The version of Vegeta that neither went off to train or talk to Ryoko stands with his arms folded in the same exact spot he was spawned, ignoring the few hesitant questions sent his way. Ayeka has seen his son perform fusion where two beings become one yet her head is struggling with this concept in which Vegeta can cause himself to split into three equal beings. Standing there, it appears as though he is distracted and his mind is elsewhere. In truth Vegeta is still acclimatising to multi form and his mind being split into three individual pieces yet all being him and all being linked. Instead of being a being in a body he feels more like a puppet master tasked with controlling three marionettes simultaneously, it is taking a bit of adjusting for him to get used to it.
The T.V is still blaring some nonsense that goes unheard in the background. Ayeka stands reserved and silent, waiting for Vegeta to do something or say something to her. She has no ability to sense ki but she knows for sure that somewhere his other self is off with Ryoko and she does not like that, though she can excuse it for she was the one who rudely interrupted a conversation between the two of them in the first place. She messes with her sleeves as the seconds tick by. Her logic dictates that if he is still here then he has a reason to be here or a reason to see or talk to her or else he would go, as he always does. His silence perturbs her.
" Lady Ayeka, do you start these arguments purely for your own pleasure when I inevitably step in to protect you from Ryoko?" As if he had not just been absently standing in the room like a statue for a minute, Vegeta's gruff voice breaks the silence of the room and slightly surprises Ayeka. She looks about and to the Saiyan to see his piercing eyes fixed on her, her eyes instantly lower. Having no idea what to say in response to this Ayeka remains silent.
" Do I continually interrupt my training to indulge your 'prince saving the princess' fantasy? I swore I would protect you, do not abuse my power and waste my time so your heart can flutter when the brave Saiyan stands in the way to protect the maiden of Jurai from her fiercest foe." The split Saiyan asks his question for a second time with his judgemental stare still upon her downward facing face. He speaks his mind for even though it could be considered brave or chalked down to her intense hate of Ryoko, Vegeta's cynical mind finds it suspect how near suicidal Ayeka is when conversing with a woman who has the power and the want to wipe her from existence. A tinge of rosiness seeps into the maiden's cheeks at his probing. It is true that she does enjoy it when he is protective of her, when it feels as if he is doing something for her. That is not her reason though, or at least not a conscious reason. In her head though she is beginning to concede that it might be a contributing factor and feels embarrassed about such selfish actions to gain the attention of her prince.
" … I do not antagonise her purely for my own selfish desires, that woman needs to be put in her place. If I-"
"If you don't bait Ryoko with your insults and petty squabbles then what? You lose yourself a hobby? She falls off the path to becoming a good person? Ayeka, you are starting fights that you have no intention of going through with and hide behind my power so you don't get killed. Cease this." Vegeta stands resolute. He has gotten Ryoko to agree to the ceasefire but without this second half it will mean nothing. Calling her out on what purpose her arguments are serving, he can already tell that she is not ready to back down just yet.
" I cannot hold my tongue around that vile creature, not after what she's done to me. If-if she wants to fight then I will, I'm not scared of her. She is the coward who is terrified of the dark, a century old fossil who still has to sleep with a light on." Her small hands within her robes are clenching tight as Ayeka releases some of the pent up emotions within her. Uncaring as she admits she does these things solely for herself and because she fails to control herself when in the presence of Ryoko. Venom enters her words at the sheer loathing in remembrance of all the wrongs committed against her by Ryoko; the pain of being branded, the humiliation of begging for her life and time after time watching her slimy tendrils ensnare themselves around Vegeta. She has her own pride to contend with and will never let sins like those go unpunished.
The Saiyan takes a step closer to her. His stone cold eyes examining her angered face. Ayeka breaks the stare quickly and looks away but still she feels the hot eyes of Vegeta upon her and her cheeks begin to burn. Her hands unclench and begin fiddling with her robes again as she becomes nervous by his closeness to her and hawk-like observance of her. The fidgeting of her eyes and her body make it all too clear to Vegeta.
" You are scared of her, Lady Ayeka. Rely on my strength if you must, but do not depend on it or use it as your own weapon, that is for your own strength alone. Thus I do not want to see or hear you two in the same room." Vegeta can practically taste the fear from Ayeka, after a lifetime of relishing this emotion he is well attuned to any futile attempt at hiding it. It is understandable for her to be afraid of Ryoko, she stands little to no hope against a foe that strong and fierce in comparison to herself. She is a noble woman, pain and warfare are things she wants to avoid and her vanity and pride cannot take another faceful of dirt. He stands before her with his orders and slowly she raises her head and nods.
