(Beerus's Temple - Outer Fields)
"And right afterwards, just so that I could sell the idea about me being worn down from training, I flew off, found a couple Danger Beasts, pummeled them into dust and happened to come back right as one foot made its way through the doorway." Vegeta concluded, his bombastic tone and large grin never ceasing to bring joy to his rival who was already returning the look with his typical goofy smile.
"Well, well, well, I have to hand it to you 'Getes." Goku said with both a giggle and a quick slap on the back. "It sounded like you had quite the challenge with that one and a whole lot of fun."
"Indeed I d-wait, the hell did you just call me?" In what appeared to be an effort to move on before the prince's temper could flare up anymore or the typical case of ignorance, his rival quickly continued.
"Though there is one question I have. Though I can't seem to remember it at the moment." Almost immediately, the attempt backfired.
"Oh yes, you have one question! What a massive surprise this is to me! In fact, it's so unexpected that automatically I've managed to forget the past, oh I don't know, twenty or so goddamn inquiries that you've let out!" As the volume continued to raise, Vegeta stood up and with every word started to lean closer and closer towards Goku's pondering visage. "In fact, the only way this could be anymore surprising is if somehow, by some unexplained miracle, the blathering that spouts from your orifice is either some scientific, vaguely philosophical nonsense or a phrase that uses so little brain cells, one may actually be convinced you have a black hole in the place of a brain like 'Cat loves food.' or that bald monk's ridiculous 'mondo cool'! Just what is it Kakarot? What question is so unbelievably profound that you have to once more interrupt these tales of epic debauchery which you wanted to hear so badly?! Exactly what level of stupid should I be expecting because I swear, if it's at the level of a toddler. I absolutely WILL! NOT! HESITATE TO SLAP YOUR SHIT!" Unbeknownst to the currently red, panting Saiyan Prince, his rival did not give him a single iota of attention to the point where his dialogue very well might've been heard as just a string of the non-word "blah". Finally after a few more seconds of silence and in a tone that was as excited and happy as his friend was angry, he continued.
"Oh now I remember! I was just wondering, since you've said before that these sessions go on for a very long time, how do you ever go on after that without any food?"
"I… I beg your pardon?" Vegeta questioned, both his face and expression showcasing that he was completely dumbfounded.
"You know, food. As in the stuff we put in our bodies to recharge, the brilliant herbs and proteins that keep our tummies satisfied, the items that we tear through so much of, we keep having to get grocer-"
"I know what you're talking about you insufferable pissant! I just didn't expect it and I also wonder why you asked."
"Well you see, there was this one time that Chi-Chi and I were together after all the business with that Zamasu guy went down and she wanted to test out Super Saiyan Blue which was so strange since she usually doesn't even like normal Super Saiyan and then… then… well my mind goes all fuzzy past that point but from what I can recall, I'd be left spread out on my bed for what felt like hours, puffing like crazy while my stomach would let out the most horrible growls and it would only be after I had at least ten tables worth of meals that I'd be up and running again and so I was wondering if it was the exact same situation." For at least one whole minute, the only thing Vegeta could do was just stand in place, his only motion being that his now massive white orbs would blink every now and again.
"Well Vegeta? Is it the same?" Finally after a few more seconds, he continued.
"You know what? Just for the sake of getting you off my back and so that I can just forget this… odd conversation in the next second or two. I'm just going to say yes. Now moving on…"
"But what about my question about how you've gone without fo-"
"My body is more conditioned, moving on now."
"That answer seems a little ru-"
"Moving on!" said Vegeta through grit teeth.
"Is the question embarrassing for you?" Goku asked innocently.
"I seriously am not doing this right now." Vegeta said, his irritation raising with every moment his rival's lips flapped.
"But why?"
"We're moving on, that's why."
"Why are we moving on?"
"There's no answer to that, we're just moving o-"
"Is the thought of me and Chi-Chi competing in that challenge bothering y-OW!" With speeds that would rival that of the Ginyu Force's Burter, Vegeta quickly pulled the back of his hand away from Goku who quickly went to grasp the slightly pulsing red bump on his forehead.
"Like I said, we're moving on Kakarot. We're moving onto the next story which stars… you know what? To hell with telling you. After enduring what you put me through, you're just going to have to listen to the tale to find out."
(NOTE: This takes place at least two weeks after Vegeta slept with Najenda)
(Imperial Palace Outskirts)
Despite the very simple fact that his days of being nothing more than a cold-blooded and shackled soldier at the mercy of Frieza's command have long since been over with what little remained of his desire to come back being squashed during the time he let himself fall under Babidi's spell, the prince couldn't help but admit to himself with battle he fought that he still loved the thrill that came from putting a target down for good which was especially apparent for this occasion where while on the hunt for an infamous whore peddler, he came across a few of his lackeys on the road who of course, didn't know what to make of him exactly.
"What do you think this is freak, Halloween? Get out of the way!" Normally whenever someone would present the prince with a hurtful albeit somewhat cliched jeer like that, it would be met with an infinitely more witty and scathing comeback before proceeding to do his business which would usually end with the opponent receiving a broken set of teeth, maybe a broken arm and if one was "lucky", a scorching burn. However, even though he paused for a moment as though this was going to be just like one of those times, with the words from Najenda about how all enemies should be eliminated no matter what ringing through his head coupled with the fact that he was on duty as a guardian of the innocent though it was nothing at all like the standard, tights-wearing goofball like Gohan what Gohan would become with his Great Saiyaman identity.
Which he took an almost worrisome amount of pleasure in knowing which could be seen in his devious smirk which quickly became the last thing one member of this group would ever see since in one flash before he could continue on, the warrior went from standing completely still with arms crossed in his vision to having a split-second shot of his fist being mere inches away before it all went dark with the last sound that would hit his ears being a combination of bones cracking, a liquid splashing and the frightened curses and gasps of his comrades. Soon after taking a few seconds to revel some more in both the sight of the fools shaking with fear and the feeling of the warm, oozing blood that spread throughout his hand, the prince quickly retracted his hand in a disturbingly calm manner and proceeded to quickly dispatch the others with equal amounts of brutality ranging from devastating kicks that caused necks to snap to simple finger beams through the skull and he would continue this for what felt like the longest couple of seconds imaginable until finally, the last warrior decided that they wanted to play hero and so with their spear in a hand that was still quaking with fear, they thrust the blade point towards the Saiyan who without so much as glancing at them, instinctively raised his hand which resulted in the man watching as the sharp, stainless metal shattered into several tiny shards. However good news came once he wound up not having to keep staring at that thing out of fear.
