Chapter Twenty-Seven

Kakarot, The Good Saiyan

v

I woke up a few hours later, snapping my head up in the dark room scared at first not remembering where I was for a moment. Then, it all came back… Kakarot. I felt much, much better. I looked down at my arms, faintly seeing the wounds being gone. Faint white scars replaced where the wounds once were. Were my wounds healed already? I slowly stood, carefully walking towards the almost closed door to the bedroom. There was a light on in there. I knocked gently on the door.

"Kakarot… are you in there?"

"Yeah… what is it? Come on in, it's alright."

I slowly pushed the door open and saw him sitting up against the headboard of his bed reading a book. I stepped inside the room. It smelt like the blanket he gave me. I smiled shyly, slightly blushing. He tilted his head, grinning, in amusement.

"What is it? What are you thinking about right now?"

He slowly began to move forward, swinging his legs over the side of the bed and slowly standing; leaving the book on the bed. I looked down nervously.

"I just wanted to say… thank you… so much… I don't know how to repay you for this…"

I played with my hands nervously and curled my lips. I knew I was probably coming off as 'cute' or something by acting this way, but I truly was a little nervous, but also shy. I don't know why I felt like this in front of Kakarot; we'd been together several times, so why did it seem like the first time talking to him again, except it's the other way around?

"Oh…? He-he; you're cute."

I completely blushed, biting my lip and keeping my face lowered. He chuckled, slowly stepping closer to me. I felt his hands rest on my sides, gently pulling me closer to him. My body went stiff. He stopped, taking his hands away.

"I'm sorry… I didn't mean to…"

I reached up and placed a finger over his lips. It silenced him immediately.

"It's okay… I'm just… I… I haven't felt like this is a long time…"

He put his strong hand around the smaller one near his lips, slowly moving it down to his chest, just over his heart.

"Felt like what?"

He tilted his head slightly. He was so handsome and loving and caring. I wanted him, to be with him, but, I knew my heart wouldn't truly want that. It still longed for Nathan's heart, even after everything I'd been through and all the things I had said to Kakarot and even Vegeta. I frowned slightly as so did he. I felt rather nervous.

"Like… happy, and… and… I…"

I was cut off by his finger gently pressing against my lips, silencing me. He smiled widely down at me.

"Like you said, it's okay… You don't need to explain it to me… As long as you're finally happy, then I'm happy."

I smiled up at him. I lit up like the Fourth of July. I hadn't been this happy since I was with Nathan. I jumped up to hug him so quickly; he almost didn't have enough time to react. He stumbled back a step, but kept his stance and hugged me back, lifting me up off the ground.

"I just want to forget about everything… Let's start all over again… please."

I cuddled against his shoulder and whispered,

"Okay, Kakarot…"

"Taylor…"

I was about to looked at his face when he suddenly began to spin me around in his arms. I began to laugh like crazy. He chuckled and held me a little tighter.

He placed me down after becoming slightly dizzy, leaning back against the bedroom wall, and then headed out into the kitchen, still chuckling. He pulled some food from his refrigerator.

"You're probably hungry! You better eat something."

I smiled and happily skipped into the kitchen, sitting down at the table, eager as to what he had in store. I patted my hands rhythmically on the table top waiting while he brought out plenty of meats and fruits. I didn't care what the majority of it was, I was so hungry and it all looked so delicious. I reached forward to grab the plate before he grabbed it off the table quickly, away from me.

"Hold on there, little tiger! I've got to heat it up first!"

He laughed as he placed it in the microwave-looking machine he had. He looked back at me and winked. I blushed and giggled, remembering that he's done that a couple times.

"Why did you do that?"

He looked at me again, grinning slyly.

"Did what? Wink, just now?!"

"No… well, now, but also at the Royal dinner… and in Vegeta's room that one time… Why do you do that?"

He blushed slightly to himself looking downward.

"The honest truth being that like Prince Vegeta, I wanted you, too… badly. The room was just because, like… whatever, but I was trying hard to get your attention at that Royal dinner, and I did… but…"

He went silent for a moment. My smile slowly began to decrease.

"…I didn't mean to let it lead to where it did…"

His grin faded as did mine. I remembered the painful memory; emotionally and physically.

"It's okay, Kakarot, I…"

"NO, IT'S NOT!"

He slammed his fist onto the counter. I jumped in my seat a little from the rapid rise in his powerful voice. It scared me a little, but soon went back to normal.

