Chapter 48
An acrid and pungent stench fills Vegeta's sensitive nostrils and awakes him. His fingers run through the grass and touch cold, hard stone as he opens his eyes to an early morning with the Sun still hanging low in the sky. Snorting from his nose in disgust to rid himself of this foul smell, he sits up and sees Dr. Briefs standing beside him. The old scientist continues smoking his cigarette as he waits for his son-in-law to wake up. Stood with a long lab coat on that he wears more out of habit now than anything else, the father of Bulma adjusts his glasses as his small black cat pokes its head over his slouched shoulders. Vegeta rises, his eyes glance down towards the grave he slept next to before going to this elderly man.
"Don't see you much 'round these parts any-more, son. Scratch has missed you, and the wife … well, Bulma's passing hit her damn hard. Yeah, things haven't been the same really since then. If it weren't for the pets it'd be so quiet here now you kids have gone, and Trunks … we don't expect you to be dropping by for social visits but it would be nice to see our grandchild more often than his rare visits." The father-in-law greets the man he has not spoken to since his daughter was buried at this spot over a year ago. Scratch the cat meows at the stoic Saiyan. A breeze ruffles the greying hair of Dr. Briefs and his large moustache. Vegeta crushes the cigarette that was offending his olfactory senses in his hand.
" Look, old man, you can dispense with the small talk. You've still got that calendar, you've still got enough marbles left to put 2 and 2 together, you know why I am here." The Saiyan prince is not in the mood for having a chat about his lack of social interaction, and not from a recluse like his father-in-law. Despite their relation to the other Vegeta never was one who cared for Bulma's parents beyond what his wife dictated him to. As a Saiyan where the parents are the strong ones you train to overthrow he cannot recognise these pensioners as his relatives through marriage. He holds nothing against this ageing scientist, in fact as humans go he is one that Vegeta likes the most as he invented and built the first gravity training rooms. However, Vegeta only ever saw his family as a unit of 3. He starts walking away from the grave so he can drop the ashes in his hand away from his wife's place of interment.
"Yes, unfortunately. Looking at the state of you it must have been a bad one and … well there was one minor news article that has tipped me off." Dr. Briefs shrugs off Vegeta's disrespectful way of talk. He knows that this prince was only ever civil with him because he cared for his daughter and seeing Vegeta in this roughed up state with the bloody scab where his tail should be he recalls how foul a mood he can get in after his mating season, or really any time in particular. Over a decade they lived together, there is not much that the man who founded Capsule Corporation does not know about the Saiyan prince, except for what he has been up to in this past year.
Dr. Briefs follows at a sedate pace as Vegeta sighs at his question. He positions himself downwind as he pulls out and lights another cigarette from his blue shirt now they have left his daughter's grave, Vegeta carefully discards the previous cigarette to make sure none of it will blow back towards Bulma. The miniature black cat disembarks from the lab coat and and stares up at the Saiyan it has not seen in so long. Vegeta ignores the animal. He supposes this should not be too much of a surprise for this man well renowned for his intelligence to have found out about the women he now lives with.
"Did it concern a woman with purple or cyan hair?" Both women he went out with in public during their dates, Vegeta puts the higher chances on this article regarding him taking Ayeka to the zoo. He does not care what the press says about him, there was only one human he cared what they thought about him. Dr. Briefs takes a drag of his smoke before answering. The older man frowns to himself.
" Purple, I assume both of these were the ones you brought here when you left your own little touch on her grave. I've known you for a long time, son, and you are not the kind of person for this sort of thing, so mind explaining?" His house has many windows and surveillance cameras and Vegeta was not exactly subtle with his last visit when he blazed into Super Saiyan 3. He does not want to be one to judge, or anger Vegeta, but he cannot exactly let this slide, it is two women after all. Dr. Briefs is not accusing Vegeta of being unfaithful to his deceased daughter for he knows this Saiyan only seeks power, not women, and even if he did try he is not an easy man to get along with. Though this scientist does have his suspicions concerning Vegeta's activities since he actually brought them to see his wife's grave and took them on what he assumes where dates.
" My business is my own, my ties with you were severed when I let Bulma die. I did not go seeking out those women and I … I still love her."
"I'm not here accusing you of anything, you aren't the womanising type and as you said your business is your own. But she is my daughter, and Trunks is still my grandson, and you are still my son-in-law and that makes me care about what you are doing with not one, but two women."
" And I do not have near enough time to talk to you about my current domestic situation. I am here at her grave, is that not the proof you need."