Unfortunately though, to say those next few seconds that finally shut his eyes were unpleasant would be an understatement. Almost immediately after the blade shattered, Vegeta violently thrust his leg out, the feeling of the cold hard ground soon being replaced with the split second feeling of something squishy followed up by the sound of something splattering against the surface of a tree which worked such wonders in causing his face to go from being the unnerving smirk to a full on psychopathic grin the likes of which could've only been rivaled by possibly his former emperor and it would remain that way even after he had pulled his leg from a damp, squishy crevice and continued on his "merry" way towards his true target with his only other movement being to look back and chuckle at the display he made.
A pile of bodies laying in pools of red with injuries ranging from snapped necks to skulls being completely punched through and of course the closest thing a display like this could come to having a pièce de résistance. That being a dead man crumbling to their knees with the hole in their stomach providing the most perfect view of a pile of intestines and kidneys, resting at the base of a tree.
Unfortunately for him though, that smile was soon replaced with that of an alerted frown thanks to both the twitch of his ears at what sounded like a distant roar and the feeling of Mine's levels dropping at a rapid rate. About a millisecond later, the prince sped towards the danger which was followed up by his muscles tensing for combat, his expression intensifying and his thoughts being filled with both ideas of what this threat may look like as well as the kind of horrifying pain it was about to endure.
Meanwhile…
With Vegeta's training in the art of ki control and usage still being very prominent in her mind, Mine found herself almost certain that the fight against the Empire, in spite of what the boss told her, would be so, SO much easier. Granted her newly acquired abilities were still fairly foreign to her and when compared to the man who taught them they obviously lacked a whole lot in refinement as well as power but regardless, these were the kind of attacks that would so easily catch a person and most importantly, the Empire off-guard as they'd never be expecting a group like Night Raid to suddenly have the ability to potentially level whole city blocks coupled with the wholly unique advantages their Imperial Arms provided. This war should be finished in a matter of days!
Unfortunately for her, it took the sudden waves of exhaustion that washed over her following her quick usage of an attack she borrowed from the prince to send her careening back into reality and remind her that even with these great abilities, it still takes a great deal of skill and practice to use them effectively and that it was thanks to her carelessness that her death was soon to come and it was going to be at the hands of the aforementioned giant dog squeezing the life from her which came out in a series of pained, eardrum piercing cries of anguish. Luckily for her, it all came to an end with the sound of metal tearing through flesh which was then followed by a loud "THUD!" which prompted the pink-haired assassin's eyes to slowly blink themselves open which resulted in them being graced with both a tiny, very difficult to see blue blip as well as the lavender-haired visage of her best friend and comrade, Sheele which she couldn't help but mentally chuckle at considering that this was quickly becoming something of a running theme with how frequently she has saved her skin from some monster who either used some unexpected battle strategy and/or went through an unpredictable power-up or some psychotic, ridiculously skilled assassin who was dead-set on tearing her to shreds and are so strong that they wound up steamrolling her defenses over the course of the past couple of months but even so, she knew that she'd be lying if she said that she didn't appreciate it.
And even if it were to annoy her, she knew she'd have to keep her mouth shut about it anyway since she knew right from the beginning that this was the kind of thing she'd have to deal with if she was to ever take part in a team and that if it didn't happen, her death in a lot of situations would've come far sooner than what would be expected. In other words, she was incredibly happy to see the smiling face of her best friend and listen to her small comment on the situation.
"That was a close one." Or at least, she would've been if it weren't for the odd, slowly rising sensation of dread in the pit of her stomach, this mysterious feeling of unease that was continuously filling every fiber of her being during what should be a time of relief as well as a cause for celebration. After all, in spite of the odds, they won the day and while they may have won it sooner if maybe Sheele was more adept in ki manipulation to where she could easily fry that orange-haired psycho which would save the two of them a ton of trouble, it didn't matter, they at the very least succeeded and yet she just could not shake this unease from her system.
And much to her shock and sadness, this unease was proven to not be unwarranted for in the few passing seconds that came after Sheele's rescue and in a moment that seemed to play itself back in slow motion, she heard the cocking of a firearm which would soon be followed up by the discharge which along with Sheele's quickly changing expression signaled to her right then and there that these feelings were correct. She was certain now that most likely, what she was about to see would traumatize her for life.
That was until the blue dot, which had unbeknownst to her become a rapid blur came crashing down behind Sheele right after the expected discharge which was quickly followed up by the sound of something tiny being gripped right out of the air. Speaking of sound in fact, it was the only thing that she, Sheele and presumably that psychopath had to go off of since what followed the blur's touchdown was a fairly huge cloud of dust which covered up so much that she could just barely make out the outline of the stranger but even then, that sight would quickly become blurred for in mere seconds, the dust had prompted her eyes to start watering.
While the two of them were dealing with their troubles, far from them sat the injured but still very dangerous Seryu whose feelings had gone from sick and twisted joy over a successful sneak attack to confusion and anger over what had just transpired which soon presented itself in the form of a simple command.
"KORO! SNIFF OUT THAT INTRUDER AND TEAR THEM TO SHREDS!" Then without a shred of hesitation, the hulking bipedal canine quickly charged towards the cloud of dust with an incredibly deep growl, fists raised into striking position and beady red eyes filled with a fury burning as hot as the sun. However, right when he was inches away, it was with a simple "Hmph." that the stranger's fist brutally slammed into the monster's stomach, the force being so great that it not only caused it to stall in his tracks but the resulting shockwave caused all the dust to disperse which revealed the new challenger to be much to the two Night Raid members' delight and the Imperial's anger and shock, the legendary Saiyan himself who was currently examining the tiny bullet he held in his left hand while the other was kept firmly planted in the dog's stomach, a sight that soon started to fill Seryu with the very unfamiliar sensation of pure, unmitigated fear.
"What in the… H-How? How is this… How is this even possible?" Seryu thought with eyes wide open and teeth grit. "I don't understand it, h-he's a human, his attacks s-s-should've been nothing!" Little did she know though it would be very unlikely that she'd care, these thoughts and feelings were the exact same as what was currently running through the heads of Mine and Sheele.
