Chapter Three: Consequence of Actions.

After I ruined the yard, father decided I'd outgrown the regular lessons and needed something more rigorous. He was preparing for a campaign on the edge of the star system and couldn't handle me himself, so he did the next best thing. He got me a trainer.

I was called right before breakfast the next day and I grumpily obeyed the summons to meet my father in the training yard. It wasn't even dawn yet, thats what I realized as I passed under the ledge that led into the training grounds. My father was standing in the middle of the open space and there was a giant of a Saiyan standing with him. The Giants hair looked really weird, unlike most Saiyans, he lacked any sort of sideburns. His hair grew in an odd strip-like tuft in the middle of his head, he had the stupidest looking mustache I had ever seen.

My father gave me a little speech, saying I was no longer a baby and too exceptional to be given normal treatment and that he couldn't-wouldn't-let me waste my potential by holding me back. He'd wanted to wait until I got used to my young child body and now that I had, I was obviously not receiving a challenge in my training any more and that no son of his would be allowed to 'go feral' and become as destructive as an Oozura during heat.

I nodded a lot and said yes sir. Not really sure where he was going with this whole spiel but glad that I seemed to be forgiven for my outburst weeks earlier. He had obviously gotten a report about my unacceptable behaviour, yet he didn't see drastically upset.

Then he indicated the stiff, giant Saiyan behind him.

"He's a first class warrior, back from a long term mission and newly promoted from lieutenant to captain, but he is off of active duty for a time so that he can work on a new project.

So what?, I thought to myself, why should I care and what did any of that have to do with me? And why couldn't it wait until after breakfast. Out loud, I politely congratulated him on his promotion and inquired about his latest project. Father smiled at me then, it was an odd, giddy smile, there was a secret in his eyes. The Captain didn't respond right away, so I asked him when his new project would begin.

"His majesty, the King could explain it better than me." the giant told me, he sounded like he was suppressing his amusement.

I thought he was a real idiot, to not even know what new project he was working on and when it began. After a moment of akward silence I noticed the air of expectancy about my father.

"Father, what is the new project" I asked, suddenly uneasy, my instincts at last waking up and telling me something was off. "When will this project start, is it important?"

"Very, 3 seconds ago and You." Father said.

Father had a peculiar way of speaking sometimes. He always answered a series of questions from back to front. The project was very important, had began 3 seconds ago and was...me?

I asked what that was supposed to mean and-then I noticed Nappa was gone. I tried to ask what was happening but at the last minute I saw a fist coming down at me and I dodged, only to be caught and thrown across the yard into a stone bunch.

When I dug myself out of the rubble I looked up, my father nodded in approval. He was smiling slightly, he was obviously pleased.

I didn't have time to be outraged as the captain, or the Capt. LugHead as I had privately decided to call him, was on me again. I had been training for as long as I could stand up, to be a fighter. Everything from weighted toys and special kata training to weighted jumpers and special diets. I had been a quick study and learned everything quickly and now I even had a little battle experience under my belt. All of that was so insignificant that morning as LugHead chased me around the courtyard, pummeling me and throwing me, it was shameful.

I was bleeding within 5 minutes. I was breathing hard in 10. He threw a small ki blast at me and I dodged it. I was born with good reflexes and naturally small. The ability to twist out of a full-on punch was the only thing that served me that morning. LugHead kicked me repeatedly. I kept trying to block but he could use a force that I simply couldn't counter.

He was so damn fast also. Every time I thought I might have an opening to strike, he was on me again and if I'd been silly enough to shift my arm into an offensive position, then I was hit. After I dug myself out of a small pile of rubble for the fifth time, I realized all I could do was defend.

I was strong, exceptionally strong from a child's stance and while I had been well trained, I had no real experience in a fight. I sparred with my siblings but I was stronger than, or at least as strong as, them anyway.