Vegeta does not have an hour or two to spend gossiping to his father-in-law, he has to get back home and either start repairing the damages or train, or eat for his is ravenously hungry. He does not care for this line of questioning, it is very uncomfortable for him and so he makes it clear his loyalty and affection are still being firmly held by Bulma. Scratch climbs up his ripped outfit and perches on his shoulder. Vegeta is only bothering to stay and answer these questions out of what respect he holds for the creator of artificial gravity training rooms and that he knows that if he does not give him answers then it will fall onto Trunks, and at this moment in time that would not be wise. His son is not at home as far as he can sense, the fallout of his mating season has affected his child massively and he has to somehow get his son to spend a year training with him on top of all this as well.
"It is also proof for something entirely different. Vegeta, what happened during your last period?" As Vegeta stated earlier, Dr. Briefs is well aware of the cycles that Saiyans go through and the current date. This proud warrior would not have been driven back to visit his wife's grave unless he felt he had to come here, his inability to show weakness or emotion preventing him from grieving properly. Honour bound to come to this place, the father-in-law can think of little else that would cause the Saiyan prince to be found sleeping in his garden. He has caused hurt and destruction once again, and to an extent that he is feeling guilty towards his deceased partner.
"Something that has never happened before. … Ryoko, the cyan haired one, was once part of Frieza's army. She is also a very forward, strong and free-willed woman who does not take no for an answer and completely disregards threats or warnings. Also she can teleport. I spared her life and … spared her from that. That was about as much as I could do. If you want to add to the pile of shit I am in then feel free." He sighs to himself as he admits his failure and the reason he was found napping in the dirt next to the dead. Vegeta shakes his head to himself. A pink tongue licks against his neck which leads to Scratch being deftly handed back to its rightful owner. The greying man also shakes his head in response and takes a long drag. This is the bad news he always feared would one day come.
" Damn. Well it's good she's alive but … first time you've had an incident like this. That's some rotten luck you have there, and her as well for that matter. And now you're here apologising to Bulma. Vegeta, your place should be with your son and that woman you hurt. It's nice you came here for my daughter's sake but my grandson will be needing you now, clear your head here if you have to but let Bulma rest without having to worry and stress about you all over again." Dr. Brief talks in a calm manner with no disgust or disdain audible in his tone. After all these years of living on Earth and playing it safe to make sure his mating season would never harm the ones he cared about his own biology eventually caught him out. It does not take a genius of his level to work out what he did to that poor woman must have been devastatingly cruel for him of all people to be regretting his actions. Though he likes the fact the man still cares for and loves his daughter that it brought him out here, Dr. Briefs lectures him in spite of his earlier words. Vegeta being here is only serving one person, and that is not Bulma. His son will be confused and angry and although Trunks will find it comforting that his father paid his respects to his mother for this the child will still need his dad.
" I do not need you telling me what to do. This is my fault and I shall be the one to fix it."
"Just giving advice, son, I'm not stupid enough to try and offer you help or order you about like she did. I have faith in you, you're a good man if you want to be and you seem pretty set on this. It was good of you to come here but the living should take priority over the deceased, I know it has only been a year-"
"And that is why as soon as possible I shall be entering time dilated training once again, with Trunks, for another year."
" I mean of course that is for your rivalry with Goku mainly, but even still two years isn't a long time all things considered."
"Maybe for a human. I have the strength and determination of a Saiyan prince, I can achieve what many deem impossible if I work at it."
"No clue what you mean by work at it, but even if you have your stubborn determination working in your favour you still have your Saiyan issues concerning emotions. And whatever you do, don't go trying to force my grandson to forget about his mother."
"Not forget, never forget, just … move forward, progress. It is better this way. I'm going."
Vegeta growls quietly to himself. This man wheedles weak words from his mouth and lectures him on things he already knows. He also dares to insult him by thinking he would go so far as to force Trunks to move on past Bulma. Vegeta is no brilliant father but he is not that blinded by himself to push that onto his own son. He turns and begins walking away, raising two fingers to his forehead.
"Take care with that leg." Dr. Briefs leaves him with one last comment as his son-in-law vanishes. The proud Saiyan was always skilful at concealing his injuries from Bulma but time has taught him the miniscule signs of Vegeta and his body language. He finishes his cigarette and plods on to go find his own wife and tell her about their visitor whilst shaking his head in disappointment about Vegeta and what he has done.
Vegeta quietly walks back into his home and immediately is greeted by a very welcome smell of breakfast wafting out from the kitchen. It is very warm considering that it is still early in the morning, a heat wave is on its way. He is starving, but he feels oddly drained in a different sense altogether. The front room is deserted and so he seats himself down on the sofa. His scar ridden hands pick up the photo of his wife and he stares at it. Going to Bulma's grave is not an easy thing for him. He closes his eyes and rubs at the bridge of his nose as he silently deals with the emotions being brought to the surface. Vegeta stays sat there for a while, he loathes this sorrow and the cloying weakness grief brings him but he cannot lie to himself about these feelings or how much Bulma meant to him.
