Resting her head against the wall, Kiyone sighs loudly and wearily to herself. Her feet impatiently tap on the floor as she looks about the front room in clear boredom, her fingers start messing with her long and straight hair, majorly disgruntled with everything that is going on in her life and in this house. The wind is picking up outside and rattling the windows, either that or it is the Saiyan prince in his training room, both seem as feasible as the other. Grey and overcast skies still loom overhead, having not cleared from this morning as noon begins to give way to mid-afternoon. Closing her eyes and rubbing at the bridge of her nose, she just wonders how long she'll have to put up with all of this till she can return back to headquarters and actually get on with some proper work.
" If you're so bored, Kiyone, why don't you come over and play with us, Sasami's cooking so her controller's free." Mihoshi cheerfully calls over from the sofa to her brooding partner, smiling happily at her as she looks away from the screen. A voice from the game announcing she has died steals her attention and she playfully bemoans Trunks for killing her whilst she wasn't looking, the kid doesn't say anything but from the scores it is clear to see that whether or not Mihoshi is actually playing is making little difference. Kiyone pushes herself off the wall and walks up behind her blonde partner, Mihoshi having become completely engrossed once again in playing.
" What part of being on duty don't you get? This isn't a holiday. We're supposed to be working, not goofing off playing games." The teal haired cop lightly raps a fist on top of Mihoshi's head, distracting her partner who looks up feigning hurt with big blue eyes at her best friend.
" I'm working just as much as you are." Mihoshi sticks her tongue out at Kiyone, with her head tilted upwards and her wavy ponytail brushing against the thighs of her partner. Raising an eyebrow, Kiyone glances up at the screen and warns Mihoshi of her character being attacked. Rapidly pressing at buttons on her controller even before she looks at the screen, Mihoshi tries to save her virtual life but is far too late against the well planned out strategy of Trunks who is now hunting her for fun despite her being on his team. She plays for half a minute trying to catch up to where Trunks is before continuing to talk to Kiyone. "There's nothing for us to do here. No-one knows about Ayeka and Sasami being here, the war is over, this planet is virtually unknown … and if anyone does attack then, well, there's always-"
"Vegeta's a murderer. Who's to say that he's not the threat we are supposed to stop? Mihoshi, you've seen him, he might kill both of us over a minor annoyance." A very stern and serious voice cuts Mihoshi's trailing argument off completely. Kiyone looks down at her friend in disapproval of her even thinking of trying to rely upon the Saiyan for protection. The warning she speaks does not phase Trunks in the slightest even though she is openly talking about his father, however the same cannot be said of the clumsy cop. She puts her controller down and turns around fully on the sofa to look up at her partner with fear in her eyes. Both of them remember their welcome to Earth well.
"H-he's going to kill us?" Mewling up at Kiyone and looking frightened, Mihoshi asks worriedly as her partner can only shrug in response. Not reassured in the slightest, the fear in the baby blue eyes of the bronze skinned cop grows, her pupils dancing towards the large metal door that separates her from death. Kiyone starts to try and calm down her partner even though she shares the same fear towards the criminal who has transcended a need to be afraid of the law. A dark and evil chuckle resonates out from beside Mihoshi. Both cops freeze, dreading the Saiyan being among them but as they slowly and fearfully look they see no-one there but his son.
"Yeah, Dad's been getting better at controlling his temper, but that kinda all went out the window when strangers thought we're running a hotel out here. You two being here is plain stupid anyway, you're not even strong enough to protect yourselves let alone Sasami and her big sister. If Dad were going to kill anyone though, my bet's it's going to be you first Mihoshi, sorry. Especially now that Yamcha's run off." Trunks coldly states to them, not taking his eyes or focus away from the television. After a whole year with just his father to look after him since his mother's death, a callous and cold aura emanates from the boy. He has inherited more than just his strength from his father. Trunks' mood has been dangerous and aggressive the past few days and that ire he has over the circus that has taken over his family has not abated. Mihoshi stares at him, shocked and terrified. Her moans stop though as she thinks on the last bit of news he said.