"What speed!" Mine noted. "Granted I knew already this man was fast, especially bed but to actually beat a bullet?! This is just crazy!"
"I can't believe it…" Sheele said with disbelief. "while we were struggling simply trying to find out how to even damage that beast, he just immobilized it with one blow and yet despite this, he's using way less power than what he displayed in the sparring sessions. It's almost like something out of a dre-" A few seconds later, the two of them were shaken from their shock by the familiar commanding tone of the Saiyan.
"What the hell are you two gawking at? You know that reinforcements are most likely on the way, get out of here!" Vegeta barked, his attention still being firmly set on the bullet that was quickly being ground into dust by his fingers.
"We know about that but what about you?" Mine asked, her voice full of concern which prompted a scoff from the prince.
"Honestly, do I look like the kind of person that a couple of fools in armor with cheap armaments would be able to easily put down?" Immediately before they had a chance to ponder the answer, he continued. "I will meet you back at HQ as soon as I'm done with this filth, now go!" Seeing that there just might be an opportunity for her yet with this sudden bout of indecisiveness, Seryu was quickly cocking the gun in her mouth, her aim being deadset on the back of Sheele's skull when she was then caught off-guard by a small burst of yellow energy erupting a few feet away from her.
"You harm her in anyway? I'll make sure that your return in the Empire will be through dust shipped in a bag." Vegeta said coolly before turning his back to Sheele who in the few seconds of their gazes meeting, mouthed a simple but effective "I owe you." before then rushing to sling Mine up and over her shoulder which was followed up by reassurance that the prince could easily handle himself. Once they were at least a good couple of miles away from him, he then turned his attention back to Seryu just as she gave out another command.
"KORO! CHOMP DOWN NOW!" Before the monster could even move an inch, the prince without a single hint of hesitation rammed his fist so deep into the creature's stomach and at speeds so rapid that he left a small imprint and caused him to hack up a good bit of blood which was followed up seconds later by a vicious kick that sent the beast flying back a good couple of feet with the force being so great that not only was he not exactly able to re-situate himself but once his muscled back hit the floor, he started grunting in pain as he felt the flesh being scraped from his back which left a very messy blood trail on the cracked stone, a sight that gave Seryu quite the shock and caused her to start twitching in place every couple of seconds which she tried desperately to hide only to be called on it by the prince who simply turned towards her, his eyes glaring deep into her soul.
"How typical of you high and mighty psycho types. When faced with an opponent that you know you'll win against, you treat every little occurrence, even grievous injuries as if it was all part of the plan and will blabber on about how the victory is inevitable." Vegeta began, his tone being especially biting. "But the moment you're faced with a real fight and someone who isn't so easily broken? You instead in your boots and will either plead for mercy, soil yourself, cry, pull out some truly underhanded sneak attacks or do all three at once and seeing how you are now? You've already got me on high alert for if and when you throw away what little shred of dignity you possess." Immediately upon noticing that the prince was preoccupied with his master, Koro quickly made his move and once more proceeded to charge for the prince with all his might only to then freeze in place once he saw those dark beads of hatred turn their attention towards him.
"Is charging mindlessly really the best you can do freak?" Soon after the last word left his lips, Vegeta quickly charged towards the monster and without even a tiny grunt, he jammed his elbow deep into his opponent's chest and as soon as the air left his systems, he followed up with another comment. "Tch, how pathetic." Before Koro could regain his composure, he felt an incredibly sharp spike of pain and was sent straight into the air by the Saiyan warrior who without hesitation flew straight towards him and followed it up with a series of rapid-fire and insanely painful punches with each follow-up increasing in strength by tiny increments which was causing the beast to continuously cough up blood. Eventually a few moments later, the beast regained his composure for just long enough to attempt to throw a punch at the Saiyan who almost immediately sidestepped and countered it using an incredibly devastating double kick that sent the beast further into the air, after which the prince decided to simply watch as the beast kept going higher and higher into the sky until eventually, gravity soon started to do its thing but right before then, he quickly thrust one arm upward and without warning, fired a series of devastating yellow ki blasts that kept the monster suspended in the air with trend only being broken every now and again by one that had a little bit more power behind it with its specific intent being to blow small holes in the monstrosity's body which would promptly regenerate, a trait that did little more than to remind Vegeta of a certain pink blob from several years back and to let him know that this game would soon get rather dull and with that in mind, he decided it was time to hit the main event.
Right then and there, a harsh, vibrant golden aura surrounded the Saiyan as his two hands drew back into a familiar stance, his gaze being locked onto the beast still traveling upwards, the one he was preparing to turn into a pile of dust and all Seryu could do is look on as the last tiny increment of bravery left her system, leaving her no longer as a soldier eagerly looking forward to wiping out all the injustice that plagued her world but rather as a frail, frightened mortal who was forced to watch as their cherished companion was facing their death at the hands of a merciless psychopath.
"To think I'm wasting all this energy on scum like you." Vegeta grumbled right as his aura instantly exploded outward in the shape of a piercing golden flame, then a torrent of energy began to engulf his entire body and finally, his black hair spiked just a bit more, right as the color shifted into that same piercing golden shade as the flames that surrounded him and once it did, Seryu's fear spiked even more once she realized that she now couldn't even sense the Saiyan's energy which almost seemed to act as a signal to her that winning this fight was an impossibility, a feeling that was only enhanced once she caught a glimpse of the rich purple energy orb that developed in his hands with the power of it being so great that it was actually crackling with electricity and it kept going like this for several more seconds with the energy levels only growing to be more and more vibrant to the point where even though the man was at a great distance away from the ground, the Earth actually began to shake ever so slightly, a sensation even the prince himself seemed to sense as it was right then that at long last, he thrust his arms forward.
"Galick Gun, FIRE!" And just like that, the unstable orb shot from his palms as a single MASSIVE purple stream that was rapidly approached the helpless Koro at speeds not even missiles or bullets could manage and before Seryu could even cry out her friend's name, she watched as the devastating energy wave completely engulfed Koro and tore its way through the sky and clouds above with the only bit of him that ever reached her being one bloodcurdling, chilling roar of searing pain that went from deep and gravelly like what was expected all the way back down to the high pitched squeals and yelps of his regular puppy form.
"KORO!" And it was right then and there, with that piercing yell that her heart just snapped in two which in turn resulted in her voice cracking, fading until eventually, she let her head slump forward and with that, the last bit of her composure left and she started to sob as the prince lowered to the ground, his hair now back to its usual jet black color.