"As a guest in your house I will obey, yet you are a hypocrite for saying such things when you cannot contain your own quarrels with Goku." There is a fire in her eyes as she shrewdly tries to turn the tables back on him after she grudgingly accepts due to her laws of etiquette. A thin smile plays across Vegeta's face.
Gold lights up the room and thrashing shadows are cast to the wall as Ayeka's hair and outfit billow from the surging energy before her. A glowing finger pushes her chin up and forces her to look him in the eye. Crimson meets blue. Uncomfortable at being touched so casually like this she tries to avert her eyes but remains transfixed to the ascended Saiyan as she feels his heat radiating through her flesh. Slight colour graces her cheeks as her mind jumps about in shock and briefly lingers on the idea of him pulling her in for a kiss. He leans his face in close to hers and her heartbeat quickens.
" My hatred for Kakarot is completely different to your dislike of Ryoko. They are nowhere near equal." Vegeta slowly enunciates these words into Ayeka's face before immediately removing his finger from her chin. Reeling slightly, Ayeka staggers back one step and tries to regain her composure but fails. That serious and deadpan tone in which he so callously stated how he sees her rivalry has struck a nerve with the princess.
"How? Do my -doe-does this … does the-the competition between me and Ryoko mean so little to you that you don't even deem it worthy of any significance?" Flaring up in anger against the super Saiyan, her words initially stumble and falter as she broaches this topic closest to her heart. But, being on the offensive now, it is her turn to step up to the radiant fighter as she raises her voice to him. Vegeta merely stands still and responds with an iciness to his voice.
"That is not it, you do not understand the Saiyans and that clown's sins."
" Lord Vegeta it gives me little pleasure to say this but both of us suffered humiliation and defeat at the hands of those from a much lower class, so how is it all that different?"
Her question hangs there as she stands demanding an answer from him at how he can dare to discredit one of the most important things in her life. With a flick of her head she sends her braided hair back behind her shoulder. Red eyes bore into the unmoving super Saiyan, indignant at his lack of caring.
"I am a warrior. Kakarot is a warrior. You are a young woman struggling with emotions you have held for little over a month, I am dealing with matters of my entire existence and purpose. He threw away and stole my destiny and honour, reaped the vengeance that was only mine to take, and this was when you were still in nappies. I fight hard and train hard every day of every year to claw back what is rightfully mine. My life is devoted to surpassing that fool, to becoming the best, unrivalled, unparalleled, as I should be. Do not think for a second that your matters of love and heartache can be compared to the shadow eternally hanging over my head and the dishonour I have to remove from my wife's grave. All you do is make fun of Ryoko, mock her, until she angers then I have to step in, again, you do little to further your own cause and gain your own victory." None of his words he speaks with either disdain or derision. He states each word clearly as if it were fact, his massive ego and pride clashing against that of the stunned princess standing there. Vegeta flares back down from his transformed state as Ayeka remains still, incredulous over what he has said. The lack of menace or scorn in his voice which so perfectly suits his self centred statements allows her to tell that he is not purposefully insulting her, he is just so permanently absorbed within his own eternal battle that it blinds him to all else. He is not being ruthlessly cruel to her, just saying to her what his viewpoint is. However, Ayeka still takes great offence at this high and mighty attitude of his that only his problems are the only matters of concern.
"I am grateful for your protection but -but-b-but you have no right to belittle my … my feelings! How dare you suggest that matters of – of the heart are inferior to your own selfish lust for power." Her arms flail wildly before her as she shouts. It takes effort on her part to talk about such things to Vegeta himself yet this anger he has awoken within her is driving her on and out of her comfort zone. She will not allow him to take her and all of this lightly. She will not let him treat something concerning him, revolving entirely around him, as some mere sideshow within his house.
"If they are equal, then why do I devote my entire existence to attaining my goal whereas you do nothing but wait, hoping for an opportunity or me to make the first move whilst stewing in your own petty jealousy when Ryoko takes the initiative herself." Cutting through all the complexities, Vegeta simplifies it down to the main factor. Simple inaction is one thing Vegeta cannot stand. He folds his arms across his barrel chest and raises an eyebrow to the openly fuming princess infuriated by his emotionless behaviour and cold demeanour. As long as he gets across that point that a lack of motivation and drive is ill rewarded by him he will let her figure the rest out on her own. Ayeka's breathing quietens as her penetrating stare lingers on the Saiyan. She hears his argument that compared to him she does nothing at all to claim victory over her rival, yet it is not that simple. It is not so black and white as to come down to she simply isn't trying as hard as him.