"Yamcha's gone? I didn't see him-"
"You women don't see a lot of things, that's probably why you're losing so bad at this game. Dad's in one hell of a mood, the crazy lady under the stairs lost her lab and her boyfriend, Sasami's fretting and worrying herself silly over her sister who's sick and … a bit upset. And then that leaves you two as the only responsible adults here lounging about the front room playing games or moping. Yeah, there's nothing to do here."
" You've got quite a mouth on you, kid." Kiyone remarks back against the kid's sardonic and condescending comments. He turns and grins at her mischievously and she icily glares back at him. None of what he says is false but getting insulted and lectured at by a boy is a humbling experience that Kiyone does not care too much for.
" Mmhmm, Dad's still angry and lost his punching bag so you two better be careful." With that warning, Trunks goes back to ignoring both women and fully concentrating on the game. Mihoshi does not rejoin him in playing as the thought of her potentially imminent demise has made her lose all interest in the game as her mind turns to worry. A hand rests itself on her shoulder and another gently strokes her head as her best friend reassures her that she won't let such an eventuality happen. Neither of them hear a derisive snort under Trunks' breath and neither do they notice Ryoko teleporting down into the room behind them, her sharp eyes scanning the scene warily because of Trunks' presence. The blonde begins to calm down quickly and the pirate takes silently to the air.
" You really think it's a good idea to go in there? I know you're desperate and a baby who's scared of the dark but I didn't think you were stupid enough to try and interrupt Dad when he's … venting." Trunks calls out to Ryoko as she begins to reach out towards the training room door. She whips her head around to see him still playing his video games, the two rozzers turn to look towards the criminal they failed to notice appearing in their midst.
"I'm not afraid of the dark, or desperate for that matter." Ryoko coldly states with an angry tone, her eyes glaring into the back of the child's head. She flicks a few of her spiky locks to the side and sets her feet down on the ground. Looking towards Kiyone and Mihoshi momentarily, she sees a confused look arise on their faces, and then a slight smirk on Kiyone's face. Ryoko growls and scowls.
"I can sense your ki, I know you were upstairs that whole time going about from one light fixture to the next looking for a new little night light."
"Shut up you brat, I don't have a night light. I am not a baby!" Angrily she snaps at the boy insulting her. Her phobia being publically outed in an effort to humiliate and ridicule her is testing her nerves. Mihoshi is about to say something but Kiyone quickly stops her.
" I've seen that you sleep with your light on, you can't hide the light coming out from under your door. I also saw something else last night. Yeah, don't delude yourself about what happened, I'm not stupid and can work it out myself." Trunks' statement silences Ryoko. Thinking to herself about what Vegeta claimed earlier to actually be true, the pirate begins to question whether the half Saiyan is going to try and attack her again. If he didn't interrupt her sweet slumber then she presumes that he isn't going to be violent towards her but his cold tone indicates that he still is not too pleased with the women harassing his father. Mihoshi and Kiyone are looking at the lad as he continues.
"It's pretty pathetic really that the only way you could get into bed with my dad is having to wait until he blacks out from exhaustion. You should know by now that if there is one thing Dad hates it's things forced upon him or being forced to do something, things can't be looking good for you right now … or are those marks on your neck just for show?" Reeling from the verbal assault, Ryoko jitters back as Trunks suddenly appears stood in-front of her. Her hand instinctively begins adjusting the collar of her red dress to try and disguise the red welts around her neck where previously a collar of ki had been. Taking a step back away from the hybrid child but snarling in infuriation at him insulting her so, Ryoko sees in the corner of her vision the eyes of the two female cops on her. She does not like the way they are looking at her. About to growl back at him a retort about her night with Vegeta, Trunks turns his back to her and begins walking back towards the sofa. "You'd make a lousy step-mom if Dad ever chose you."