"It's not; I was the reason he did all those horrible things to you… Me! I was the reason he… Please… Please forgive me."

I could see his eyes becoming more and more glistened. I stood up and walked over to him. He tried turning away, but I quickly grabbed his wrist and turned him to face me. I placed a hand on his cheeks, feeling his skin heat up and flush under my touch.

"It's okay… Kakarot…"

He smiled at me, quickly pulling me in close to me; he hugged me, and for a long time.

"Thank you… Thank you so much, Lady Taylor…"

I chuckled a little.

"Please, Kakarot, I'm pretty sure I've told you before like a hundred times, just call me Taylor…"

I chuckled more as he blushed more and looked down, biting his lower lip. He liked when I exasperated things like that.

"Sorry…"

"You don't need to apologize, Kakarot… okay?"

"Okay… Taylor."

I gripped my hands in his shirt. I never wanted to let go. He slowly pulled away and turned back to the counter to heat up dinner. I turned and went back to sit down at the table. I watched him, happy and eager to finally have a meal with someone who was a complete sadistic, perverted tool.

The microwave-like machine beeped (like a microwave) and he pulled the food out. Steaming and hot, he set it down on the table. I quickly went out to grab some, practically drooling from the tempting smell. I began eating as he did too. He had a worrisome look on his face all of a sudden. I stopped eating.

"What's wrong?"

"He'll come looking for you… It's only a matter of time."

I frowned as I stared at him.

"Kakarot, that's enough! I don't want to hear anymore about that greedy, pride-hungry prick of a Prince! As long as I'm with you, then I'm happy."

"What about Nathan?"

I went silent.

"Wh-What do you mean 'What about Nathan'?"

"Well, he'll be out there, too… looking for you. You still love him, don't you?"

I looked down in sadness.

"Yes. I will always love him… always, but if there was one, lone thing Vegeta was right about, it was that Nathan and I will never be able to be happy together ever again… not after everything that's happened."

I looked up and saw him out of his chair and kneeling before me. He placed one hand just above my knee and stared straight into my eyes.

"I spoke to him… the evening that he was first elected as one of the Royal Elites. After you were taken back to Vegeta's bedchamber, we talked, you know, once all was quiet. He said that he would risk his life, everything he has left in his life… to get you back…"

He paused for a moment, slowly reaching up to take both of my hands in his.

"He said that… He said that if anyone else had to, if anyone else in the entire universe had to be with you; to take care of you… to love you… he said he'd want it to be me over that scumbag, Vegeta…"

I stared at him in silence. His eyes were glistening with sparkles of water. He wasn't lying to me. He was clearly telling the truth. I began to feel tears forming behind my eyes.

"Are… you serious?"

The tears slowly emerged and ran down one of my cheeks.

"Yes."

His eyes glistened, but didn't shed a tear. His eyes held sorrow, but were still so warm and loving as he stared at me. I hadn't seen that look in a man's eyes since I saw Nathan's.

"He and I had become closer acquaintances after being elected an Elite soldier. We talked. Vegito and Gogeta stayed away from our conversations because they didn't want to get wrapped up in any bad situations like this, with suspicions and other stuff. They're heartless beasts and proved that that night I really don't like thinking about, and Vegeta fucked all of us over!"

He looked away after what seemed like an eternity of staring. He looked back up, reaching one hand up to my cheek to gently wipe the tears away with his thumb.

"No one knows where I live, and no one from the Five Elites ever will; not my father, not even Nathan… I wish I could've told him, but… it'd be too risky… Vegeta would immediately find out. I don't know how, but he'd find a way somehow."

I began to cry; I fell forward, wrapping my arms around his neck, hugging him tight. He fell back not expecting me to do that and laid on his back on the floor. He wrapped his large arms around my tiny person. He was so warm. I buried my face between his shoulder and neck, crying.

"Kakarot…"

He didn't respond. He simply began to sit up. He held me as he picked me up and set me back in the chair. I didn't want to let go of him, and he could tell. He forcefully, but still gently, pulled my arms away from him and pushed the plate of food closer to the edge of the table where I was sitting.

"You need to eat."

I wiped my eyes and smiled at him. I nodded and began eating as he went to sit down and eat as well. I was beyond happy with him. Though there were so many strong emotions and not all of them good, I still loved that I could finally have someone in my life to let these feelings out to again.