This guy wasn't one of my siblings. He was a first class warrior with more experience than I had dreamt could ever be had in one life time. I was a little brat. I was a stupid little kid, just four years old who had thought because my people counted me as special that I was.

I had never had an instructor hit me for the sake of hurting me. I didn't know what it was like to be hit by a person who was so much stronger than me, I didn't know that 95% of the punches I'd dodged in my lifetime had been pulled. Compared to what LugHead was doing, every punch I'd ever recieved could be counted as love tap.

I was sore by sun up and I wanted to quit. I called a rest as the big Oaf charged me, and he paused just for a moment, "I said break!" I said irritably. He hesitated a moment before backing up several paces. I was breathing hard and spit some dirt out. Then my world exploded in pain, the oafish LugHead had hit me in the gut, practically come out of nowhere and all the air rushed out of my body in a 'woosh'. I saw those bright lights behind me eyes that people were always talking about and thought I was going to collapse.

He hit me again and I did collapse. I feel to my knees and gaped like a fish out of water.

"I'm the teacher, I'm the boss. I'll call any and all rests around here." Catp. Lughead informed me. I glared murder at him, but he was not phased.

"You got that kid?"

I didn't answer him, so he hit me once more, to let me know how easy he'd been going on my all morning. My eyes rolled in the back of my head and fell face first in the dirt.

He let me lay there for a little more than an hour. My stomach was growling I was hungry.

I sat up and saw LugHead was standing on the other side of the court yard, admiring the morning. I cursed him in my mind, I hoped that his tail got a tack in it...and fleas.

When he continued to ignore me I pulled myself together and headed in for breakfast. I'd show this giant jerk what for as soon as I had some breakfast in me, that was my line of thought.

"Where do you think you're going?" he demanded.

I ignored him, he appeared infront of me and picked me up by the back of my neck. I kicked and struggled but I wasn't going anywhere.

"I said; 'Where do you think you're going,' didn't you hear?"

I disliked this guy already, now I hated him. He shook me a little and I went limp.

"Well?" he asked a minute later.

"I'm hungry!" I hissed. "I'm going for breakfast."

"Not before our morning session is over you wont."

"Quit messing around. I'm hungry."

"Too bad for you then, 'cause I 'aint paid to care." he informed me.

I punched him. Hard. In the face.

He didn't even flinch. For two minutes he was perfectly still, then he grinned.

"Hey! Maybe you've got potential like they say." he commented. I hit him again, as hard as I could, then again.

He just stood and took it for a few minutes. Then I started getting wild, he held me at arms length and contemplated me for a few minutes then he threw his head back and laughed.

"Alright, yeah." appearantly he'd made up his mind about me. "You've got some real potential there kid."

I was mad with rage then and I was tired, and hungry and sore and I had never been manhandled before in all my life.

"My name" I yelled at him, "is Vegeta. Ve-Ge-Ta! Thats Prince Vegeta to you! Do you know who my dad is? You jerk! I'm gonna pulverize you! My father is the King and I'm his son. I'll kick your ass even if you are a big ugly giant! I'm gonna get really, really, mad if you dont put-me-down right NOW!"

LugHead tossed me across the courtyard and I lay there, dazed and in pain.

"Ow." I said, for lack of a better word.

He came to stand by me as I struggled to sit up. I decided neither LugHead nor Oaf were bad enough names for him.

"Alright kid, here's the deal; I," he pointed to himself. "am going to teach you how to fight."

"Piss off," I muttered darkly. "I know how to fight."

"Yeah, you did such a good job of it just now." he said. Sarcasm dripped off his lips and I imagined it as dark oil on his stupid mustache, oozing down the hair and hitting the ground. Sweat dripped in my eye and I blinked.

"I'm not learning from you." I told him irritably.

"Yes you are. Now come off it, you need me. Admit it."

I remained stubbornly silent.

We both stood there for a long time (actually, I was sitting on the ground, and he was standing over me) glaring at one another. After an hour, TweedStash (That was the name I came up with him) reached out and shoved me flat on the ground.

