Raditz tapped his foot against the floor.

'Just how long does it take to get into battle attire?'

He had been waiting just shy of ten minutes by this point, still in the dining hall. He knew that women in the Frieza Force took half the time, maybe less, just like the men.

'She'll soon learn that it's unwise to keep a Saiyan waiting.'

Clang!

"Augh-! CAN YOU NOT DO THAT?!" Raditz screamed at the lady close by him.

"M- m- my apologies! But Her Highness is ready to begin…!" the attendant shivered in fright.

"Raditz, my attendants mean well, dear!"

The Princess entered, dressed in a sleeveless one-piece gi with opaque tights, and surprisingly, high heels. Her hair was styled into a lavish bun atop her head.

"Were nine of those ten minutes for your hair, woman?" Raditz mocked.

She huffed in indignation. "How dare you!"

"Your Highness," an attendant bowed, "the arena is ready to go."

Princess Snake smiled, attempting to ignore what Raditz had just said. "Excellent. This way, then, Raditz."

Raditz followed behind everyone, taking in the over-the-top decor once again with an intrigued expression. He shook his head.

"I haven't had many opportunities to use my fighting arena. But oh, for you and I, it will be perfect!" the Princess informed.

"You seem to not settle for anything less than perfect," Raditz responded.

She pouted. "But of course, or I wouldn't be a princess!"

An attendant approached. "Your Highness. Will you require a referee for the match?"

"Hm… I think not. Would you like one?"

"No," Raditz groaned out impatiently.

"Well, then. Let us start."

The two made their way onto the arena that was similar in appearance to the one from the Cell Games, but the stone was maroon with crystal spires sticking out from all four corners.

"I assume this is plenty enough space for you?"

"Yes, now let's get on with it already!" Raditz said, "I want to see the full power of a goddess!"

"Do I hear you being cocky before we've even started?"

"I am no ordinary Mid-class Saiyan. In life I was a member of one of the Super Elite squads. Now… come at me, woman!"

Raditz only slightly crouched, not fully on-guard just yet. Her dainty appearance suggested she didn't train much. But, he had been told a tale in Hell by the other Saiyan residents that the gods in the afterlife were supposedly all really proficient in fighting, with higher power levels and more techniques compared to mortals.

Princess Snake got into her battle stance which to Raditz looked similar to Vegeta's, what with her curled fingers and her devious smirk. Though to us it would look more like Yamcha's battle stance. Predatory. Calculating. And unpredictable. There was a glint in her ruby irises.

She dashed forwards with such velocity that made Raditz dodge away sharply to avoid being nicked across the face with her fingernails.

Raditz chuckled, "Such speed from the start… I'm impressed."

"What did you expect? That approach was little effort on my part."

Raditz gave an excited smirk. This was going to be fun, he could sense it. "I'm glad to hear that. Now it's my turn!"

Raditz dove in with a right hook into a dual kick; the princess was hit by the final kick. She somersaulted backwards then fired a purple ki blast at his chest, which he swatted away.

She perked her brows at the display, then prepared to guard or dodge as Raditz heaved both arms into the air, then swiftly lowered them and shot his own blast.

"Double Sunday!"

The twin pink beams zoomed towards her, but she managed to dodge the attack. There was an explosion, and as she looked behind her to see it detonate on the rock wall, she clenched her stomach. She then turned back towards her Saiyan opponent.

"Not a bad attack! Just how much power do you have inside you, I wonder?"

Raditz grinned evilly. "You might be sorry you asked…"

He crouched down low, hands spread either side of him and rushed forwards, performing a charge attack with his forearms. She caught one arm but failed to catch the other, giving Raditz the chance to elbow her on the back of her shoulder.

She travelled some distance before getting back up. She was growing somewhat annoyed.

"Hmph… from what I've seen so far, you have a barbaric fighting style. Do tell me you have something a little more refined!" she mocked.

