Chapter 8: Mind over Matter

Gohan reluctantly sprung to his feet, leaving the Earthling to recover as he strolled across to the other side of room. In a matter of steps, he became the Saiyan warrior he was born to be. With the preparation and distraction of loosening up his tight muscles; came the release of a crick in the neck, and then the various clicks of his knuckles and finger joints. She was still a crumpled heap on the floor, lightly trembling with the final spasms and twitches of her nervous system. Only when Kari tossed a pair of white training boots, gloves, and cerise leg warmers, did the human lift her flushed face. There was of course, no physical change to her appearance; save for the light coating of sweat in the appropriate, unavoidable places. It wasn't how she looked though, it was how she felt. The surge of strength was incredible. In her mind, she could take over the ship and be on her way home in no time! But first, dilated eyes looked to the objects tossed at her, now littering the floor in shades of white and cerise. She wasn't quite delusional enough to convince herself that bare feet weren't still a slightly unfair advantage. After all, Videl wanted an equal match.

"Initiate gravity minus eight."

The training room was always set to the 10x gravity of Vegetasei by default, but Gohan had remembered to change the settings before letting Videl mindlessly wander in. She'd had to deal with enough changes to her body, without the additional effects Kari's original order would've bestowed. But now that the Saiyan female was back in charge, a series of invisible fans seemed to buzz around the room as the computer systems recognised her order immediately. Videl had only just reached for the matching pair of thick legwarmers, when her it suddenly felt like someone was pushing and pulling her body closer, and closer to the floor. Growling in frustration to the invisible weight, she struggled to remain with her back hunched. Palms pressed against the pressure, pushing her shoulders up in stubborn and stressed protest. For too long now, she'd occupied the floor. No more would she crawl and bow with the entirety of her body. Swiftly rolling onto her back deliberately, she managed to lift her legs with light strain, and painted them up to her mid-thighs in dark cerise. The one-size-fits-all boots followed, followed by matching gloves. Each item moulding like warm gel to her own, unique shape. While the human's ki seemed to steadily level out into one frequency, Gohan meanwhile only focused on powering down considerably. The gravity on Earth had been so light; he'd misjudged his speed and movements, but had hardly cared. This time, he didn't want to be desperately putting the half-dead human back into the rejuvenation tank within a matter of careless seconds.

"My my, aren't you strong." Kari's voice adopted a smoother, manipulatively praising tone, as she circled the now standing human curiously. The younger woman curled her upper lip, slowly adjusting to the gravitational pull with subtle movements and the inflections of tensed muscles. The voice she heard brought a surge of heated blood to her head, clouding her judgement further as to her, it seemed like the room was constantly radiating a visible wave of hazy heat.

"Well?...Now that you have all this power. What are you waiting for?" The female Saiyan brushed past, timing the clever words and immaculate movements of her sly pep talk carefully. "Do something."

As she moved behind the stoic human, the raging bull saw only one target. Gohan silently stared back, watching the human's behavioural patterns carefully. She would strike first, but it was up to him to pre-judge when the exact moment would occur. Where she would target first; if she'd use her standard punches and kicks, or surprise him with something more creative. It wasn't just a natural way of thinking for the warrior. Nor was it just another challenge, or the usual survival of the fittest in both body, mind and spirit. He already knew that there would be no concern for his own self, once this unique battle begun.

"Don't you want to show him? Aren't you burning for rev -?"

Kari didn't even need to finish the sentence, never mind by granted the chance. The human reached the pinnacle of her confidence and emotional levels, which projected her forwards in a burst of violent energy. Videl could think of nothing else than dealing with the Saiyan bitch, but after she'd put the male in his rightful place. At her feet. Gohan braced himself as the battle maiden charged, lifting his defensive arm automatically, and bending at the knees in a craned position. Rather than charge as he anticipated however, the human defied the room's unnatural gravity. Feet sprung from the floor in a graceful leaping kick, and the Saiyan warrior briefly forgot himself. Instincts automatically kicked in, as he snatched the foot and spun 270 degrees, before releasing her. As she crashed against the lightly curved wall, and briefly fell to a recovery position on her hands and knees, Gohan winced to himself with the twitching of brows, rather than relishing in her failure as he normally would. 'Dammit,' he cursed to himself, watching as the human adamantly found her feet again. Ask a Saiyan to purposefully lose, and they would laugh outright at the insult to their pride. This self-inflicted insult however, was going to be a lot harder for him to make a joke out of.