"DON'T FRET CITIZEN! WE'RE ON OUR WAY!" The prince's attention immediately turned toward the source of the noise and, as expected, there were what looked like a good three or four groups of armored imperial bodies charging down the path and judging from how tightened their grips on their weapons were, they were most certainly ready for a brawl though as Vegeta noted, despite their clear determination to kill their target, this fight would be finished in a grand total of three seconds or even less if he used every bit of his power though of course, the thought of his little mudball exploding due to one missed blast kept him from entertaining that thought. Speaking of which, as the Saiyan slowly turned his attention away from the incoming reinforcements and brought it back to the decimated soldier, he soon started to weigh his options carefully. Easily he could unload one final attack into her, maybe one such as a small ki blast or a simple punch through the chest and leave the incoming forces with one "pretty" surprise that would haunt them for years to come which needless to say if one were to see the smirk on his face, it was quite clear he valued that one but of course, as he soon gave it more thought, one massive negative came with the thought that if this warrior was somehow a well-known, high-ranking official in the Empire, a simple murder like this may attract far more unwanted attention to Night Raid. Not that it would matter obviously given that he knew his level of strength was leagues above just about anything the Empire could ever throw but still, considering that he was employed by the group and the amount of innocents that would wind up being endangered in the massive search that would inevitably occur if he became too careless, he knew he couldn't take his chances.
Though that wasn't the only reason for his decision which was made apparent once his expression went from his standard frown to a much more intense look of pure disgust.
"How pathetic." Almost immediately, Seryu halted her cries and looked up at the prince, her expression still stained with tears and her eyes red and incredibly puffy but now along with sadness, it showed both hints of shock and confusion though that didn't last long since almost immediately, she felt as the warrior reached out, viciously dug into her scalp like an animal and without warning, chucked her to the side.
"Despite calling yourself a soldier. Something as simple as one mangy little mutt's passing is still enough to activate the waterworks. Honestly, it's bad enough that I'm already leaving a such a miserable flesh pile out to rot when clearly they're too weak to live but the fact that you picked now to throw out your dignity? Hmph, I'm actually starting to regret choosing to spare you." A few seconds later, the prince started back on his merry way but strangely, he wouldn't take to the skies or at least, he wouldn't be before delivering one last line.
"But if miraculously, you somehow found a way to scrape what's left of your broken, sad excuse of a body off the pavement long enough to make the expected 'Mark my words, revenge will be mine.' speech to an unwilling audience and you end up crossing my path again. Know that next time, I won't be so kind. In fact, this current sensation you're enduring now? I hope that stays in your thoughts for the rest of your life because by the end of our next encounter, I'm going to pulverize you until there's not a single hint of you left on this planet and all the way through, you're going to be begging that I show this kind of graciousness." Right afterwards, in order to show that he wasn't kidding around, Vegeta with a one short breath instantly entered his Super Saiyan state with the sudden power increase causing the broken, will-less warrior to instinctively flinch and turn away in fear. Then, just as quickly as he activated it, the man dropped back down to his base form, looked towards the sky and sped off into the night with the only hint of his appearance being that of Seryu who was now sobbing uncontrollably and rocking back and forth as trauma had finally began to take its toll.
(Night Raid HQ)
Following his first encounter with Vegeta, the optimistic young Tatsumi was, like most people would after facing a man of his stature, power, odd choice of dress and temper, had not a single clue on what to think about. Granted, prior to leaving his village, he was made aware of how all throughout the world, there was no shortage of unusual beings with the elder even having gone into detail about an encounter with a man who was only referred to as the Turtle Hermit but as these were mostly the subjects of simple fairy tales intended for mostly entertainment, there wasn't much in the way of evidence to stop him from simply writing the majority of this off as being fictional.
And in turn, nothing, therefore, could've prepared him for the sudden appearance of this spiky haired stranger and especially not the extreme extent of his powers which he had quickly likened to having a destructive force that was TEN times as strong as a hurricane and just like that disaster, he was punishing and efficient as he was unpredictable. Just from the three or so missions they had partnered on alone, the boy had already made the seemingly arbitrary task of not inciting his fury one of his personal duties for after seeing what had happened to a few men for simply mocking his widow's peak, he absolutely could not put that image out of his head and he especially could not stop thinking about if he was put in their place.
However, in spite of how terrified he was of this otherworldly combatant, what also happened to spark thanks to his appearance was the feeling of inadequacy due to just how blatant the power gap between the two of them were and from the inadequacy sprouted rage for he was soon driven to believe that had he possessed even a fraction of the Saiyan's strength, he would've easily been able to save his friends. Then, from that rage, there would be the sudden urge to improve, an urge that he acted upon almost immediately as soon as Bulat informed him of the small bit of training he went through in regards to Ki control and thus wound up becoming, along with the rest of Night Raid, one of Vegeta's most promising students.
Though that did absolutely nothing to deter the onslaught of negativity he felt towards himself from swarming through and infecting every aspect of his mind until this very moment following his mission with Leone where he finally decided to do something about it and as such, he moved into his room, sat down with his legs crossed, and proceeded to meditate, his energy soon proceeding to flow all throughout his body as soon as his mind was at peace with the only noise that was remotely noticed being the occasional crackle of thunder. This continued on for a good couple of minutes and would've kept going… if it wasn't for the sudden scream from outside.
"YOU DID WHAT?!" Immediately recognizing the sound as being the voice of his comrade and friend Bulat, Tatsumi's eyes shot open, his pupils soon shrinking with fear and so he quickly stood up and rushed to the front, only to then stop as he met not some surprise threat but rather one incredibly tense stand-off between Vegeta and Bulat with the latter possessing the exact opposite expression to the former's calm if slightly annoyed look of boredom as his brow was furrowed, his muscles were tense and the veins in his neck were beginning to bulge and the look was only matched ever so perfectly by his furious tone which was so loud that not only did the others soon pour outside to watch the commotion but the only two that were there prior, Mine and Sheele, were actually taken aback by the change in temper though after hearing the man go on, even he had to admit that this was somewhat justified.