I tried to sit back up, but he put his foot on my chest.

I frowned at him, stuck my tongue out. Called him names and used every curse word I knew and a couple that I made up on the spot. I wanted to focus on everything but the fact that I was about to cry.

"Admit it, and you can have breakfast." Lughead said mildly. "Admit you could learn from me and you can have breakfast."

"Nothing to admit." I sniffed. I didn't even have the will to stand back up, even if he hadn't had his foot on my chest.

"Then stand and fight for real!" the Capt. said, snatching me up by the leg and throwing me across the yard.

I was furious now and I found my pride. I was a warrior after all.

I came out of the cloud of dust at top speed, I lit into him with a fury and I rained punches and kicks down on him, he blocked each one neatly but I didn't care. For once I could hit at him and I wasn't going to pass up the chance. He stood in one spot, and after several minutes it occurred to me that he was using only one hand to block all 4 of my limbs and I got angrier.

I started bouncing around like an 'imp on crack' thats how Sparga used to describe my fits. It was lunch time before my new "teacher" grabbed me by the wrists and kneed me in the groin.

Like any male, I was properly subdued after my nuts hit the back of my throat.

"Look kid, you've got some potential but it looks like you've got at least one issue for every ounce of potential. You've gotta work through that on your own." He pointed up to a nearby balcony that over looked the training yard.

"I'm gonna go get some chow. You sit out here and think about whether you need a teacher or not."

Then he was gone. When I was done being dazed and achy it occurred to me that I could just leave. I made a move to do just that when a ki blast cut me off.

Everytime I tried to escape, or leave, a ki blast (or several of them) rained down to cut off my path of escape. I had never experienced anything like this and was at a total loss about what to do.

I thought I could simply out last him with stubbornness but I was unable to think when night had come and gone and day had come back and still every time I made a move to leave a ki blast cut me off. They were coming from different directions too.

I tried to fire a few of my own ki blasts, but I couldn't use ki fluently yet and in the time it took me to charge a blast was all the time that he needed to box me in with several small blasts. Once he even sent a wave of energy that enveloped me in a bubble and zapped me continuously for several seconds. After that I had to sit down and think about this...

I'd been trapped in the training yard for more than a day. It was going on dinner time on the 2nd day! I was starving. I'd never been deprived of food before, always there was something to eat. I could have a drink if I wanted one, I was welcome to have a snack anytime I wanted. People brought an array if ever I asked for a piece of fruit. Now, I was hungry...thirsty, hurting, hot and sore. My body hurt, my mind was fuzzy and stupid with pain and lack of sleep...my pride was hurt, and so were my feelings.

I sat miserably in the corner for the entire night and mercifully the ki blasts ceased so long as I sat still.

The next evening, I was beaten I waited for dawn to come and when the sun rose I walked over to the middle of the court and stared up to the balcony I imagined Nappa was at. It was the place he'd gone for his own lunch 2 days ago. A minute later the giant leapt over the banner and floated down to me.

He landed a few feet in front of me. "Well?" he said.

I clasped my hands together respectfully, I curled my tail downwards, submissively.

"I'm ready to learn."

My eyes were down cast. His big hand came into my line of vision. I glanced at him, placed my hand in his, he rolled his fingers up and shook my hand, my whole body shook a little.

"Call me Nappa, Prince Vegeta."

Word Count: 2,734

Aaaaannnddd, thats CH3. What do you think? I kind of like it, its like Gohan and Piccollo in the strictness. Gohan was a pampered brat, so was Vegeta. Only Vegetas initiation to reality is a little harsher, more intense. I like to think that Saiyans can only be measured in extremes to the human mind.

I'm sorry, I have no good excuse for not updating sooner. School started and my PC has been on the fritz but this has been sitting in my Email for months now. I'm go an upload 2 or 3 more times this week. Thanks for reading.