The fight continued; hasty attacks equally matched by nothing more than the most simple and basic defence. Even as the human taunted him with insults and mockery, the Saiyan refused to return her attacks with any of his own.

"HIT BACK!" She demanded at the top of her voice, answered her blocked uppercut with a ducked attempt at a spinning high kick.

"HIT ME DAMN YOU!" She growled, repetitively insulted by her opponent's failure to do anything but evade, block, or outright disappear from sight.

"WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU?" Videl at least wanted the satisfaction of defending herself against him! 'Why isn't he trying to hit back?'

But Gohan had a game plan, so as he continued to bite his tongue, he merely hoped for the temperamental human to quickly run out of stamina. Maybe even burn the drug out of her system with all this increased activity. Kari meanwhile delighted in the spectacle. It was all too much; watching the beloved Halfling cower before a mere human. Suppressing his strength and wounding his own pride for the sake of what? Not wanting to hurt her? Preposterous! Soon, her laughter spilled from her wide smirk, growing loud and erratic enough to force her head back in highly amused cackles.

Videl froze. Gohan had disappeared before her double-hammering attack could connect with the top of his skull, and re-appeared at the other end of the room in time-buying baiting. It was a bad move though, on all of their parts, as laughter erupted moments after. The human tore her attention away from the male, to scowl at the chestnut-haired witch. Was it not enough to endure the offense of an unwilling opponent? Now the Saiyan bitch had to laugh at her? 'I'll show her.'

Gohan saw it happening before it truly did; he witnessed a ghost of the confident Videl, rapidly crossing the space towards Kari, and unleashing a whole new can of whoop-ass. He wasn't even sure if the insulted Kari would find further amusement, or end the pathetic attempts there and then, permanently. He couldn't waste any time trying to predict the chances of either outcome though, and so he instantly ran ahead of the charging human. Her fist pulled back as she crossed the space, gaining enough speed and force to deal a worthy blow. Oh yes, she would enjoy wiping the smirk off the old crone's face. She was almost there….so close to shutting the woman up. But then her feet unexpectedly tripped, as her attack was cut short by the low sweep of her male nemesis. She may have been forced to tumble and roll across the floor, but it didn't stop her under the taunt of Kari's continuous laughter. The Saiyan female was fully aware of the human's intentions, as Gohan repetitively rebuked her feeble attempts to get closer. He'd throw her in the opposite direction, and trip her again, but each time, she just kept coming back. More and more, the Saiyan was forced to use offensive force against her. A crunch came at her ribs as she fought against his barricading arm. Wrists twisted in visual discomfort, as he manipulated a simple block into a position grappling manoeuvre. But it were as though she couldn't feel pain or, had entered a higher state of being. Pain was no longer relevant.

"Videl! STOP." Then, with the wrestling for dominance against his takedowns and constricting holds, came the subtle click of her jaw, as his elbow smashed unintentionally against her. Gohan never planned for his finishing move to happen; but amidst all the excitement her adrenaline rush was giving him, he had little other choice. If he didn't end this now, it could go on until he lost complete control, and she would be far more seriously hurt.

Kari of course, deeply acknowledged the way Kakarot's brat had called the human by name. Her initial shock was replaced by more rational curiosity. Of course, she wasn't oblivious to how his own ki levels were uneven. Now that they were more intimately wrestling in a mass of entangled limbs, the human's responsive and problematic attacks were causing a great deal of both mental and physical stress. As much as she wanted the experiment to continue further, even she wasn't prepared to let the project die before they reached Vegetasei. Especially not by Gohan's hand.

"Enough!" She growled as she swept her arm in an arc motion. From her palm shot three Ki balls in a crescendo that, on impact with the wrestling teens, exploded with bright red, scolding radiation. Gohan was barely able to even tear himself away from the human in time, never mind defend against one of the energy attacks. Both teens were flung aside to land on opposite sides of the room, and even Gohan struggled to find his feet again. The human however, failed to move. Her adrenaline levels descended with the white noise of her prolonged, daze state. While she drifted in and out of consciousness, the shadow of Kari moved over the still seated Gohan. To his surprise, she surveyed him in awkward silence; the whip of her tail cracking through the tense air behind her, as she seemed to ponder over words. The slightest muscle twitch, caused the left side of her lips to lightly, barely even noticeably lift.