A metal door slams shut. That disturbed a still fresh wound for Ryoko. Loudly breathing in an aggravated manner, she swears. She'd been talked down to like she were a little kid by a kid, her embarrassing fear derided and mocked, and she can't argue back one bit about a thing he said. Her hands gradually let go of the cold metal handle as she steams inside with frustration. Ryoko can still feel the aches to remind herself that Vegeta is indeed not too pleased with her, and she also knows that he would never treat Ayeka as violently as he did her. That being said, she now stands in the Saiyan's training room, thankfully without gravity being enhanced, with Vegeta turning to look at who is intruding upon him. Ryoko stays by the door looking at him, apprehensive of whether he will be aggressive again. The cold blooded murderer though has other things to occupy himself with in this vast, virtual landscape of cliffs and mountains.
Purple blood pools around his bare feet. Limply hanging in the ruthless grasp of the Saiyan is a pale and beaten body barely clinging to life, its chest heaving to draw in each rattling breath and expelling blood with each exhale. Ryoko naturally tries to take a step back. She is in the same room as Frieza, be it simulation or not. Vegeta sees her apparent trepidation at the near dead overlord he has been using to relieve himself of excess stress and anger. One thing Ryoko notes as odd, and makes her uneasy, is Vegeta's dark hair.
" This fool thought it was wise to hold back the peak of his power, so I did the same. Why are you here Ryoko?" He saw where she was looking. She can also see the sweat on his body and in the distance littering the rocks and valleys lay scattered a dozen other charred and mangled bodies that ran out of life before Vegeta ran out of anger. Remembering herself and why she came here, she walks up towards him, with an eye nervously flickering towards Frieza. More vivid and viscous purple blood continues to pour down Vegeta's arm and drip from his elbow onto the dusty floor. His fingers are wedged into Frieza's diaphragm, casually holding him up by his ribcage in a most pain inducing manner.
" Are you still mad at me?" Ryoko walks up behind Vegeta and rests her head on his shoulder, peeking down on the bloodied face of Frieza from this relatively safe spot. Violet runs down his face in two streaks. Both of his eyes gouged out by Vegeta to pre-emptively save Ryoko from any beam attack that Frieza might fire from his eyes. The Saiyan tightens his grip on the ribcage of the alien and a garbled, drowning scream comes from the once alabaster throat. Sighing to himself, Vegeta drops the tyrant to the ground and turns to face the woman next to him.
" That's not what I was asking, and no, not particularly anyway. You're here because of your punishment aren't you?"
" Stop treating me like some misbehaved kid! I ain't your son, I am a grown woman and I live my life how I want, OK? You're just the same, only difference is you have the power to enforce your way on everyone else." Ryoko's voice is quick to rise at his nonchalant tone. She is not one to suffer a punishment, all her life she has been cursed because of a jail sentence that stole decades from her. Whenever possible she will evade any potential punishment but at this moment in time her survival instincts are not the ones causing her anger, it is her pride instead. She will not just sit about and have him talk down to her constantly and dish up petty disciplines for whatever behaviour he of all people deems unsavoury. That is not how an equal is treated, and if she is not seen as an equal in his eyes then he will never come to view her as anything but a lodger in his home. So many times he has treated her in such a blatantly different manner than he would her rival that it infuriates her every time. Ryoko calls him out on his arbitrary rules. She will not let him preach down to her from his high horse whilst he locks himself away in a room to hit things so he feels better.
A boot crashes down, shattering rock and bone alike, and a concentrated laser beam gets narrowly deviated away from its mark. Fast as a cobra, a tail snakes itself around the foot crushing his hand and then blackness envelops Frieza's world. Vegeta dislodges the limp appendage from his ankle and with an unimpressed snort nudges the smoking corpse to fall and clatter its way down a ravine. As Vegeta turns back to face Ryoko only now does the pirate begin to slowly recoil away from the blast that was aimed for her.