"That is not … I am not jealous of that skank."
With one last bile filled remark, Ayeka takes deep breaths to calm her temper. She does not like losing her cool like that and finds it demeaning to act in such an anger filled way, she also knows that no matter how loud you scream and shout at the Saiyan his mind will remain absolute. A small smirk forms on Vegeta's face calling out her obvious lie. Ayeka turns to face away from him and raises a hand to tidy her fringe in an attempt to hide the indignant scowl on her own face. Even with her back turned to him, Vegeta can so easily see the tension in her stiff shoulders. He doesn't particularly care if he flusters her or annoys her with her words, he cares about getting her and Ryoko to stop tearing at each throats; even if that means he turns their focus of attention even more so onto him and winning him over. Vegeta cannot accept their affection but that does not mean he has no want to be rid of the grief and pain over the loss of his wife.
Ayeka calms herself down by counting backwards in her head before turning back around to face the Saiyan. Though her face is gentle there is an iron sternness within her fiery eyes. Him accusing her of doing nothing, though it may be somewhat true, is something she wants to settle. Ayeka will not let him say that she is not acting upon her emotions as much as Ryoko because of a lack of motivation or drive. Things are not that simple or easy for a woman of her standing. She opens her mouth to speak and then closes it again, her eyes wandering off to the side as she thinks on how to say this.
"Acting with reservation, decorum and proper etiquette is not inaction, Lord Vegeta. I just – I … I don't know..." Again her words fail her. Without her emotions running on a high, embarrassment catches her out when she tries to speak about her feelings and such. Rosiness spreading in her cheeks as she tries to explain her situation. She knows that he already understands where her reticence and reluctance originate from, she cannot simply undo most of her personality so this request of his she cannot understand. Him just asking for her to be more motivated towards him is confusing her in its own regard and distracting her mind. Ayeka is struggling to make heads or tails out of all of this and why Vegeta is saying these things.
" … Is it out of girlish embarrassment that you do not speak your mind openly, or is it perhaps shame that stills your tongue?" Vegeta uncrosses his arms. Ayeka's eyes widen and her posture becomes rigid. That was an extremely underhand direction for him to take the conversation and she can see the cunning in his pitch black eyes. Redness spreads further in her cheeks. Him saying so openly that she feels shame towards her emotions for him makes her feel guilty, and all the more so for it being so obvious to him. She tries to hide it but ever since her father visited it has been an ever present thing, her love for Vegeta is a disgrace to all of Jurai. It makes her feel low him saying it to her face but at times she does feel ashamed that she fell for a mass murderer of her people. Her eyes wander the floorboards and her shoulders hunch. Seeing that he might have pushed her a bit too far, Vegeta takes a step towards Ayeka. Nervous eyes flash up to watch him.
"Stop being mean to my big sister and teasing her. You should be kind and nice to her because she loves you." Sasami enters the room and announces her presence with the tact and subtlety of a walrus. With a sour expression and pout on her young face she stares moodily at Vegeta. The Saiyan raises an eyebrow at this interruption, sensing that he has not been forgiven for his insulting of the young girl earlier whilst Ayeka lets out a little shriek and nearly jumps out of her skin. Sasami stomps into the room with her dainty hands on her even daintier hips and marches up to Vegeta, he might be short for a man but he still towers over this small girl. In a very patronising manner he bends down and pats the girl on the head.
"S-S-Sa-Sasami! I ..." Ayeka has been left a complete stuttering mess with her hands hiding her face glowing bright red from embarrassment. She has no idea what to say or do after her feelings have just been publically declared by her younger sister and her eyes cannot tear themselves from the Saiyan's face to watch for any reaction from him. Her great abashment makes her want to try and deny it or explain herself or make an excuse yet her mouth hangs silently open and no words come out. Luckily for her Vegeta is taking things in his stride and talks down to Sasami in a strict and parental manner.
"Little girl you are making your sister just as uncomfortable as I am by openly outing her emotions like that. Think before you speak-"
"But sister Ayeka's been bad and drawn naughty stuff of you." Sasami blurts out this extremely off topic piece of information as she stares up at the Saiyan and moves his hand off her head. The atmosphere within the room completely alters as both Vegeta and Ayeka go deathly quiet. Being ever the good girl, Sasami just couldn't go without telling someone the bad behaviour of her sister and to her Vegeta is the main figure of authority within the house. With the sense of timing and logic that only a naively innocent girl can have she has killed the previous conversation stone dead and with less mercy than Vegeta has. Still pouting, she looks across to her sister who's crimson face has started to pale in absolute horror. Curling up and dying is seeming like a very attractive thing for Ayeka to do right now.