"Clean up your mess," she finally said, folding her defined arms. He gulped, swallowing back with the discomfort of his heavy arousal pressing against the constraining fibres of his bodysuit. If he believed in any God, he would be silently praying for the secrecy of his body's natural albeit rather intense response to the 'brawl' with a female. Even if she had only been a human. The constant glare of the female Saiyan wasn't helping to ease his silent suffering either. It was as if she knew. Finally she tore her eyes away, to regard the fallen human with the same, silent regard. The demi-Saiyan could only lower his heavy brows over conflicted, sepia eyes. Kari's authoritative retreat turned the tables in his favour: Three very quickly became just two, until two became one in the tender arms of another…

An upside down corridor.

Blood…rushing to the head.

A piercing, prolonged tinnitus.

Echoing footsteps …louder…quieter.

Something soft yet, something hard.

A harsh grip…splayed fingers and pressing palms.

Another weight, shifting the balance.

Cold… something cold. Something cold and… wet?

Swallowing back a heavily nauseous feeling, cerulean eyes opened to the hazy mist of initially blurred focus. Her entire body both stung and ached, so the cold and wet thing that was actually a soaked towel pressed firmly against her bruised ribs, did very little to aid her overall. The pressure and initial shock of 'waking up' in such a state, brought a muffled and strained sound from her cracked lips. The truth was, she'd never really been unconscious. At least not completely. As Gohan had tried his very best to carry the wilting little warrior back to his pod as quickly as he could, without disturbing any of her wounds, she'd mumbled and winced quite clearly. Blinking habits were simply prolonged, as her natural immune system worked against the power the drug had possessed over her. The results always were temperamental, sometimes lasting sheer minutes, while others could experience hours of the blissful effects. Honestly, she was just glad to feel like she was back in her own body and mind again, even if she wasn't 100% all there yet. Certainly because, when her eyes finally did focus, she simply stared up at the masculine, chiselled face hovering above her. The first thought was how pleasing the image was, perhaps because it was the only face she would identify and somewhat 'trust' out of the other rather mysterious Saiyans who inhabited the ship. Words found neither of them at first, and when they did, it was the male who let them plainly roll off his dry tongue.

"They're not broken."

It took her a moment to realise he was referring to the bruised ribs that his hands were diligently inspecting. He'd lifted her top to access the area that had concerned him most, but now, the wet towel was placed back over the purple skin.

Gohan meanwhile, had no idea why he was supporting most of the human's weight, as the 'fragile' Earthling leaned partially against his chest; her back rested against his upper arm, armpit and shoulder. Nor did he fully understand why he had put her needs far before his own. Not only was he in the desperate need of a very cold shower, but her lingering presence was doing nothing to calm the hardness between his thighs. Words could not define how amazing she smelt, nor how amazed he was to find that he was not the only one to react to their fight. Pheromones never lied, and hers were particularly potent. He might have to re-think referring to her as fragile again though, or underestimating the power of her spirit. It were as though a Saiyan warrior had possessed her, as he delighted in remembering how she'd chastised him for not attacking back. Surely, after all that, Kari knew the dangers of allowing them to remain in each other's prolonged company? Gohan was quick to remind himself that this was no doubt her intention. She would probably delight in the chance to remove whichever limb he offended her property with. The thought lessened the weight of his libido, just slightly. There was of course, an undeniable attraction in the danger that his desires possessed. So as dangerous as it was to be holding onto the human so closely, he had to give himself some credit. He had, after all, refused to just abandon her in the training room, as he would any other opponent.

"You smell…weird."

Videl finally tested her voice by announcing the thought that had occupied her brain during her endless staring. There was the obvious, musky stench of thick perspiration that radiated from the Saiyan. But then another smell, and she wasn't even sure that she could put words to it. Never had she ever experienced it before, and she was more interested in trying to determine if she even found the aroma to be pleasant or not. While it certainly wasn't making her nose itch or wrinkle in disgust, there was something mysteriously dangerous about it, that her female 'sixth sense' identified. That alone, repelled her from investigating any further. On the other end of the spectrum, Gohan wasn't even sure he knew what she was referring to, or if he could even muster an explanation. It had been so easy to entertain the notion of eventually using the human's body for carnal delights, when she had been his to toy with. Now, whether it was just the fact that she was technically un-attainable or something else entirely, he was finding it very hard to remove the evoked memories of how her skin had tasted. Or more importantly; how receptive she'd been to his touch.