"That I do." Vegeta coldly states. Persuading him that he cannot do something or is not allowed to will take a tongue more silver than the one Ryoko possesses. She is still flinching from the fatal beam that he deflected for her as he stares at her, waiting for her to say what she came here to say. His show of force is not lost on Ryoko. A wet and meaty thud sounds from deep below the both of them. Huffing to herself, Ryoko crosses her arms and looks at Vegeta with her mood simmering down. She kicks at a rock on the floor absently, her feline eyes track the motion of the rock.
" … None of the other damn light bulbs in the house fit the thingy slot in my room." She doesn't look up as she mumbles, being embarrassed about her fear and having to come to Vegeta for help. A cold wind blows and ruffles both of their spiky hair. Her golden eyes raise to see Vegeta, his face of stone seeming disinterested at best. With his left forearm he wipes the grime and sweat from his face and flicks his hand to rid it of the violet staining it.
"You are a grown woman, you can deal with your own problems, or better yet you can sleep in the dark like an adult."
"I can't!" Ryoko hoarsely snaps. Glaring down her nose at him, she snarls in annoyance and frustration. If it were as simple as he says then it would not be a problem for her. It is deep rooted, it is a part of her and its power over her is strong, she cannot defy it overnight just by wanting to. Him forcing her to do so is just causing her to put up more and more resistance on the matter and she hates the fact that he is making a weaker side of her show, a helpless and pitiful side that is left a fearful wretch due to such a simple thing. She does not want to do as he says, she sees absolutely no need whatsoever to put herself through hell voluntarily and all she asks for is the light to be returned to her room.
"You aren't even trying, you've already surrendered yourself over to your fear. See that over there?" He scoffs at her emotional outburst and show of weakness. Vegeta turns and points over to the next hill painted in scorch marks and craters. Ryoko cannot make out what exactly he is pointing at, be it the scenery, the destruction or the mangled body parts, though she does not like his tone at all. Frowning at him with her tail restlessly flitting about and curling below her legs, she impatiently waits for him to carry on. The Saiyan pauses momentarily. An integral part of his persona does not want him to continue speaking yet he knows for the sake of this argument and for Ryoko he has to reveal something he would rather no-one knew. "For as long as I can remember I have hated, loathed and even feared things that remind me of that bastard's tail. Worms, snakes, eels, any slimy tail-like object. Do you see me cowering away from his tail? Did you see me run away from the sickness in Ayeka? Ryoko, you are going to face your fears, or I will no longer respect you as a warrior."
Silence falls between the two not from Earth. Vegeta turns his back on Ryoko and sits down cross legged at the edge of the cliff he used to dispose of Frieza's body. He breathes deeply and steadily as he surveys his destruction with dissatisfaction, his Saiyan blood boils for the thrill of a good fight and a challenge and this was beneath his abilities. These simulations, as useful as they are, can only provide him with one enemy he can test himself against and then only the weaker forms of Buu can he fight without the certainty of death. Exhaling in complaint, he very lightly begins to feel about his damaged shin. Stomping like that and the python like constriction that it was subjected to is not serving his limb any good.
Stood behind him, Ryoko broods. As glad as she is to hear that he holds respect for her it is only as another fighter and not as a woman as she would prefer. She can't disagree that she is trying to run away from her phobia or that she isn't as brave as Vegeta so she doesn't know what to say to break the silence. He might be ignoring her and her pleas but he has not cast her out yet, he will still listen to her. Her eyes notice his inspection of his leg and she remembers the dark and ugly bruising she saw the night before. She teleports up behind him, rests her hands on his shoulders and leans down over him. Vegeta indifferently looks at this upside down face appearing close to his.
" Don't lie for your pride's sake but are you injured?" Showing some concern for him, Ryoko queries. She knows what he is like and sees it in his eyes the almost instant lie spilling from him that he is fine and to shrug off any notion that he can be hurt. Moving quickly, she touches her nose against his and watches him frown slightly.