" … Ryoko must have a sense of mercy for that is not the type of sketch I saw within your diary, Lady Ayeka." Vegeta rises and turns his head to face the dumbstruck and horrified maiden crumbling under her monumental shame. His black pupils do not offer her judgement but ask whether or not it is true, he doesn't doubt Sasami but he does doubt her definition of 'naughty'. Ayeka mewls as she covers her face.
"No, no! It's -it's -it's not like that. I didn't-I haven't!" Shouts of false denial are all she has to offer. She is desperately clawing at any way possible to save face but her simple reaction to this accusation is enough to wash away all credibility to her lies. Vegeta sighs to himself, for all that is said and done about the morals and sensibilities of Ayeka she is still a young woman in the final stages of puberty. He absently scratches the back of his head as he thinks on what to do with this unwanted knowledge and how to deal with it and quietly shushes Ayeka down.
"I'm going to tell daddy on you. You've been naughty, and you're still being a bully Mr. Vegeta." Sasami's skewed sense of justice and her threat of telling her parents has awoken a new fear in Ayeka and unleash from her a new spew of stammering excuses. It would be the end of her if her father found out. As Ayeka continues to work herself up into a dire fit of embarrassment and her younger sister stubbornly stands there, Vegeta bends down and gently picks up Sasami. He sees the solution to the problem now as the small girl squirms in his arms. She asks to be put down and then in an extremely fatherly manner he holds the young girl close to him with her petite chin resting on his shoulder. Her squirming soon stops.
"You are a brave girl to speak so to me and have a strong sense of duty but be off with you, these matters are for adults not children. You did well to tell me, I will sort this out now." Appeasing the child as he softly speaks to her, he feels her softly nod and sets her down. Sasami looks across to her shamed sister before quietly leaving the room. A very awkward tension fills the room between the two as soon as Vegeta turns back around to face Ayeka. Her eyes and face drop instantly, she cannot look at him and tries to shield him from sight with her fringe. Vegeta takes a step towards her but this only elicits a flinch and hurried step back from Ayeka.
"Lord Vegeta, I … I didn't … I'm not like that. I'm not a – I'm sorry." She has to turn away from him before she has the courage to speak, her frail and hesitant voice barely managing this apology.
Cursing herself and feeling as low and dirty as if she were in the gutter, Ayeka begins to slowly shuffle away, scraping her feet across the floor and hanging her head down low. She cannot be in the same room as him, not now, for she cannot face this shame and the possible look of disgust and disapproval upon her prince's face at her perversion. That same face appears out of thin air before her yet it holds no contempt or revulsion towards her, just the same impassive and stern expression. She recoils and goes to turn away again but a strong hand on her shoulder stops her. Ayeka keeps facing her head away from him as she yearns to escape from this situation. Calmly he asks her to look at him. Purple hair wafts around as she shakes her head and closes her eyes shut.
"Draw what you will if it keeps you away from Ryoko and causing me trouble, but try and keep it tasteful. … I find it better to speak my mind, Lady Ayeka, rather than constantly hiding behind a facade or forced niceties."
Very gradually Ayeka turns her head towards Vegeta, but still with her eyes remaining low. She finds comfort in his touch and that he is not putting her down or deriding her for her unseemly behaviour. It would have been the finishing blow to her if he had but now she can only think that he sees her in the same light as the lust filled Ryoko, a carnal and base woman unfit for high birth. The large amount of distress and shame on her face is still plain for the Saiyan to see. She is vulnerable and he knows if Ryoko sees her in this state then she will become easy pickings. Making soft shushing noises to calm her down, he is surprised when Ayeka places both of her own hands onto his own and raises her still blushing face to look him dead in the eye.
"You might in some regards, Lord Vegeta, but I believe you are the one who hides his true self behind the largest facade." Ayeka weakly smiles at him as her quiet and timid voice rebounds back his statement onto himself. She is well aware that many of her actions are largely dictated by how she is supposed to act not how she wants to and one day she would really like to just be herself around Vegeta. Ayeka knows she cannot though, not for a long time at least, it is hard-wired into her to act as the princess of Jurai should just as she suspects Vegeta is hard-wired to act as the Saiyan prince. Her crimson eyes only briefly maintain eye contact with him and she removes her hands back down by her side. A good few seconds pass in silence as Vegeta looks at Ayeka.
" And what would you know, having spent less than a fortnight in my company?"