When he gave no reply, the human finally looked away in her stubborn attempt to sit up on her own. Only when he was certain that her arms could support her weight, did he carefully shift aside slightly. He'd fussed enough; not only was it a sign of his own weakness, but the ship boasted only two rejuvenation tanks and absolutely no other medical aid. Elites were meant to be iron soldiers of destruction. Any being who was able to inflict severe injury on an Elite warrior, were to be commended, while the Saiyan should simply suffer the pain of their own weakness. Since her injuries were nowhere fatal, in order to try to help with Videl's natural healing, Gohan had turned into a fretting overseer. With little at his disposal, he'd used basic scientific knowledge, knowing cold would reduce swelling. It was strange for him to suddenly feel motivated to care, when he'd never cared for anyone else but his father, and of course, his own selfish success in the pursuit of pride.

"I don't ever want to feel that again." The human's curious words obtained Gohan's immediate attention again, and he eyed her with the light tilt of his head. "It just didn't… feel right."

The subtle twitch of his brows hinted towards his own, silent pondering over the meaning of her statement. He had nothing to compare her experience to, other than the natural growth of his strength over years of intense training. Gohan supposed a taste of that in a matter of seconds might have its' benefits, but there was no honour to it. Thoughts were lost however, as Videl lightly sucked on her lower lip. Heat flickered in the Saiyan's gut.

"H-have you ever…used it?"

"No." He was quick to shoot down her question, just as he was quick to reach for the glass of water she'd struggled to drink before. Videl took the offering as a sign for her to shush, but gratefully accepted the much needed thirst-quencher. To her surprise, after briefly watching her gulp back drink, he continued.

"A Saiyan has no need for drugs." She hiccupped slightly at his ego. "At least, not on ourselves. Seox-H has its' benefits. It's always… amusing, to see your opponent think they're an equal match for you." She frowned as he almost sounded like Kari. Videl could imagine the cruel woman saying such things, after standing over her fallen opponents with her cackling laughter.

"Like I did?" Her shoulders hung at the rhetorical question. Gohan only responded with another direct stare, having no practice in dealing with such lofty, self-doubting emotions. "It was like…you know what you're doing, but you have no control over the choice. No say in what your body wants to do. It's… scary." She had to tear her eyes away; not only because of the difficulty in expressing her thoughts. His constant eye-contact, together with his silence, was making her very uncomfortable.

"Can you, stop with the staring?" No one had ever asked such a strange request. Gohan felt the twitch of his facial muscles, while Videl feebly tried to look back at him. If anything, to check if he'd even listened.

"...I'm reading you."

"Well… quit it! You're making me feel really uncomfortable." As if being on a strange ship with mostly male aliens wasn't unnerving enough. If only she'd looked, she might've seen the apology in this particular Saiyan's dark eyes. Abruptly, his mood switched. The bed shifted slightly as his weight lifted, gaining Videl's attention once more as she caught the flick of his irritated tail.

"I see Earthlings are incapable of advancing beyond the simplest sense." Casually he crossed the length of the room, entering the code for shower access. "And you make yourself uncomfortable."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Videl sat up slightly more, with only a mild wince for her aching ribs, and the pressure she just placed on them.

"As you said. You feel." For a moment, she blankly stared. The Saiyan patiently waited for the floor to part, having decided it was about time he did something about his own physical state.

"Of course I feel! It's called being human! Baka."

She parted her lips to argue further, but not even a breath escaped. Apparently the Saiyan decided he'd won the little tit-for-tat, announcing his victory and boredom of the subject with the sudden lifting of his shirt. Marine blue, scale-like fibres peeled away, revealing the true extent of his perfect, Adonis body, inch by glorious, rippling inch. Videl finally breathed again. At least if she was going to eventually die for the sake of all this research, she'd never regret having not seen such a sight.

"It's called being weak."

Gaining the final word while the human remained stunned, the Saiyan turned to swiftly disappear under the floor, but not before shedding the remainder of his second skin. Though the human quickly looked away, as the taut cleft of his square buttocks came into full view, she couldn't quite stop herself entirely, from stealing several other glances.

"I'm not done talking to you!" Once he'd fully disappeared, she re-discovered her temporary self-abandoned courage. Raising her voice in futile attempts to reach him, she let whichever thought she could gather from her endless questioning agenda, roll off her tongue. " Why do you just do whatever Kari tells you? If you're so strong and so mighty, why don't you ever stick up for what you want?"