" It's a minor fracture, I've had much worse and it will not impede my training. Don't change the subject, this is still about you and your silly phobia." Unblinking as he talks, Vegeta does not let her switch subjects or get distracted by the physical contact she is enjoying. Instantly she scowls.
" You wouldn't call it silly if you lived most of your life in chains in that cell." Ryoko presses her nose hard against his as she talks louder than necessary for the distance between them. Now he has just gone and brazenly insulted her, and when she was worried about his health too. Vegeta calmly moves his head to the side so that her face is no longer touching his. She growls into his ear and stands upright before sitting down right next to him.
"I did live most of my life in chains, because of him. There might not have been a cell but I was a prisoner all the same. You cannot beg of me to get you another light, that would negate the whole purpose of a punishment."
"C'mon Vegey, give it a rest. I ain't done nothing out of line, I am just fighting with that bitch like you would with Kakarot. You can understand that, can't you? I'm playing to win." Ryoko possessively loops her arm around one of Vegeta's. She watches as his eyes flicker towards this contact and then go back to staring off into the distance, she smiles slightly to herself that he is letting her get away with so much touching. Respecting a feud and both of the women's pride, he will concede that he will not force her to be passive or to stop with the nonsense that annoys him and takes up his time.
"It's not about your squabbling or battles to try and woo me, I am not so hypocritical as to try and impose peace onto others. Though I disapprove of your cowardly use of drugs, it is to do with Ayeka's illness." Turning to face her as he talks, Vegeta explains to her again the reasoning for him taking away her light bulb. It is not to do with her treatment of Ayeka but what that caused him personally to experience because of it. A sneer plays across the pirate's face hearing the name of the Juraian. She is glad to know that Ayeka is suffering greatly due to her little fib, but still blames her for this mess she is in and does not agree with Vegeta's sense of 'justice'. Ryoko sees no reason for her to be disciplined just because one thing she did had an unforeseen consequence she couldn't control.
" Fear for a fear? How about the ..." Quickly, Ryoko silences herself and faces away from Vegeta. She takes her arm back. The Saiyan sits there for a couple of seconds with a quizzical look on his face before pursuing why she suddenly shut up.
"The what?" He asks with no unnecessary delicacy or tact. For several moments silence is all that answers him as Ryoko continues to face away. A small rosy blush is growing on her cheeks which she covers with her hands. Her faux tail curls around her waist, the tip wriggling about erratically. After a while she sighs loudly and resigns herself to telling him. Ryoko begins to lean over, still with redness to her face, and waits for resistance from Vegeta but unexpectedly she meets none and gets to rest her head on his lap. She sees his hard face looking down at her and the creeping blush on her face noticeably grows.
"The fears you make me go through." Closing her golden eyes as she speaks, Ryoko fidgets slightly to get comfortable in this position. She knows it was a weak thing to say but she just had to, and Vegeta nods in acknowledgement which she cannot see. He suspected this was what she was leading to. Ryoko's eyes open and she hesitantly smiles at the Saiyan. Vegeta is not comfortable with where she is but he will abide by it unless she tries anything further. He tries to answer her as best as he can without sounding like a broken record.
"I cannot do anything about those. I am sorry but those will not abate till-"
"They will if you just pick me now!" Aureate eyes stare defiantly up at the Saiyan, no longer asking but demanding of him to make his decision. One of her hands snakes across and takes a hold of one of his, trying to force her fingers to wed with his. Vegeta looks down at her and shakes his head a single time. He does not allow her to hold his hand. No matter how many times she declares it to him, nothing will change until he decides that he is ready. Ryoko vehemently nods her head back at him.
"... I don't have the emotional reasoning to. You would end up as dissatisfied with that as you were with my sleeping body. … You'll clear up that little mess as well before the end of this day." Vegeta speaks calmly to her, his reasoning seems to make sense to her as she remembers all too well the hollowness of the kiss from last night. It would not sate her burning desire for his affection in the slightest, though it would rid her of the niggling worry of losing to the princess. However, when she gets told that she will have to end the heartache of Ayeka she tenses up, and her hand stops trying to gain access to his. She closes her eyes and groans loudly. Disinterestedly, Ryoko opens her eyes and smirks up at Vegeta as she cuddles into his lap, nuzzling into his stomach.
