian in nature.