" Would a true Saiyan warrior, ruthless and savage, spend his days caring for the sick and defending the weak? I think not. As much as your dichotomous actions confuse me, I feel they also confuse you. Your wife started you down a path and now that you are a way along it you feel lost, neither one nor the other. You said it yourself, Lord Vegeta, you are dealing with matters of your existence and identity."
Vegeta's hand leaves Ayeka's shoulder, he frowns. Ayeka can sense his great aversion to this topic but earlier he was putting pressure on her so she feels it is only right if she can voice how she views him. It has offended his pride, her saying that, however, Vegeta cannot argue back that any self respecting Saiyan would take pity upon the weak. He does things that Saiyans should not, and he does them regularly. Her eyes glance at him and he turns to look at the training room door.
" … I am Vegeta, prince of all Saiyans, and I always will be." He states clearly, as if it is an answer and not an avoidance. It is more than just pride that prevents him from discussing such things. Ayeka nods at him as he begins walking towards the large metal door.
"That you are, and I thank you, Lord Vegeta, for looking after me during my illness. It means a lot to me even if you did it not for me but due to your wife. Also I … I acknowledge you, Lord Vegeta. You do not have to prove your power to me." She bows deeply to him, hoping that her words will help him and please him. Vegeta stops for a brief moment. He vanishes from the room and reforms into a single body and being, training as he always does. Ayeka acknowledging him was kind and had good intentions behind it but to Vegeta it means little for until he has defeated Goku he will never accept himself or his own power.
She stares at the cold door momentarily and then goes and seats herself on an empty sofa with a heavy sigh. Absently running her fingers through a side lock of hair she despondently sits, hunching forward with her elbows on her thighs. Her secret being outed, her emotions being publically declared by her sister and her shame over her feelings being announced by Vegeta himself has taken a lot out of Ayeka and left her really wanting to distract her mind from these shameful and embarrassing thoughts. She goes to turn the T.V on however her hand stops halfway to the small table, hovering there as a sad expression plays across her fair face. Her crimson eyes have got hooked onto the single framed photograph resting beside the remote control. The single image showing her greatest desire and dream, but it being held by another. She does not know much about the mother and wife within the picture but she does know that despite all the bitter envy she feels towards this woman for still holding onto the Saiyan's heart she also is so indebted to Bulma. Without that one human woman the man she loves would not be a man but a beast. Even in such an early photograph it is so clear to her the transformation Bulma's love had caused within the proud Saiyan prince and she can only wish that given the chance she can finish what she started.
Back outside, Ryoko has seen enough of Vegeta blasting blaring light into her eyes with his perpetual transformations. Him just standing there, charging his power and constantly blinding her has quickly grown tiresome so she teleports up and into her room to finally get dressed. With her seared retinas quickly regenerating, Ryoko takes off her towel and starts rummaging around her unorganised drawers for the first outfit she can find. Picking out a low cut red t-shirt that will expose her midriff, matching black panties and bra and having scoured the floor for wherever she discarded her faux tail, Ryoko thinks to herself about trying something a bit different. Thinking on it for a bit she takes out a plain white skirt and holds it against her toned waist and looks for a while to judge how well it matches. Ryoko nods to herself, and puts on the knee length skirt. Twirling in front of a small mirror in her room to get a better look at her outfit she frowns slightly and takes off the tail, it doesn't go. Although she enjoys wearing that accessory, Vegeta doesn't care about her fake tail or any of her clothes so wearing things especially for him is pointless.
With another hiss of air, Ryoko is out of the house and floats onto a high tree-branch looking down upon the lakeside house and lounges upon it with her back against the trunk. Stretching out and relaxing, she lets out a long exhale and glances down to the training room tacked onto the side of the wooden house. No matter if she beats Ayeka or not she will always come second best to that room. Vegeta is an addict and no force under heaven or Earth could stop his pursuit for more power, any time that she wants to spend with him she will have to fight tooth and nail just to get him to stop training and listen to her. She supposes that given the Multi form technique and that she sensed how drastically it cuts his power he will not be too willing to even use that for too long to spend time with her. Just thinking to herself on what to do about Vegeta, she looks up at the clouds and the birds flying about. Gazing up, Ryoko thinks to herself how she used to be like that, free and able to go and do whatever the hell she wanted to, and yet now despite her abject hatred of imprisonment she finds herself stuck here on this planet. Shackled to this one house by her heart.