"Like hell I will. If she thinks we're fuck buddies now then I fail to see why I would want to change that." She smiles up at him with a wicked glint to her eyes. With that deviant look Ryoko issues him with a challenge; to make her an offer so that she cannot refuse him. Vegeta huffs in distaste at the unsavoury term she uses. He looks down at the pirate with an eyebrow raised, thinking about how best to go about this, as he sees the welts only partially concealed by her long hair and collar. Very marginally he shakes his head, thinking to himself that she will take as much effort to tame to a domestic lifestyle as he did.
" She'll see through it, Ryoko. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but when her emotions clear it will be obvious to her that nothing has changed between us two; I did not have sex with you nor are we in a relationship of that nature. The distance between us will remain the same. You are not winning against your rival this way, you're just delaying her, and the retribution she will bring down on you." Opting to see whether making her realise the eventual futility of her stirring things up as she has done, Vegeta reasons with Ryoko why she should undo the damage she has done. He still has an urge to take care of the sickly woman, but he has been thrown from her room and will not be welcome in there until things have been cleared up. On his own she will just call him a liar if he tries to explain, though he expects things to go more in his favour if she hears the truth from Ryoko's mouth.
"I'd like to see her fucking try. … Do I get something out of this from you? I didn't get this far in life doing favours for free, make it worth my while and I'll tell her about our good night's sleep." Ryoko' grin spreads as she looks expectantly up at Vegeta.
He can try and persuade her as much as he wants, he can even try and threaten her, but she is not going to budge an inch till she gets something worthwhile. Vegeta does not like being forced to give into her will but as giving her the stick seems to have done nothing to curb her behaviour then it makes sense to try the carrot. With a woman laying down in his lap in a content manner, he makes it clear to her that he will not make it a habit of treating her as such and lowers a hand down to her face. Her eyes open wide and follow his hesitant movement with predatory excitement. Vegeta grimaces slightly at having to do this to earn her cooperation and knows that she will try to take a mile when he gives an inch. Red blooms on her face as she feels his touch on her elfin ears.
Ryoko's amber eyes close as she savours the feeling and leans into it, enjoying the feeling of his rough skin on her ear. Stroking her, Vegeta does not look too amused and is keeping a watch on what level she is gaining pleasure from this touching, he would hate it if all he were doing was giving her ammunition to use later. A full blush covers Ryoko's face, her skin a crimson equal to her dress. She bites at her lower lip and Vegeta hastily retracts his hand back to himself. The pirate lays there for a minute making a very content noise and smiling before she opens her eyes again. Although all he did was touch her ear for a few seconds, Vegeta feels oddly sullied, Ryoko observes his discomfort but her smile still gaily widens.
"That'll serve nicely as a little down payment, I'll come back for the rest when I fix my lighting situation." Ryoko sticks her tongue out at Vegeta before standing up and brushing herself down in front of him. She is very, very happy with the current proceedings and will definitely wring as much out of this as possible, but for now she won't push too hard lest he pushes back. One of her own hands goes up to her face and then to her ear and she tries to disguise the motion as messing with her hair, she is in fact trying to revel in her feeling of physical pleasure just a bit longer. She glances down at the still sitting Saiyan with a merry smile on her face, when a thought pops into her head. "Ooh, I have a nice idea."
"It's dinner for two isn't it?" Not even bothering to look up at her, Vegeta accurately predicts her next request of him. His tone indicates that this is another idea he is not the fondest of, even with its inclusion of food. He thought he might have gotten away with only debasing himself that far, he was wrong. Rolling his shoulders as he stands up, Vegeta turns to face Ryoko and the devilish smile on her face. The blush on her face is no longer the same colour as her dress and is subsiding quickly. Leaning close to him, she pokes his chest with one finger and ignores the wet feeling of sweat.