I finished my meal within a few minutes and just sat there, staring at my plate. He finished and got up, picking up his and my plates to take to the sink. He looked back and saw me get up and turn to head towards his room. Puzzled, he stopped what he was doing and watched.

"Taylor…? Where are you going…?"

I didn't respond. I walked into the room, out of his sight. He set everything down and began to walk slowly towards his room. He peaked in around the corner and saw me curled up under the blankets and sheets on his bed. He tilted his head curiously, grinning slightly as we stepped towards me. He looked outside and saw the dark glowing burgundy-red, indicating it was very late in the afternoon. I was tired; after everything I'd been through, I was tired, exhausted even.

He sat down and laid one hand on my side. He began to gently pet me. I purred like a kitten, beginning to fall asleep. My skin was warm under his t-shirt. Once I was sound asleep after that delicious meal that we had, he got up and left the room to go and finish cleaning up.

v

About an hour later, after he finished doing the dishes and cleaning up the kitchen and living room, he returned to the bedroom to see me still asleep. He smiled and walked towards the bed. He lifted the blankets and crawled in next to me. He wrapped one arm around my abdomen and held me close to his body. I instantly warmed up even more. I had woken up, but pretended that I was still asleep. I heard him inhale deeply; his body tensed slightly and I heard his exhaled sharply like there was something wrong with the way I smelt, but he just ignored it and cuddled closer to me. I heard him whisper quietly before he closed his eyes,

"I love you…"

v

The next morning Kakarot slowly opened his eyes and felt around the bed beside him. I wasn't there. His eyes flew wide open as he practically fell off the bed to run out of the room. He stopped with a jolt, surprised, but relived to see me. I was in the kitchen making breakfast. I turned and saw the panicked, but slowly recovering expression on his face.

"Good morning, sleepy-head!"

I chuckled as I continued to cook up eggs, slabs of different meats, cooked vegetables and an oatmeal-like substance.

"Don't… Don't scare me like that…"

I laughed more as he was out of breath walking towards me.

"Whatever do you mean, Kakarot?"

I heard a small, but sarcastic growl at the back of his throat.

"You know exactly what I mean! I woke up afraid that you had left or… or worse…"

I turned around to find him only inches away from me. He looked down at me with those gleaming onyx eyes.

"Sorry, but you were so soundly asleep, I didn't want to wake you."

He smiled as he raised his hand under my chin, bringing me closer to his face. I began to get slightly nervous.

"Well, you should have so you wouldn't have made me worry like that!"

He quickly grabbed me, throwing me over his shoulder. I laughed and screaming at the same time as him began to spin me around in the kitchen.

"AHHH, NOOOO, KAKAROT! STOP! AHHAHAHAA!"

He held on to me tightly. I knew he wasn't going to drop me, but I was still laughing and screaming as he spun me around worried that I would fall. I clutched my hands into the back of his shirt near his mid back. He laughed at my reaction before finally stopping and gently placing me back down. I leaned against the counter all dizzy as he stood in front of me grinning.

"You… You really like to… spin me around like that!"

I laughed while also practically out of breath and slightly dizzy still. He chuckled,

"Yes, I suppose I do. My father used to do that to me when I was young, and I always thought it was fun…"

"He-he; I can't really see Bardock as being 'nice' or anything… Sorry if that's offensive or anything…"

Kakarot nearly brushed it off.

"Nah, war and greed have changed him into the man he is now… He was strict, but he was still my father…"

"Do you not see him like that anymore…?"

He shrugged,

"Not really; to me, he's just another soldier…"

"Oh… sorry…"

"Come on, I said it was fine… Now, let's get something to eat!"

I smiled and nodded. He looked at the stove and saw that the food was done cooking. He shut the stove off and took the food to the table. I grabbed the plates and set them out. We sat down and began to eat.

"You look much better now… You look healthier."

I looked up at him in surprise.

Do I? Really?!

"Oh… well, thank you…"

I blushed and stared down at my food, continuing to eat. He smiled, watching me eat for a moment.

"So, why do you live here, like in an area like this? You're an Elite soldier; so shouldn't you be pretty rich or something?"

He chuckled, looking up at me with a stern look in his eyes and a sly grin across his face.

"Are you saying there's something wrong with where I live?"

My face flushed and I looked down.

"N-No, I… I just…"

He laughed.