With her mind on her feelings it isn't long before she starts thinking on her last talk with Vegeta. He will try for her, it sounds all well and good to her ears but it does nothing to dissuade that niggling fear in the back of her mind that the beast within is beyond his control. Ryoko is thankful for the fact that he will be off planet for those days and so most of her worries about that time don't matter but he did mention that there is a run up to it, and there isn't much time left as it is. It's been two days since she learnt of his mating season and he said it would happen in less than a week, if that is true then Ryoko feels she best keep an eye on him to see just how much of the beast gets unleashed beforehand. As much as she worries that his natural urges will take him down the path of her rival it also presents to her one of her greatest opportunities. Her tactics of seduction and use of her body and beauty might soon begin to give her some good returns. Not like that matters though if he stays training all day. Ryoko sighs to herself and rolls off the tree and aimlessly hovers about in the air. She's going to have to make a plan of attack and think on these things more.
Ryoko casually flies back towards the house and lands on the roof, lounging down on the sun heated tiles and then quickly sits up again. Her manner of dress is exposing a lot of skin to contact with the boiling hot slates and so she stands back up to look for a better spot to rest. Her ears hear the chink of metal behind her. Pivoting on the spot and leaping into the air away from the ki she can sense, Ryoko warily hangs in the air looking down at the child with his sword in hand. Her eyes start scanning about to see if Vegeta is anywhere to protect her from his son, the flashes of light streaming from the training room tell her otherwise.
"Why won't you quit and leave us alone? Can't you take a hint and just go already?" Trunks glares up at Ryoko from the rooftop with his sword being deftly retracted from the slates and sheathed over his shoulder. His serious and stern face is the exact mirror image of his father's, showing no compassion or warmth, only cold antipathy is held within his icy blue eyes. Wary and apprehensive of the immensely powerful child, Ryoko stays where she is in the air. Levitating as she senses about. Vegeta's super Saiyan 3 form is emitting so much ki that she is finding it hard to pinpoint Trunks, the most comfort she can take from that is he can't have powered up too high for him to remain masked. She scowls down at the lad. His views are in direct opposition to her own and she will not let him stand in her way and prevent her from attaining happiness with Vegeta.
"I ain't going anywhere, kid. You might not like me or what I want but tough shit, I'm a woman who gets what she wants." Pointing at herself, Ryoko smirks in a self confident manner to conceal her trepidation towards the child's presence and the lack of Vegeta to protect her. She charges up her power so that a haze of crimson floats about her to let Trunks know that she is not messing around.
"Why the hell do you want my dad? He's a dick." Ryoko lets out a chuckle at that. Smiling, she nods in agreement with Trunks' concise description. Her predatory eyes remain locked on him as she continues to observe him for any signs of aggression. Trunks stands there awaiting an answer.
"Damn right he is but lucky for him I'm a mean hearted bitch, we just perfectly suit each other like that. I love my little Vegey, and I know you're part of the package but you don't want me and I don't want you so let's leave it at that, kid."
"I wouldn't have let you in my house if I knew you were gonna try and steal dad from me."
"Thieving jewellery and cash, that I do, but I can't steal your dad from you. Do you really think he would just leave you? Vegey can't leave Bulma's son, if it were that simple for him to up and abandon you then I wouldn't be having so much trouble now, would I? I'm going to get Vegey to love me, I don't have any intention to be your … . I ain't trying to replace Bulma, I just want my time with Vegeta." Ryoko is quick to dodge one word in particular. She knows that Vegeta is a father and if she hooks up with him then the role of step mother will be passed to her but she has no want for that responsibility and with the open hostility from Trunks knows he will never really see her in that light anyway. Maternal instincts are not her thing and the whole thing is an area she wants avoided. Being constantly jabbed with reminders of her own infertility hurts her.
Her aura dissipates as she watches Trunks think on her words. The child's fears of some woman trying to steal the spot of his deceased mother are seemingly unfounded. Ryoko does not want to be compared to the woman who came before her, or for Vegeta to ever think of her in that manner. All she wants is Vegeta to love her, and to love her for herself, and she could not care less about anything else. Trunks hears what she is saying, if his dad had any intention of just plainly leaving him then he would have done it straight after Bulma died. Vegeta is not a natural parent, by any way of looking at it from a Saiyan perspective Trunks is strong enough to fend for himself and has no need to be looked after; Vegeta is still his father because he loves his son and he loves Bulma. Being in a calmer mood than the previous days, Trunks is accepting of this reason, that is not to say though that he has accepted Ryoko yet, just he no longer harbours as much ill will towards either woman anymore with his fears rationalised.
" … Good. But what about Ayeka? Think you can win against her? Maybe I'll just go tell dad that I want him to pick her and not you." He smirks to himself as he sees Ryoko frown in annoyance. Trunks is not done having his talk with Ryoko yet, he has a few ulterior motives to this conversation. If she is not a threat to his mother's memory then, reluctant as he is to go about discussing his father's love life, he sees it within his interest to at least gauge these women for himself. Ryoko huffs at his threat, appearing unimpressed and unconcerned by it.