"Smart boy, Vegey. We've never had a meal where it's just the two of us. I want to spend some quality time with you whilst the tree hugger is out of the picture. I will make you fall for me, just give me the opportunity and before you know it I'll have you back in my bed." Confidently, she gives him a second demand and her ultimate goal, her finger wandering about on his chest. Vegeta stares at her and crosses his arms so that she has to retract her finger.
"I decline." He quickly refuses her offer. Just as quick though Ryoko begins to open her mouth to argue back that he is the one needing her help and Vegeta silences her with one word. "Trunks." Ryoko's mouth hangs open momentarily as she thinks about it. The son of the man she loves is still not overly fond of her or the idea of a new woman in his father's life and so she understands where Vegeta is coming from, or at least getting his excuses from. "I will cook your meal but I will eat with my son. Just be grateful you don't have taste buds, I'm no chef like Sasami."
Ryoko mulls over this compromise for a while. She really did want to spend some alone time with just him in a romantic setting though if that means suffering the attacks of a super Saiyan then she will just have to take what she can for the time being. Vegeta will still be cooking her food so she has that going for her and no longer has to think about Sasami's refusal of cooking her meals. The Saiyan cracks his neck and knuckles. Restlessly, he looks over his shoulder towards where the main console is.
"S'pose it's better than getting my head kicked in by your kid. Fine, I look forward to my meal, Vegey." Ryoko acquiesces to the downgrade from dinner for two to just dinner with him and seeing his want to train surfacing rapidly she turns and begins walking back towards the door. She might not have got the light bulb she wanted but she feels quite accomplished about what she did gain in here from him. If she kept a diary like Ayeka did she would definitely be writing a lot about the ear stroking. Hearing footsteps behind her of the stoic man heading to start some more rigorous training, her thoughts drift back off to last night and the many possibilities that could have stemmed off from such a rare opportunity. Ryoko stops moving, thinking on it she realises she does want to know more about his feelings concerning it. "Hey Vegey?"
Teleporting up beside him, Vegeta makes a sound of acknowledgement whilst in his head he tries to calculate what his leg could withstand before cleanly snapping in two. The woman hovers about in between him and the console and her eyes avert from him. She doesn't know exactly how to ask it, or indeed if she really wants to hear what he might possibly say, but she has made the first step now and has to go through with it.
"What … what would you have done if I had, y'know, done it?"
" I'd still be more angered at your overpowering and humiliating me than the rape, but you would not have gotten off as easily as you have. I don't know. It's not something I really care to think about." Vegeta answers without a pause, though with a gruff undertone to his words and a clear avoidance of wanting to discuss that topic further. He steps past her to reach the training room's console and starts to program in some gravity settings. Ryoko has lost her tongue for the moment. She feels hurt hearing him say the word rape, it doesn't sit well with her at all. Making love to the man she loves and it being called rape stings, but truthfully that's what it would have been. Looking at the ground dejectedly for a moment she thinks for a bit before reaching the same conclusion as Vegeta and drops the subject there.
"I made the right choice then. The snuggling and cuddling made me really happy, Vegey. You were a real gentleman. Though I wouldn't mind if you were to take the lead more often." Putting on a smile, Ryoko playfully talks to him though he ignores her words. Vegeta wants to train now. He cannot put off such things for much longer. Ryoko takes off from the floor and meanders back towards the exit as the landscape fades away to the tiled room it naturally is. She looks back and sees Vegeta watching her and waiting for her to go so he can turn on the artificial gravity. Being in the progress of leaving, she sees no reason to not tease him a bit. "One last thing before I go, Vegey, does your sadism -"
"Leave." Vegeta brusquely shouts at her and with a mischievous giggle his training room door opens and closes. He knows full well what private part of his life she was trying to pry into then and he won't tolerate any more discussion about such things. Immense weight drags down on him and he rises his ki to counteract it. Vegeta begins to train again.