"DID YOU LISTEN TO A DAMN THING?! THE COMMANDER MADE IT VERY CLEAR THAT ANY AND ALL TARGETS ARE TO BE ELIMINATED! IN OTHER WORDS, PSYCHOTIC DEALINGS LIKE LEAVING A HIGH RANKING IMPERIAL ALIVE ALL BECAUSE YOU WANTED TO RELISH IN THEIR SUFFERING IS NOT AT ALL A PART OF THE PLAN!" Upon hearing that last part, Leone couldn't help but chime in.
"Wait a second, he did what?!" She shouted with disbelief.
"Vegeta, what the hell were you thinking?!" Tatsumi added on. "I mean I know from watching you work you're the kind of man who relishes in the kill but seriously?! Do you have a single clue how much problems you've just caused u-"
"Mind your tone, both of you." Vegeta harshly interjected. "Honestly judging from the screaming I'd almost be inclined to believe I was talking to a bunch of toddlers instead of fully-grown warriors." Before anyone could express any disapproval for the insult he just threw out, Mine took her chance to throw in her piece.
"They sound like that because what you pulled was completely braindead! Instead of burning that psychotic bitch to the ground for both the pain she caused me and nearly taking my best friend's life and thus ending the problem right away, you just created a whole new problem for now she will be hunting for us way more vigorously than ever before which can result in any one of our deaths!"
"If I had simply beaten her into the ground and made her taste the humiliation of defeat, that sentiment would actually be understandable and the points would be accurate." Vegeta began, his tone relaxing only ever so slightly. "But unlike some people I know, I made damn certain to leave her with a sight that would haunt her thoughts and dreams for an eternity. It'd be a damn miracle if she somehow made her way back onto the battlefield."
"But you forget one thing Vegeta." Najenda began, her voice unusually calm as she stepped out into the rain. "What we're up against isn't a regular gathering of conscripts and untrained mercenaries like what you may have faced in your day. The Empire consists almost entirely of skilled and motivated warriors who endure long hours of extensive and brutal training regiments that are intended to mold them into the perfect killing machine. Moreover, considering how high this one ranked coupled with her complete disregard for any life that is against the Empire, it's not entirely pointless to consider that this kind of trauma would've been experienced once, twice or even several times prior to this event, meaning that at best, she may struggle to fight for at least a week or two but once that time is up, she will most definitely be out for rev-" In response, much to the surprise and irritation of the other Night Raid members, the prince did nothing but scoff.
"Spare me the novel excerpt, you think I'm a fool? I expected that you'd know from prior moments what I've been through, how I've been raised since birth to be a warrior, to be the leader of the Saiyan race and from that point on, I've experienced levels of hell far beyond the child's play those insects you're so scared of have endured. They experience broken arms? I've experienced being left a bloody mess following training sessions. Their grievous injuries? They mean nothing to a man like me who has been killed and then rescued from the embrace of death three times. You think you know trauma? My entire planet along with my race as completely wiped from the face of existence and I had to bear through the abuse of my boss, the culprit behind it all!" The moment he paused, Bulat was just about to jump in when the man continued on.
"Those fools however? They have no idea what true pain feels like. The kind that strikes you at your very core, that saps you of all your energy and leaves you blubbering for what feels like hours. The kind that will never truly heal and can easily be reopened with a simple slice or in this case considering that she seemed to have already been suffering from another event like this, this experience has only made that wound far harder to mend. I appreciate the attempt at trying to get me to see the 'error' of my actions here but I should tell you right now that you're wasting both your time and my own. From the very beginning, I thought I made it clear that I take orders from no one but myself and expected that you'd respect that." A few seconds later, his attention then turned to the still very incensed Bulat whose fists were now starting to twitch, as though it was taking every ounce of his control to keep from hitting the warrior.
"With all that said, I'd appreciate it if you moved to the side for I'd like to return to my quarters and rest far more than I would continuing to listen to this miserable moaning." Right then, everyone except Bulat, Akame and Najenda gasped, the majority of their expressions quickly going from shock right into anger. Granted, they were well accustomed to the fact that the Saiyan Prince was so incredibly hot-blooded and not exactly the most savory sort but regardless, the fact that he had the nerve, the utter gall to be this disrespectful and insulting to their leader was more than enough to make even Tatsumi starting to seriously reconsider the fact that they recruited him in the first place.
As for Najenda, she simply let out a sigh. Being a woman who possessed as much experience as she did from being a part of the Empire for so long, attitudes like this were something that she was quite eerily used to which even included someone like Vegeta and it was because of that occasion that she was well-aware of how people who experience moments like this sometimes just required a bit of alone time in order to calm down and once that finished, they'd then move into apologizing for their behavior.
With Akame, her reaction was fairly natural to a situation like this though instead of anger, it was simply that of shock and a slight hint of annoyance but as for the final member, Sheele found herself staring on in fascination.
"I know I should be enraged right now," She mentally began. "I know that what Vegeta said is disrespectful and uncalled for but… I just can't help it. It's very rare to see someone talking back to the boss like this and showing this degree of rebellion. Not to mention they're also the one who saved my life and… just… I honestly don't know what to say. I mean ever since the man first got here my body has been feeling…"
"What, are you daydreaming?" Vegeta brusquely questioned, his eyebrow cocked. "Step asi-" The prince immediately threw his arm up upon seeing the first twitch and in a move that should've realistically shocked no one and yet it still did, he caught Bulat's fist in the blink of an eye and immediately followed that up with a quick knee to the stomach, causing the man to gasp and collapse to the ground in pain and once the massive muscle-tank escaped his vision and he started his way to the door, he caught a quick glimpse of Lubbock getting ready to charge him only to be halted by a stern glare from Najenda who calmly stepped out of his way. After a few more seconds of watching him make his way inside as well as an argument that quickly erupted, Sheele took her chance and after passing Mine to Tatsumi and while everyone was distracted, she crept her way inside and through a skill that the man had taught her, she followed his energy source to his room all the while being extra careful not to give her position away, especially once she reached the doorway where she very quickly moved to the wall the moment she saw the slightest head turn by the prince.
After taking a few seconds to catch her breath, she then proceeded to slowly lean in until her head was just barely visible and watched as the man was turned over in his bed with his back facing her with the only sounds that came from him being a couple of calm, steady breaths. At that point, Sheele couldn't help but give a warm smile at the sight of the brash, vicious Saiyan Prince, seemingly sleeping both as soundly and as peacefully as a baby. Though she also couldn't help but blush once as she started to stare for even longer for her attention was now being drawn to his toned, rock-hard and scarred musculature which in her opinion would cause the majority of bodybuilders to lower their heads in shame before walking off to end their career and the panties of women to start dampening and once she started becoming a statistic of the latter after a few more seconds, she hastily started to make her way back when a certain gruff tone sounded off.