The shower nozzles turned on with their usual, light humming drone. Videl sat back, pressing her knees and thighs firmly together, and lifting her grounded feet to the toes. Well, that was definitely uncomfortable…

Apparently, water wasn't the only supply the Saiyan had brought back to his pod, as the bored and curious Videl found another jar of the oh-so-yummy protein porridge. It had already lost its' appeal despite the protests of her gut, and she mindlessly fed her under rated gluttony. In fact, much to her surprise, she ate like she'd been starved for several days. Despite the boring taste the jar had to offer, her appetite wasn't sated until she was sure she'd filled her stomach twice over its' normal capacity. It was perhaps best not to wonder where all that food had been stored, and to just easily blame it on her downfall from the Adrenaline high. Maybe some extreme case of the munchies. It took as long for her to satisfy her hunger as it did for Gohan to shower, and he emerged back up the steps, already re-dressed in a dark-navy blue, sleeveless bodysuit. Though Videl did her best to keep her eyes to herself, his odd choice in a conversation breaker eradicated any further hope of that. At least he was ready to talk again.

"Kari is not just an Elite." As much as Videl had also wanted to jump in the shower next, apparently the Saiyan preferred her to stink out his room. The hatch closed, and he continued. "She's strong, like her mother was. And strength is everything in my world. …But so is your blood."

Running his fingers through the tangles in his thick, coarse and towel-dried hair, the upward spikes already starting to reform in stiff chunks. As he continued the story, he advanced back to the bed she'd not yet moved from. "Fasha served with my father's father in the Royal, Elite Guard. They were both good friends and loyal comrades. Had he not chosen another mate, perhaps he would've taken her. Maybe that would've spared her from the mistake that now claims you."

"Mate? You mean, get ma -" Videl stopped to flinch as the Saiyan made it his business to re-press the cold towel over her ribs. "Hey!" Ignoring her shoving protests, he insisted on eventually forcing her hand in place of his on the towel-press, and re-laying his hand over both with hers, and her bruised ribs. Videl simply huffed in defeat, forgetting what she'd even wanted to say before his rude interruption. Gohan continued, nonetheless.

"Our King had already produced an heir with his own mate, but she was weak, and so she failed to keep his attentions. Their bonding was status and breeding driven alone… her father had been a Legend. The King wanted a strong heir. It added up. In short, Fasha's strength caught the straying eyes of our King. Their union is the reason Kari lives."

"Her dad's the King?" It felt odd enough learning that these brutes even had an aristocracy, without trying to imagine Kari as just some spoilt little princess. Even though the card vaguely fit. She did carry herself with such arrogant authority and pride, and it certainly begun to vaguely explain her elevated status on the ship. "Does that mean she could one day be the …Queen?"

"It isn't as simple as you think," he rebuked in quick assumption to her inadequate human mind. Satisfied she wasn't going to neglect her wound again, his hand left hers, and he casually lay back across the bed. Arms lifting to cushion his tired head, while his tail lazily tapped at his side. "There was no pride in Fasha's secret union with the King. Only the true son of the Royal bonding, could take his father's place. When the weak King met his inevitable end, his firstborn son took the throne, as will his strongest heir. Kari, will never be Queen. She was granted life and title only because she showed promise at birth. Even her current strength is no match for her half- brother."

"So that's why she's so bitter? She wants to take over?"

"Kari is… complicated." He paused to swallowed back in brief thought. Only four years ago, he would never refer to the woman with such hostility, when the vivacious alpha female had occupied his every, teenage thought. To him, the woman had been perfect. He had of course been young and foolish, but the memory of the crush bitterly remained.

"But what more can you expect? She's just the unwanted spawn of an un-bonded coupling." Ironically, he forgot he was talking to someone who had no clue about the true depth of his culture.

"Translation?" His tail flicked against her arm in irritation that leaked into his voice.

"They were not mated."

"Erm… right." Not really the answer Videl was expecting, or an answer at all for that matter. "Okay."

All she'd gathered was that Kari was the daughter of a King, and that bonding and mating seemed to affect the mentality Saiyan spawn. It all sounded rather…odd. Clearly she was missing far too much information to fully understand, and she was more than ready to interrogate Gohan just like he had over the subject of human's and their tails. On the subject of tails however, the Saiyan's tail, which seemed to harbour a mind of own, begun to tap more impatiently against the bed. Videl watched the movements from the corner of her eye, especially as the rather coarse edges of its' bristles occasionally brushed against her sensitive skin. It made her want to scratch the afflicted area, and since he'd broken the rules about 'unnecessary touching', she decided it was about time he got a taste of his own medicine.