"It is very foolish of you to suggest that I'm some amateur!" Raditz yelled, lobbing a ki ball with an electric aura at her. It was his Saturday Crush.

The princess decided she would catch it and throw it back at him, but as it made contact, she was stunned in place by it.

"Now who's the amateur!" Raditz guffawed and delivered a knee strike into her torso, and she was sent to the ground.

Raditz was slowly advancing towards her, but she rolled quickly away from him and hit him with a surprise punch to his gut, by elongating her arm to reach him.

"What the-?"

"Caught you!"

Raditz staggered back from the powerful blow. It was more powerful for Raditz than it actually was, because he had developed a slight fear of being hurt in his gut. Even though he was dead, he still had all his senses.

"Ragh! Take this!"

Raditz went in for another knee strike but he stumbled as Princess Snake caught his knee and used his momentum against him. She then sent a high kick to his back, which pushed him back a few metres.

Raditz fired his Weekly Special that consisted of a barrage of ki blasts, which she had no choice but to take head-on. A smoke screen covered her view. She conjured a fan off-stage to blow the smoke away, which Raditz was a little confused by. Was the fan always there or had someone just put it there?

As the last of the smoke cleared, Raditz was suddenly on the defensive, catching blows from a new flurry of punches and scratches.

During the volley of blows, Raditz spoke. "You call me barbaric and yet, here you are once again using your nails to scratch me like some cat."

"I'll have you know that my nails are some of the prettiest and most perfect nails in the entirety of Otherworld! And for your information, cats can be delicate creatures with swift movement!"

"I'm sure you would've loved to see all the mangy ones I've fought. I haven't had the pleasure of seeing any… refined felines."

Princess Snake ducked a blow from Raditz and tried to kick his shin. But, Raditz's leg didn't budge.

"You were so close. Perhaps if you had attacked with the heel of your high heels, I might have felt something."

"Darn!"

Raditz hoisted her up by the arm and lobbed her over his shoulder across the arena. She landed with a thud and was starting to get a little weary.

Raditz laughed. "Don't tell me this is all you have to offer! I might as well leave now if you're going to fight this poorly!"

'Never!' Her snakish voice resounded in her head.

"I'm not done yet, Saiyan!" she declared resolutely.

She ran as fast as she could and performed a dive kick right at his chest. Raditz dodged it entirely, but he didn't expect her to come at him again straight afterwards with a kick to the side of his head.

He toppled to the floor in surprise. He got to one knee, and with a hidden arm he charged a ki blast… his Shining Friday.

The princess ran with both arms behind her and attempted another kick. Though, she soon realised her mistake as the pink glow behind Raditz intensified and a nasty ki attack hit her directly.

"Gah!"

"Stings, doesn't it?"

Princess Snake panted from the heat that the blast was packed with. She got up, dusted herself off and smiled at him in admiration.

"Never in all my years have I seen a mortal so experienced in combat. Granted, I may have overlooked the battle prowess of your brother, but still, he said he had places to be!"

"Is this a sign that you've given up?" Raditz asked boldly. 'Heheh… if she had my level of experience she would know about Saiyan tails and their weakness. Wait, has she even noticed it?'

"Looking at your current state compared to mine, I'd say you are my better from this duel of ours. So yes, I concede. Truly, like I said earlier, you are something else," she admitted.

'But in my true form, I'd say you have little to no chance of victory…' she thought with confidence.

"Your praise is noteworthy considering your status. I have trained long and hard over the years… It was an interesting duel," Raditz commented.

""Your praise is noteworthy"…? Pah! I'd at least expect a hint of gratitude in your response, Saiyan warrior!" she giggled, "After all, it's not every day you get to fight someone as important as I!"

'Is she bolstering her status?' Raditz thought in amusement.

Raditz regarded her. "I am satisfied. Not only do I come here and receive a good meal, but I have also had the opportunity to fight a deity. Tell me, how long have you lived for, Princess?"