"You know I can sense energy levels far lower than you. There's no point in trying to hide it from me." Immediately, the girl froze in place though thankfully, she wasn't kept for very long as the prince then let out a simple command as he turned over to see who or what it was that had tried to awake him from his slumber.
"Well, what are you waiting for? Come on in… Sheele? Let me guess, you were concerned after that little episode?" The girl nodded to which the man sighed. "I should've figured as much. Well then, are you going to come in or not?" Quickly Sheele complied to his commands, her only stop being so that she could shut the door just so that they could feel like they had at least a tiny bit of privacy. Once that was done, she soon nestled herself into the vacant spot of the mattress, all the while the prince continued to eye her with such intensity.
"I-I also just wanted to give you my…"
"It was no problem." Vegeta interjected. "That overgrown furball was nothing short of pitiful. It's no wonder why the sneak attack was even attempted."
"Oh well… I'm glad to hear it."
"Though if I must be honest, I'm actually quite glad to see that both you and Mine are alright. It would've been hell on my conscience if even one of you had fallen." Sheele soon wound up taken aback by the man's choice of words.
"Really?" Sheele began. "Wow, this is new. I always thought that because of how you were before that you were…"
"The kind that wouldn't give a single damn about the death of a comrade? Heh, if you met me from years and years back you would've seen that though thanks to one harebrained idiot's soft heart rubbing off on me, I'm not that type of warrior anymore."
"If you don't mind me asking, who is this 'harebrained idiot' that you refer to?" The Saiyan's eyes went wide.
"Did I really not tell you anything about Kakarot?" The assassin proceeded to nod. "Well then in that case to start with what I just said, his Saiyan name is Kakarot though most know him by what he was called by the locals of this planet, Son Goku."
"Son Goku? You mean like the character from that one b-"
"Yes though mercifully unlike that story, he's no ruler since with his brand of stupidity, I can promise you that whoever he's leading will meet their demise very quickly."
"How bad is it? His stupidity I mean."
"I'll put it this way, he makes babies look like scientists. Though if I must be kind to the man and give credit where it is rightfully due, if it wasn't for his existence and our initial battle, I wouldn't be as motivated to push myself as far as I am currently."
"Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't you tell me that fighting what you Saiyans mostly care about? Why would this Goku's intelligence be a problem then?"
"You see here's the biggest issue. If he had some semblance of brain activity or sense and was able to work out things such as equations and whatnot, that WOULD improve his fighting to a significant degree and at the very least, I'd be spending less time repeating the obvious and picking up after him with all the ridiculous mistakes that he has made such as letting dangerously high-level threats go when they should be put out of their misery." Moments after seeing Sheele's mouth beginning to open, he quickly added more.
"And before you ask, no me leaving that orange-haired insect alive doesn't count for you see, unlike what you people have faced, Kakarot and I have had to face foes that can annihilate planets in the blink of an eye, restore themselves to full health if so much as a single cell or core of their body remains, armies that can conquer an entire galaxy. All in all, I am in no way trying to boast about all this but let's just say that compared to what I've had to face in my lifetime coupled with the strength I possess makes a psychopath whose entire body is weaponized and has… well, now had, a dog that can suddenly become far more monstrous with the uttering of a simple command seem far less threatening. Not only that but I have full intentions to finish the job if we ever cross each other's paths again. Unlike Kakarot who'd rather give his opponents every opportunity they can to reach their full potential which 9 times out of 10 usually results in him being left sprawled out on the ground with quite a few broken bones."
As the prince had continued with his calm but firm venting about his frustrations in regards to his rival and the shoehorned in quick explanation for one of his more questionable choices, all Sheele could do was sit and listen with total fascination at how one moment, the man could go from coldly staring down one of her closest friends and comrades, ready to fight them when necessary to being fairly friendly and venting about one of his friend's lack of brain activity in a manner not unlike what she'd see children doing on occasion.
And once that thought came into her head, she couldn't help but giggle a little bit, which prompted the prince's eyebrow to cock upward.
"What's so humorous?" He questioned, arms crossed and his expression quizzical but stern. Quickly the girl replied.
"I just find it a little funny that for someone I should be disturbed by or at least angry at for the choice they made that instead they turn out not only to be very entertaining but some of the best company and considering the story you shared, honestly it…" Silence filled the air for the next several seconds.
"Yes? Are you ever going to finish?" The prince asked with Sheele fidgeting slightly as though she was trying desperately to answer.
"It… it just warmed my heart to see that still in spite of all that you've done, deep down you're still as human as the rest of us." Despite being touched by the line, as evidenced by his blush. The prince, as usual couldn't resist with his usual snark.
"Hmph, what a cliché thing to say." He soon started to raise himself up. "Sweet though and it was a nice way at covering up whatever personal emotional revelation you were going to give so at the very least you deserve credit for that before I g-" Suddenly, the prince felt as a good portion of his wrist was surrounded by warmth right as he started making his way toward the door.
"What's the matter? You wanna talk m-" Before he could speak anymore, the assassin had already stood up and without warning, kissed him square on the lips, causing his eyes to go wide and for his body to freeze for a few moments out of shock. After a few more seconds and just as he was beginning to enjoy it, Sheele soon pulled away, the visual of both their faces being stricken with red now being fully revealed and to match, Sheele's smile and voice were slightly shaky but nevertheless laced with lust.
"I w-wasn't ready for you to leave."
"Clearly." Vegeta said breathlessly, his eyes then darting towards the door. "But what about the others? You think they won't question the fact that you're gone and that my door is l-"
"Shhh…" Sheele began with one finger to her soon-to-be lover's lips. 'Don't you worry, we'll deal with that when we come to it. For right now, all I need is your undivided attention on me.' Vegeta nodded.
"Alright then, but why?"
"Well consider this an extension to my thank you." A few seconds later, their make-out session had continued with Vegeta, whose defenses had now been almost completely lowered by that point, proceeding to kiss back. As the hormones started to tighten their control on the two of them, Vegeta's arms immediately started snaking themselves around Sheele's figure which prompted her to do the same to his neck in response and maneuver it so that the man had his back turned to the bed where she then, after a few more seconds, began to slowly push the man down into the form-hugging mattress with the latter purposefully showing little resistance.