"Quit it!" It wasn't just a verbal demand aimed at his tail however, because her hand followed through by gripping the furry appendage with a light, scolding yank. The moment she crossed the line, a savagely growling Gohan had sat straight up, and yanked on the wrist that caused offensive. Her grip was instantly removed, as she more importantly slipped forwards across the bed. Occupying the warm spot he'd just occupied with her face-first descent, the Saiyan's tail flicked behind him and defensively wound itself around his waist, like a belt. Meanwhile, he leaned down to her, still harshly gripping her wrist.

"Don't. Pull. My Tail." When she only nodded with her wide-eyes in understanding, he shoved her wrist aside. But Videl slowly sat back up next to him, leaning forwards suspiciously…

"You mean…you actually felt something?" He growled again, predicting the path of her words and not liking where she was going a single bit. "Hah!" There it was; a sudden, mischievous little grin, as she cracked some kind of alien code. "I thought you Saiyans didn't have any feelings. Guess I was wrong..."

"I choose what and how I will feel!" He practically barked back, those dark eyes glaring intensely back at her verbal challenge of wits. Apparently he was still unhappy about the tail-pulling "And I do not let that choice rule over my senses."

"You can't choose how you feel, or when and how. It just…happens." He didn't argue back this time, just remained staring in light confusion to her 'baka' reasoning. "So you think you can just, block out everything? You don't feel pain or…sadness or, joy?"

"Why would I subject myself to weakness?"

"Because there's nothing weak about it! Thinking you can just ignore everything is weak!"

'The Earthling thinks far too much for her own good,' Gohan scowled to himself, especially as she continued with her ramblings when he failed to interrupt her.

"Have you ever even tried feeling anything?"

"Of course I have. But that changes nothing. If I want to feel something, it's for a reason. My enemy's attacks, as a worthy lesson in my own failure to grow stronger. "

He really was impossible, Videl reminded herself, as she stubbornly shifted on the bed to prove her point. Gohan meanwhile, couldn't understand why the Earthling was arguing against something even she had practiced. Hadn't she ignored the clear signs of defeat, and kept on trying, despite the pain she'd undoubtedly felt? And he wasn't just referring to the training room incident. No, as interesting as she'd been under the influence of Seoxyrium, he was still openly alluded by their very first meeting.
Nothing could prepare Gohan for what she did next though, as it was she who came to him, for once. Lightly resting her fingertips over his bare bicep, she clearly felt the muscle tense, even before she traced the most innocent and angelic of circles over the heated skin. 'He's like his own central heating device.'

"Do you feel that?" She asked in a softer tone that matched her ministrations, looking up with prying, lightly squinted eyes. Dark brows twitched, watching her face rather than actions, so she took his brooding silence as a yes. Time for plan B then. As her light touch left him, it was swiftly replaced by the sudden, single pounding thrust of her fist. Whatever spell she'd woven, it deluded him entirely, because he hadn't even sensed it coming, but he had felt both assaults on his senses. It didn't mean he registered the pain though, or felt any to begin with. Maybe they both just misunderstood the meaning of the 'f' word? Even more reason for the irritated Gohan to dislike what he didn't understand. So his frowning answer came dryly with his still, unmoving body.

"What do you know? It almost tickled."

"Ugh!" Gohan may have behaved against the human's little test, but it took a lot of self-restraint to stop himself from trying one of his own, as she stumbled in a clumsy, crawling retreat off the edge of the bed. Hands found her hips as she adapted into the perfect stance of a very bossy alpha female.

"Fine, keep your constipated feelings. But how can you live like this? What do you do all day in a room that has nothing in it, apart from eat, sleep and shower?"

"I train," he answered simply, following her every moment with his eyes. She was restless, something he blamed on the downfall of her adrenaline surge. It was just one of the many other reasons why certain, weak individuals found themselves addicted to the substance. To be honest, he wasn't even sure the drug hadcompletely entirely worn off. No immune system was that quick. Besides, she'd been far too brave with the touching his tail, and then all the asking questions that shouldn't be on her tongue to start with. Just who was the one being researched here?

"Couldn't you have abducted a T.V or something remotely entertaining, as well as me?" His blank stare said enough. Even if he knew what a television was: [A] there would probably be no signal in space, and [B] he wouldn't care to 'abduct' one in the first place, as she so eloquently put it. "Never mind."

"There is…" he took a deep breath, as if the suggestion needed preparation. "One thing we can do."

"As long as it beats arguing in circles, I'm all ears."

In the end, it didn't matter what Videl thought. The Saiyan was already off the bed, and closing the gap between them with strangely, uneasy strides…

To be Continued…