Outside of the training room, Ryoko enters into a scene very similar to what it was when she left it except now Sasami is out of the kitchen and joining in the fun with Mihoshi and Trunks. Kiyone's eyes spy across to her. Ryoko continues casually flying on her way and reaches the door to Washu's lair, the last possible port of call she has to solve her light issue. Not too long ago it would have been a piece of cake for her to retrieve what she needs from her, but since then she did pass Vegeta's wroth onto Washu and hear a very loud explosion so she doesn't have the highest of hopes. Turning the door knob and entering she is immediately greeted by the stench of burning metal, toxic fumes and noxious smoke and coughs at this strong aroma of destruction. There is movement everywhere, drones flying about in the air, holographic displays lighting up plans for repairs and robots going about carrying out the construction works yet they seem so insignificantly small compared to the chasmous sea of the void bisecting the whole laboratory. She whistles, impressed at the scale of the nothingness here.
Her eyes scan about in the gloom to try and make out anything familiar from the few times she has been here but naught really remains. Ryoko falls back onto her ki sensing abilities, the whole place is awash in chaos as the wires and pipelines previously channelling about energy mainly lie in ruin. Things prove difficult for her to pinpoint Washu amidst all this loud noise and thankfully it turns out she doesn't have to. Appearing before her face is a large monitor with Washu on it, dried up tears staining her childish face. In very few words she is told that she is not welcome here, the inventory system in this place is busted and to leave very swiftly or she will capture her again and let out her displeasure through experimentation. Ryoko takes the hint and steps back out of the destroyed realm.
A small bundle of fluff leaps at the pirate stepping out of the lab and Ryoko welcomes Ryo-ohki to her, catching her and cuddling the soft cabbit close to her. Inside though anxiety is churning away. She has failed in her mission to find anything to light her room with, the night will no longer be dispelled and she will have to face it. Even if she were to venture out the same problem of not knowing what kind of light she needs for the fixture would still prove to be her downfall. Ryoko takes off from the floor, lands and lounges down on one of the ceiling beams whilst petting her spaceship. She does not know what she is going to do. Facing the dark is not what she wants to do. It will take a long time to cure her, and during that time she will not enjoy a single second of it. Her animal soothes her worries but does not alleviate them from her mind. A smile creeps onto her face though as she hears the misfortune of the other woman. Whatever she might have to suffer through, she knows it won't be half as bad as what she made Ayeka feel.
Feline eyes spy movement in her peripheral vision and Ryoko lazily rolls over to watch Kiyone ascend the stairs. Ryo-ohki nimbly climbs aboard her mistress' head and meows, attracting the attention of the police officer for a moment. Observing from her perch, the pirate watches as Kiyone starts knocking on Ayeka's room. Softly at first but after a few tries it becomes louder. No reply comes from the room. The only sound that can be heard from the whole of upstairs is the muffled sobbing of the princess. Kiyone tried a while ago with Mihoshi to gain entrance to this room but both were not so politely dismissed very rapidly with the threat of Juraian guardians hovering in the air and poised to strike. A cold bowl of soup waits untouched by the door. This time Kiyone asks if she is allowed in and the princess does not answer. Screwing the risks, the police woman opens the door. A vivid blue wall of light bars her path and blocks the doorway. Kiyone stops, and Ryoko smirks. Defeated, the cop closes the door and goes back downstairs to keep an eye on the other Juraian royal in her care.
Relaxing back down into a cat nap with her cabbit for company, Ryoko closes her eyes and thinks on what she can even do to gain Vegeta's love without pissing him off or inadvertently pushing him away. Nothing comes to mind. She sighs and settles down with her mind musing on the matter and ears listening to the sound of the television. Turning rape into an act of consent seems as mystical a transformation to her as alchemy. Not before long the cabbit on her head curls up and joins her in a nap.