As time went on, the two of them began to deepen the kiss which soon led to the air around them as well as the act becoming far more steamy and erotic though instead of going hard and brutal like how most sessions with the Saiyan wound up, their tongues were instead locked in a slow and graceful dance with one another with certain motions prompting an occasional low moan from the two of them. Deciding to make things a bit more interesting, Sheele then released one of her hands from around his neck as well as her lips from his own and began to snake her way down the man's neck, leaving a trail of kisses down his body all the while her hands made their way down to his clothed crotch to give it a quick gentle squeeze, the sudden sensation causing him to let out another low moan and later a whole series as she continued to leave her trail of love down his body. As the action continued, Sheele could soon feel as her inner thighs once more started to leak profusely and as a certain piece of fabric began to cling a bit more tightly.
"Heh, finally an opening." Vegeta thought to himself with a devilish grin once the smell of arousal filled his nostrils before taking two fingers and in a smooth and fluid motion that did not steal the gal's attention away from her current kissing duties, lowered them to her crotch and proceeding to lightly pat and pet the aching spot, the sudden sensation resulting in another quick moan. About a minute or two of this same motion had passed until eventually, both parties could feel as almost all sense of their self-control was stolen away and replaced by their natural and base animalistic urges and it was with this change that once again, another major shift in action occurred in the form of the prince breaking from their union in order to proceed with the process of 'getting comfortable' with the beginning of it all consisting of, as always, the removal of his gloves and combat gear before then proceeding with the jumpsuit, a process that for those who were inexperienced with this kind of outfit would've taken hours just to manage, though for someone like Vegeta who has been wearing this kind of gear almost all his life, he was usually able to keep the time down to an impressive couple of seconds and once said seconds passed, Sheele could only stare in awe at the sight of the man's muscled, battle-hardened frame being revealed at long last.
Though unlike most other occasions with Vegeta, the staring didn't last long and before he knew it, Sheele had soon decided to begin the stripping process herself before any order could be given, a motion that the man decided to take as a challenge. Finally after a few seconds of fabric flying across the room and sweat dripping with anticipation, the now almost nude pair went right back into making out with the girl, both out of pleasure and the desire to pull him closer, keeping him in a death grip with her legs which were almost perfectly coiled around his lower back.
After a few more minutes of the action as well as the shifting of positions, the two finally broke away from one another and once they noticed just how close they were to the moment of truth with how the prince's hardened member was just casually resting against her crotch, they decided to give each other a few more seconds to breathe before the assassin soon got herself into position with her fingers spreading her dripping outer lips apart just so that the experience would be as painless as possible. Then after a few more seconds were spent with Sheele's drenched and aching nether-region hovering inches away from Vegeta's twitching and eager member, she looked her lover straight into the eyes and gave a simple request.
"If it's alright with you, please be gentle with me. I-It's my first time." The prince just gave her one of his typical expressions and a scoff.
"I figured. Honestly if that wasn't going to happen, you think I would've allowed us to switch positions in the first place or for this silence to go on as long as it has?" After a few seconds of mulling it over, Sheele lowered her head a bit in shame, feeling a bit stupid, an action that the prince certainly didn't appreciate judging by his voice.
"Don't feel bad, trust me after hearing the kind of garbage Kakarot spews, a question like that is welcomed." Feeling better, Sheele looked up with a small smile and chuckle which was met by Vegeta's seductive smirk and matching voice. 'Now then, shall we begin?' Nodding slowly in response, the purple hair assassin let out a few small moans and gasps as she began to slowly lower herself inch-by-inch onto his long, thick erection. The feeling was unlike anything she had ever felt before both in how much pleasure it provided and also just how much it made her shudder with ecstasy, the mixture of slight hints of pain and comfort only driving her to want more.
And thankfully, it seemed as though Vegeta heard her call for as soon as those few seconds of her getting used to the feeling passed and once she signaled to the man that she was completely fine, he wasted no time and proceeded to pump upwards with a slow and comforting pace, thus beginning yet another session though this time, unlike the many previous occasions, this was not based on fucking each others' brains out, letting off steam or anything like that. What was presented here was instead two lovers and comrades locked in a showcase of passion and care for one another.
As time went on, Sheele set her hands down on the prince's chest, bracing herself for the pleasure was becoming so much for her to handle and then, much to her surprise, the prince calmly took her hands and looked into her eyes, his face surprisingly showing some concern.
"Is it… t-too much for you?" Vegeta struggled to ask through his own increasingly frequent moans. "Because if so I can… I-I can stop if ooh… you like." Thankfully for him, she shook her head.
"Uh. Uh. No, it feels… so good… keep going please." Feeling his signature confidence return, the prince happily obliged and continued to concentrate on his pace for the sole purpose of delivering as much pleasure and comfort for the assassin as humanly possible to the point where as his thrusts picked up only slightly in pace, his hands crept up to her shoulders and with that, he propped himself up so that his back was now resting against the headboard and then seconds later, he proceeded to kiss and nibble on her neck, resulting in both far more moans from the gal as well as her arms quickly wrapping around his head in an attempt to pull him closer.
Meanwhile…
Following that incredibly tense confrontation with the Saiyan, time seemed to slow for the proud and tall warrior Bulat once he noticed Sheele's absence, it being caused most likely by the frightening nature of how that whole talk was progressing and how it was with little consideration being given for any members who weren't as… mentally prepared to bare witness to that kind of confrontation, a fact that caused the man to repeatedly smack and berate himself every now and again for being so careless. Granted with the very nature of their job, one could say that someone showing off their unholy dark side during a personal squabble is small potatoes when moments before you wind up disemboweling someone but even so, he still felt guilty for every second of it, especially considering the type of person Sheele was and what she had to experience all throughout her life and so for the majority of that walk, the only thought that persisted in his head was the desire for a chance either in the morning or now to personally apologize to her for what she had to see and hear and after spending a couple minutes walking down those halls and seeing nothing, it seemed that chance wasn't at all going to present itself.
At least, not until he heard what seemed like a low moan of sadness seconds later, causing his ears to immediately perk up.
"I can't believe it, she's actually crying and all because of me not being able to keep it together." Immediately, his hand balled up into a fist and without warning, he began to quickly but carefully make his way down the halls, trying his best to follow the direction of the noise and hopefully reconcile everything with his comrade.