"Like that'll work. You might be his son but he couldn't give a shit for what you think, this concerns him so it's only him who gets to make the choice, am I right?" Ryoko snorts down at him. Having run into that mind set of Vegeta's many times she sees no threat to Trunks' words.
"Yeah, you tell yourself that. Dad might act like that most the time but I know him better than you, he's not the best dad but he's still my dad and cares 'bout what I think." Grinning in an assured manner up at the woman now scowling down at him, Trunks watches in amusement as Ryoko growls and fumes in annoyance. The son of the man she loves is really starting to tick her off, and now he is attempting to abuse his kinship to Vegeta against her. Ryoko sees the bad situation she could be in. Trunks already holds indomitable physical power over her and now he holds the power of influencing Vegeta and is threatening to use it against her.
" … Are you trying to blackmail me?" Ryoko is straight to the point, there is no sense in him threatening her like this unless he wants something in return. To be blackmailed by some kid because of her emotions is a demeaning thing to her. However, she will not allow any risk of losing Vegeta and so if she has to make friends with the kid she will.
"Nah, not really. I'm just bored. Show me how you fight with a sword, Dad doesn't use weapons so he's never taught me how to use this properly, he keeps talking about weapons being limitations." Trunks lifts off from the ground and unsheathes his sword, idly spinning it in his hand before pointing it towards Ryoko. She instinctively backs off from the weapon levelled at her and frowns. This child who has just been telling her to leave is now offering to spar with her, she is suspicious and wary of him for at any second during their sparring he could take her out. Shining steel reflects sunlight into her face, Ryoko adamantly shakes her head. Being quite lazy by nature she has no desire to waste her time and energy fighting someone so much stronger than her, unless it is Vegeta of course.
" How about no, I came out here to nap not to fight a super Saiyan."
"I wouldn't waste my transformation on you. Guess I'm telling dad that Ayeka's better then, which she is." Trunks speaks quickly to keep Ryoko from flying off from him and smirks malevolently at her anger rising so quickly at the mere mention of her rival's name. He is bored and wants to learn her fighting style with a sword for he has Saiyan blood running through his veins, no matter if it is diluted. Trunks won't let her get away. His dad has his fun toying with her so he sees no reason why he can't have his own fun. Red hot energy arcs and clashes against the cold metal in his hand, sparks fly and a loud clash rings out through the air. Trunks' smile grows and he powers down to a rough equivalent of Ryoko's level.
"You damn brat, you are blackmailing me into playing with you. … Not like Vegeta could believe that Ayeka's better than me in anyway." Snarling as she strains against her own sword to push back the half Saiyan, her own ego begins to run her mouth. She teleports and slashes at where Trunks' back was only to hurriedly rotate in the air to dodge out of the way of a rapid stab from her side. They trade swipes as Ryoko feels out the skill her opponent has which is below hers by quite a margin, yet the son of Vegeta's high level of combat instincts allows him to compensate well for this disadvantage.
" Younger, prettier, kinder, is from royalty like dad, respects him, and of course there's Sasami's cooking. Want me to go on?" Trunks taunts Ryoko as they spar, insulting her and blatantly laughing at the indignation and fury rising in her face and fuelling her blows with the added power of anger. Though none of his physical strikes come close to penetrating through Ryoko's defence, her acrobatic flight skills and teleportation, his words seem to be hitting the mark pretty well. Ryoko can tell what he is doing with his attempts to goad a sloppy and emotion driven fight from her and yet her anger is still creeping up at the thought that someone could even think that Ayeka is better than her, more attractive than her and deserves Vegeta more than her. One ruthless downward slash later and her crimson lance goes spiralling into the air and fades away. She teleports away quickly to avoid the follow through attack. Trunks recovers from his failed attack and confidently hovers with his guard down, that attack missed but he has another one ready for her and he wants to see how well she will cope with it.
"He only kissed you as a prize, he kissed Ayeka 'cos he wanted to, loser." He lays down his ace and quickly he has to bat away a red hot spear of energy thrown his way. A face of a furious woman burns down upon him and locks swords with him, pushing him down towards the ground as she ferociously leers at him.