"It's okay, I know what you mean, and yeah, I am fairly wealthy, but I save my money and live here for two reasons. The first being that, believe it or not, it's actually safer here than in the wealthier areas, and two, I save all my money in case I need to leave the planet for any emergency… permanently."

He paused for a moment.

"I was thinking that as soon as the other mercenaries get back in one of the bigger Royal ships, we can go, but that won't be for at least two weeks or so… So, until then, we'll be living here…"

I stared at him silently, still blushing slightly.

"Oh, wow… I wasn't expecting that… So, you want to leave as soon as the ship arrives?"

"Yes…"

I smiled at him sincerely and replied,

"Okay…"

He chuckled, continuing to eat as I did. About a minute later, I glanced up to see him looking at me, grinning slightly. I was red in the face from my thoughts of the previous night.

"What is it?"

He stopped eating to look me straight in the eye. He saw that I was blushing badly as he waited for an answer.

"No… it's nothing…"

"Oh, come on… you can tell me; it's okay…"

"He-he; well…"

Should I tell him? What he said to me last night; is he even aware that he said it? Was it intentional? Why?

I blushed more and looked away again, curling my lips and toes.

"It's just that… last night… I heard… I heard you say that… you… you loved me."

There was a moment of silence and weird tension at the table. When I looked back, his whole face was pure red with embarrassment. He knew that he said it; but he wasn't aware that I had heard it. He swallowed hard before quickly getting up from the table, taking his half-finished plate to the sink. I stood up confused.

"Kakarot… are you okay?"

He didn't answer at first. As soon as I took one step forward, he spoke,

"I didn't know that you heard that…"

His voice was shaky, almost like he was nervous. I stepped closer, placing a hand on the center of his back. He flinched from my touch, but, again, didn't try to move away. I began to pet the length of his back and sides; from the middle to his shoulders. I felt him shiver and tense up, so I stopped, slowly taking my hand away. He quickly spun around, grabbing it.

"No, please, don't… don't stop."

I looked up at him confused. I noticed that when I first touched him, his tail unraveled from around his waist and was just relaxed; a major sign of trust. It reminded me of when we first hung out. He held my hand tight in his grasp. I tensed up when he pulled me in closer. He put one hand around the back of my neck slowly leaning in closer.

Is… Is he going to kiss me?!

Our noses were barely touching before he stopped, closing his eyes and inhaled deeply. When his eyes opened, he gave me a very stern look, biting the corner of his lip.

"You still smell like him…"

My face went pale.

"Why don't you go have a shower?"

His voice was practically a whisper to me. I went even paler, remembering the first time Vegeta told me to go shower. I became very nervous.

"Go on… It's right over there."

He pointed behind me to a door near his bedroom door. I looked back at him nervously and then turned and walked to the bathroom. I walked inside and closed the door. There was a lock on it. I went to lock it, but hesitated.

Should I? No, he wants me to be able to trust him… and I want to trust him.

I left it unlocked and began to undress. The water felt amazing on my skin. I shut the water off after rinsing my hair and all the soap off of my body to step out. I grabbed a towel on a nearby hook and began to dry my whole body. I dried my hair and began to put the big t-shirt Kakarot had given me back on, along with my sweats before exiting.

v

Meanwhile, back at palace le douche, Vegeta was throwing a temper tantrum. It had been three days since I had vanished. He threw a glass table at the wall; he father sitting in his throne with his head in one hand, annoyed and disappointed.

Vegeta never did check the bedroom well before. He simply walked in and saw that the room was empty, sensing my presence nowhere in there or the palace for that matter. He lost it and began to destroy everything in his room. Everyone that heard outside walked the other way, nervous they'd die if Vegeta saw them, including Nathan.

"SLAVE…!"

Vegeta stormed out and immediately stormed down to the throne room, checking the dining room and all the others he passed along the way.

"MATE…! TAYLOR…! TAYLOR…!"

He couldn't find me and I was nowhere to be found in the palace. Once he got to the throne room, he called for all the guards and soldiers to come forth at once. That was when the King had come to the throne room as well to see what was going on. That was when he too just realized that I was gone; no one noticed until Vegeta started throwing a fit. (And that's where this bullshit starts.)

"WHERE THE FUCK DID SHE GO?!"

Everyone flinched and stepped back. All of his guards to the palace were gathering in the throne room as he stomped around screaming and smashing things, making himself look like a complete asshole. Nathan was there, too; tucked away in the back of the crowd; he was afraid Vegeta would blame him and kill him for my disappearance. Nathan was naturally a bit concerned, but was relieved knowing that I was finally away from that monster!