"You dare ask a lady her age right after defeating her in a duel? Have you no tact?" she quipped. She then approached him with her arms crossed in front of her. "If you must know, I'm rather young for a deity - I'm only 1,514 years old."

Raditz coughed in surprise. He thought, confused, 'Holy crap. And she's been subtly hitting on me? Perhaps our physical ages are similar…?'

"And you, Saiyan? It's only fair I ask you now, isn't it?" she requested expectantly.

"Truthfully, I can only estimate what my real age is now. But when I was alive, I was 32 years old. And that was about 14 years ago, at this point. So… I'm around 46," Raditz explained.

"My goodness… you mortals sure grow up fast don't you?"

"In my world, it was either that, or you died."

"Hm. In any case, how is the afterlife treating you?" the Princess wondered as they walked back inside. She poured herself a glass of juice.

"…Swell. It's… peaceful," he said.

"I'm curious. From what you've told me of your past life, surely you must have ended up in Hell thanks to… him."

"Yes, though not quite," he began, "I was escorted out of Hell and was allowed to walk along Snake Way," he half-lied. Sure, the princess seemed to dislike Yemma, but he had to play this right.

"Interesting. Want a glass of anything?" She gestured to her collection of beverages.

"Not right now."

"Well I'm certainly thirsty after that bout of ours. You can pour yourself one anytime. Or, ask my attendants. They don't bite!"

"I am not afraid of your servants," Raditz stated.

"Well you seem to always be on edge around them," she pointed out.

"Not only do they bang that infernal instrument to announce things, they also all seem to stare at me."

"Oh, ignore that! We don't see a lot of strangers, so you can't blame them for being inquisitive!" the princess explained. "Besides… your hair really is unlike any style we've seen before."

"My hair?" Raditz shook his head.

"It's so… fitting."

"Hn. Suppose it is. I was born with it long, and it's been the same since," Raditz explained nonchalantly.

"Well I say, don't ever change it!" she giggled.

Two attendants approached them. "How was the match, Your Highness?"

"It was very exciting! Raditz is truly formidable. I am currently no match for him," she glared meaningfully at her attendants, as a silent message telling them that this guy really wasn't like their last visitors.

Raditz was unaware of the secret implication in her wording. ""Currently"?" he echoed.

"Well, perhaps if I worked at it, I could very easily surpass your fighting level." She winked at him.

"Hmph. By all means, go right ahead and try to surpass me. It won't be easy for you!" he stated confidently.

"Oh, you must stay so we can fight again!" She held her hands together. "You are most welcome here Raditz."

Raditz regarded her and her two servants, who beamed at him.

'Hm. It's either this or I hit the road again,' he thought deeply, 'and this place just so happens to accept me and feed me well. I even have a fairly attractive deity as an opponent…'

"I shall stay."

"Yaaaay!" the attendants cheered.

"For now."

"…Yaaay."

"That's wonderful, truly wonderful!" Princess Snake smiled brightly. She turned to her attendants. "Now girls, go and organise a room for our esteemed guest!"

"Right away!" they exclaimed and skipped down the hallway.

She clapped her hands and two different servants appeared.

"Girls, Raditz has decided to stay-"

"Yaaaaay!"

"-so, to celebrate, let's put on a show!"

Raditz turned his head away. "I'd rather not."

"My attendants dance very well, Raditz. I'm sure you won't be disappointed!"

"They dance…?"

"Yes! Oh, won't you indulge yourself in a little festivity, of ours? After all, it's not often I have visitors here!" the princess pleaded.

"Fine. You can set up some kind of 'celebration'. Though there had better be no gongs involved."

The attendants nodded frantically in acknowledgement.

"Perfect! If you'll excuse me, I have to go and prepare!" Princess Snake walked off excitedly, as did the attendants.

"Ugh… females…" Raditz combed a hand through his hair.

"Though… this could be fun."

He then doubted that.

"…Depends what she has planned, however."

[Author's note: Thanks for the review! I hope I'm writing these guys in-character well enough. I at least think I am…]