"How the hell do you know that?" Ryoko seethes out these words as she begins to relentlessly batter down at the kid's defences. He has no right to say those things to her. Vegeta said he acted out of his want to treat them as equals but from the way Trunks skews things it makes her sound like a delusional fool who is coming second to Ayeka. It enrages her to think on it in that way, she will never admit any kind of defeat to her rival in romance. Telling herself that it wasn't like that and that's not how it happened, she curses herself that she got so wrapped up in arguing with Vegeta about them sleeping together that she forgot to bring that up after he fell asleep on her when they were talking about it. Her furious barrage of blows begins to wear down on Trunks and he can feel the sword slipping inch by inch from his fingers with every vicious and hate filled swipe. In a reckless manoeuvre, he relinquishes his hold on his sword just before one of Ryoko's swipes impacts it. Her attack carries on with no force to block it and momentum carries her. Nimbly, Trunks rolls in the air out of the side and whilst she is recovering takes full advantage of his foe's recovery time. Grinning mischievously like an imp, he sits down on top of Ryoko's head. Below him the enraged woman freezes, then a very aggravated growl rattles its way through her bared teeth.
"You shout a lot, and you don't expect people to hear things? You gonna fight now or what?"
A small, red LED starts blinking and fails in its job as a warning as it is completely overpowered by the flaring light emitted from the super Saiyan. Still trying to maintain his transformation for as long as he can, Vegeta descends back to base form when he feels the effects of massive amounts of gravity tug down on his body. He goes to turn around and suddenly the gravity lessens making him have to counteract the excess force he used for movement so that he doesn't carry on through a wall. His eyes finally spy the small blinking light upon the main console and frowns. The gravity is constantly fluctuating within the training room now, nearly crushing him into the ground and then dissipating more or less completely. With no rhyme or reason to when the gravity will increase or decrease, or by how much, Vegeta growls that his time training has been cut short as this room is not suitable for his injured leg or for him to practise his ultimate transformation.
Removing his weighted boots to put less strain on his fractured leg, Vegeta moves over to the console and jams at the off switch. The console doesn't respond. He presses it again, switches on and off the gravity simulator, tries to boot up a simulation and all that happens is that the gravity begins to alter at a much quicker pace than before. This machine is far beyond any technology he knows of and so he doesn't attempt to try and find and fix the problem, instead he verbally damns his luck. Letting his concentration wander at his infuriation as his training is being cut short, gravity takes his heavy gloves from him and sends them crashing to the tiled floor. Vegeta keeps a constant check upon his speed and how heavy he feels as he walks towards the exit and opens the bulkhead door.
Three women and a small girl in the middle of chatting amiably with one another pause their conversation and turn their head towards the emerging Saiyan. A weak smile is sent his way by Ayeka before she looks away. Vegeta warns Kiyone that the training room is on the fritz and she will die before she knows what happened to her if she tries to go inside. Kiyone appears dismissive of his warning and goes to strike back up their conversation as the two Juraians and two policewomen get to know each other better. The Saiyan takes a few more steps into the room when he gets distracted by something out the window, he smiles to himself and continues on his way towards Washu's domain, or what is left of it. She clearly said when begging for her life that the machine cannot run without her maintenance, and so as he let her live she will fulfil her duty. Vegeta opens the door and enters the realm he nearly obliterated and nods to himself at the drones and robots teeming in the air going about in great swathes in the effort to rebuild.
"You must really be into muscular men 'cos otherwise I see nothing going for that psycho. What do you see in him?" With Vegeta out of sight and earshot, Kiyone lets loose a loaded question out of curiosity towards the princess sitting adjacent to her. Mihoshi and Sasami both perk up expecting an answer but Ayeka just calmly looks out the window, thoroughly ignoring that personal enquiry. Idly gossiping about such private matters is not something she can bring herself to do. Kiyone pries again, as does Mihoshi, and Ayeka coldly glances at them with a reprimanding look. In no uncertain terms she orders them to cease. Prior to this the two policewomen had been discussing amongst themselves that their assignment here was made more to act as chaperones to the princess than to actually guard her. Being pissed off at this, Kiyone is taking these new responsibilities a bit too far by trying to uncover all she can about the relationship between the engaged royals. She has broken harder criminals in interrogation rooms than Ayeka, and Mihoshi is just really eager for a good girlie chat that she hasn't enjoyed in a while.
Having closed the door behind him, he walks about the still massive bisection of the laboratory when a beam of brilliant white shines down from the unseeable room and illuminates him. He senses about for Washu and can feel that she is nearby yet just out of view. Raising his voice to question what she is doing, he stands perfectly still feeling unthreatened by the spotlight on him. A blank whiteness instantly envelops his vision and all of his senses. In the dark recesses of the lab Washu grins to herself and lets the whiteness take her too.