"S-Sir, we're doing a city-wide search… We've already started…"

Vegeta blasted a lightning ball of red energy at the man who stepped forward in the front and spoke, obliterating him. Everyone else gasped and took another step back.

"ALL OF YOU GET THE FUCK OUT! I WANT HER FOUND! IF SHE ISN'T FOUND IN THE NEXT HOUR, I'LL KILL YOU ALL!"

"VEGETA, ENOUGH! SOKE REN BEI, DOUNEE, ABBKA!"

The King rose violently to his feet. The room fell silent, but Vegeta was still raging inside. He turned to the crowd of guards.

"You all have as much time as you need to find Lady Taylor… just bring her back as soon as you've found her, understood?"

They all solute the King and bowed.

"YES, YOUR MAJESTY!"

They all yelled at the same time and then marched out on by one. As soon as they were all out, the doors closed and Vegeta grabbing another vase and smashed it at the wall.

"DAMN IT! WHERE THE FUCK DID THAT BITCH GO?!"

"Vegeta, this is no one's fault, but your own."

The King sat back down as his son viciously turned to face him, angry with pure rage.

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?! THIS ISN'T MY…"

"THIS IS ENTIRELY ALL YOUR FAULT!"

His father cut him off. Vegeta froze staring at his father.

"Vegeta, you need to calm down; you're not thinking straight. You need to evaluate and think about where and how she would've got out… Stop being so stupid and think with your head! She has that collar anyways, just use that, and if you can't for some reason… just backtrack."

Vegeta stayed frozen for a moment and then thought about what his father just said. Vegeta didn't know what to say, and then, it hit him; one of the Five Elites, they were the only others with access to his bedchamber.

"Awe, shit…!"

Vegeta sprinted out of the throne room. His father placed his head in one of his hands, rested on the arm of the chair.

"That boy really needs to control his anger… Poor, Lady Taylor… I do hope that she's alright. I hope that when she returns… she'll return to me…"

The king grinned wickedly at his disturbed thoughts flooding into his brain.

v

Vegeta slammed open the bedroom door and ran over to the bed. He threw his face against the pillows and mattress, trying to smell any suspicious scents. Dried blood stained the pillows and mattress from where I was laying. One hit him, a scent; it was one of his Elites. Because four of the five all smelled the same, it was going to be more difficult to find out which one of them would've taken me. The only way out of the bedchamber without leaving through the palace itself was out the window, which was wide open. The curtains blew gently as the cool air blew inside. His eyes burned with fury, he was going to kill whoever to me away from him. Who dare takes the mate of the great Prince Vegeta will suffer at his hands; his bare, cold-blooded hands.

As much as Vegeta wanted the scent to belong to my previous mate, Nathan, it didn't; that meant it could be Vegito, Gogeta, Bardock or Kakarot; it had to be one of them. It could be any of the Five. He closed the doors to the window and locked them. He clenched a fist forming golden energy around his body. He was going to get his revenge, on whoever took me, and me! Vegeta, moments later, walked out of the room to slam into Vegito.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Prince Vegeta. I didn't see…"

Vegeta grabbed him by his shirt, pulling him close down to his face, startling him.

"Where… is… she?!"

He hissed to Vegito through his teeth.

"T-Taylor?! We don't know… We've been looking for her all damn day!"

Vegito pointed behind him to Gogeta and Bardock. Bardock was finally on Vegeta's 'kind-of' good side again, so he was back at the palace. Also considering the fact that I was gone, he could be 'kind-of' trusted. Vegeta breathed heavily against him, and then inhaled deeply, scaring Vegito more.

"It wasn't you…"

They looked at the Prince confused.

"What…? Prince Vege…?"

"That leaves only one…"

He let Vegito go and walked slowly over to the window across the hallway, next to the dungeon door. Everyone was silent, nervously staring at him. Nathan came around the corner to see all the Elites standing there staring at Vegeta. He swallowed nervously.

What the fuck is going on?!

He backed shakily away before quickly turning around and running the other way to get back to his position in looking for me. He needed to find me. He needed to know I was okay… after what happened… He needed to know. Vegeta closed his eyes angrily, sighing before finally speaking again very darkly and lowly,

"…Kakarot…!"