(Night Raid HQ - Vegeta's Room)
As time continued to pass and as the pleasure was becoming far too great to handle, the assassin felt her eyes roll into the back of her skull, despite how slow they were moving and how this was far more akin to that of a standard lovemaking session than it was to one long rough pound-fest, just the way every inch of the prince's length was filling and massaging her insides, how his tongue and lips were skillfully reaching each and every erogenous zone on her body and without fail, all of it was providing a level of pleasure that was, for lack of a better term, unreal and so unbelievably satisfying which was why when the prince pulled away from her about two minutes later, disappointment was quickly seeping into her system or at least, it would've been if it weren't for how the pair's gazes met one another.
The two watched each other let out wave after wave of passionate moans, taking in each other's company while also non-verbally letting the other know just how much they trusted and loved them at that moment as the desire for one another continued to grow and grow. Eventually, after a good minute or two of thrusting, caressing and staring, the two couldn't take it anymore and so, their lips soon went from being inches away to smashing against each other for another passion-fueled, albeit very sloppy kiss all the while they continued to caress and fondle one another.
"Ah. Ah. Ah. Ah. Ah. Ah. Ah. Oh Vegeta… it feels so good. Please give me more." Sheele thought to herself before then letting out a small shocked yelp for the prince, in a moment that almost seemed as though he was reading her mind, had started sliding his hands down to her firm butt and began to lightly squeeze while simultaneously speeding up his thrusts just a slight bit more which caused to follow up her surprise with another series of muffled moans. A few more minutes had then passed when the girl decided to bounce up and down the prince's length a bit faster in an attempt to meet his current pace all for the sole purpose of getting herself more and more drunk off all the ecstasy.
"UH! Uh! Uh! Uh! Oh god! Oh Vegeta! I love it! Please give me more!" Sheele cried out as soon as she broke away for air. Happily obliging, the prince picked up his pace just a bit more but even so, it was still not enough to come close to the ridiculously long, incredibly rough sessions he was far more used to having. Despite this, Sheele was slowly drifting further and further off the edge with her moans becoming far more plentiful and raising in volume, her language becoming a bit more… colorful so to speak and her grip on him now tightening even more. Unfortunately for them though, like all good things in life, it was all about to end as signaled by the quivering and tensing in their nether-regions.
"Vegeta… I-I'm gonna…"
"I know!" Vegeta interjected. "I'm right there too! I-I can't hold on f-for much longer!"
"I-In that case." Sheele began with a smile before suddenly pulling Vegeta close to where her head was resting on his shoulder. "Let's do it together!" Despite the lack of vocal response, the way in which the prince's arms quickly wrapped themselves around the girl right as his pace began to increase was all she needed for her to know that he was down for it. However, despite the inevitability of their impending climax, the pair tried their damnedest to hang on for as long as they could, hoping to at least squeeze a good extra 45 seconds of pleasure but as their luck would have it, by the 20 second mark, they just couldn't take anymore. And so with a few more thrusts and one mighty scream that nearly matched the volume of a certain Legendary Super Saiyan, the pair went through one devastating climax with Vegeta's shaft unloading load after load of his spunk inside Sheele's caverns to the point where the excess was actually starting to bubble and splatter from the folds which were at the same time, releasing tidal waves of her juices, coating his aforementioned shaft, balls, thighs and even a little bit of his lower abdomen. A few seconds later, after taking a moment to catch their breath, the assassin began to carefully raise her stiff, tired body off of the spent shaft and once she did, the man without even a second thought, moved just enough to his right so that she could lay back right beside him.
"That… was… that was…"
"Incredible?" Vegeta finished for her right as he started getting comfortable.
"Yeah." Sheele giggled. "That's right."
"Heh, that's what they all say." Vegeta muttered to himself as he set his arms behind his back only to move one once he noticed how Sheele was wanting to nuzzle up next to him. "But regardless, I'm glad to hear it."
"Thank you so much for this Vegeta," She began, her tone then changing into something more apologetic. "Though I know it must've been so strange to spring this on you so suddenly and for that, I really am sorry. It's just that my hormones were on the fritz, I really liked you and…"
"Don't worry about it." Vegeta interjected. "I didn't mind one bit, after all I understand what it feels like to have natural urges suddenly take all control. There's nothing to be ashamed of." A few seconds later, his lips curled into his signature smirk. "In fact, I'd say that after what I've been through today, this was a most welcome treat." Right before Sheele could let out another thanks, they were suddenly disturbed by the sound of a door being thrown open, causing their attention to then shift towards the burly intruder.
"Please forgive my sudden entrance Sheele! I just wanted to…" He immediately stopped himself once his mind caught up to what exactly it was he caught a glimpse of and immediately began putting the pieces together once Sheele quickly rushed under the blankets to cover herself with a blush. Realizing the horrible, HORRIBLE mistake he made, he quickly started piecing together an apology.
"I-I'm so sorry to disturb you! I mean… I thought the door not being locked meant that everything was fine and t-t-t-that you were fine with company coming. I didn't ex-e-expect to see you decided to get down and dirt-I mean wanted privacy and so I…" Unfortunately for the warrior whose attention was focused solely on Sheele, he didn't quite notice the vein on the prince's head that was profusely pulsing coupled with his scrunched up face of pure annoyance and anger and so he never was able to prepare himself for when the man suddenly leaped out of bed, charged towards him and with speeds as swift as ever, he shut the big man up with one brutal chop that caused him to unconsciously fall face-first into the ground or at least, he would've if it wasn't for the Saiyan quickly catching him and proceeding to rush out the door with the warrior in tow back to his room, the sight of which, especially considering that he was still naked and very clearly trying to rush it so that no one would see him like that, caused Sheele to let out a chuckle as she happily drifted off to sleep.
Author's Addendum:
Poor Sheele... just... poor her. There aren't many character deaths that shock me anymore but what happens to Sheele in AGK was quite a heartbreaking surprise and really cemented how in AGK, there were no safe characters. Of course later they'd lean way too hard on that but for this one? This was truly shocking and considering Saiyan Prince was an unapologetic power fantasy to a degree? Really there was no other way this could go down, Vegeta had to save Sheele and honestly? I like what I wrote here despite its flaws. I especially like how this plays out less like smutty porn sex and more just a passionate moment of intimacy.