"Bulma, I suppose that will be the last time I ever get to sleep beside you. … I hope this prince was good company for you." With a melancholic smile he sets down the picture. He rises from his seat and walks around it, hearing motion from the kitchen, hurried motion. His voice must have been heard by them. An elder sibling talks in a gentle manner to her younger sister. There is silence for a moment as Vegeta waits outside the kitchen, if he were to go in there then his focus would wander too much to the food his body needs. Eventually Ayeka exits the kitchen, seeing this man in the same state as when he left last night.
" Good morning. You … As I warned you earlier, Sasami is withholding her cooking from you." She speaks in a delicate voice, keeping her volume low for she knows that both Mihoshi and Kiyone are still sleeping upstairs. Vegeta nods at her words, expecting as much, but sees straight through her. That was not what she intended to say at all. Something akin to sympathy is shining in her eyes. Ayeka heard his forlorn words to his wife and they have acted mercilessly upon her. It is the most depressing thing she has ever heard him say, a farewell without a goodbye. He hides the pain from his face but she can tell it is there, there was definite effort on his part to do what he knew to be right.
The temperature inside is not comfortably cool and as she was just in the kitchen there is a slight amount of perspiration on the maiden's face. Her clothes are made of a fine material but her robes are still composed of several layers. Ayeka does not have attire suitable to these temperatures that she can wear before Vegeta at this time, the outfit she wore on their date would serve her well but she cannot bring herself to put it on. Naturally she is opposed to baring skin and is even more so inclined in light of this man's recent actions. The light summery colours and flowing fabrics suit her figure perfectly, they are making her uncomfortable though due to the heat. In contrast, the second princess of Jurai marches out of the kitchen in more sensible garments. Sasami frowns up at the warrior and crosses her arms. She is wearing his son's clothing, having asked to borrow it as her wardrobe faces the same issues as Ayeka's. A yellow t-shirt and blue shorts, very plain and simple to say she comes from nobility, and as Trunks is larger than Sasami they appear baggy on the young girl. The looseness she finds favourable for the heat.
" I'm not your friend any-more You're a bad man. A bad man!" Sasami's voice is uncharacteristically loud and angry. Now she knows all about Vegeta and his crime and how upset he has made everyone. She glares up at him. Ayeka looks down at her sister and goes to remind her to keep her voice down and that she wants to talk to Vegeta alone.
" Do not worry about that, Lady Ayeka, I can make my own food. If we were to talk now whilst I prepare myself breakfast would that be fine with you?"
The prince spares no attention to the girl, she can shout and insult him but she understands nothing truly of what she is speaking about. Sasami is too young to grasp at the complexities of romance and far too innocent to know anything about the cruel deeds he has committed. She is an obstacle and Ayeka is the one he is here to apologise to, the younger princess will have to wait. Sasami pouts at being ignored and stomps her feet. A gentle hand touches and pats the top of her head in a calming manner and a freckled face looks up at her sister. Sasami can feel the trembling in her sister's hand, she does not like seeing her sister scared and hurt and Vegeta is the one causing this. Ayeka takes a deep breath before answering. She really would prefer if he started off on an extremely apologetic note but he has not eaten properly for nearly 4 whole days and with the smell of the kitchen behind her she can see why the Saiyan's stomach is making itself known.
" Yes. … Can you try again? You said last night – you said you could go further … Bow, Lord Vegeta."
None of his words from yesterday have been forgotten. Ayeka wants to see that some of her devotion towards him can be repaid back. She needs to see him show obeisance to her, the path to forgiveness lies on the route to humility and away from pride. With one pale finger she points downwards to the wooden floorboards. They are inside, unless he is willing to break his house he cannot make the same compromise he did yesterday. Vegeta locks eyes with her. A few seconds pass in silence and then his left leg with the hairline fracture running through it hits the ground. There is noticeable strain on his face and his black eyes stare off into nothing as he concentrates. He bowed to Frieza and now he bows to another. His back stays straight. The life of servitude he cannot return to, he cannot allow himself to become a slave again yet this is the price set before him. Ayeka remains mute as she watches, the buckling of his knee has pleased her but there is more he can do.
"That's not good enough. Maybe if you do this well I might let you have a small bit of food." An impudent tongue sticks out at the man now shorter than her as Sasami lords over this shamed warrior bowing to her sister. She does not like him and she does not like being ignored or left out, always being left out. Sasami stands by her sister's side and reinforces her point thinking she is doing good and helping.
Vegeta stands back up.
"Out. Sasami, out."
He points to the front door and glares down at the pre-pubescent that dares to shame him further. A Saiyan prince demands respect, Ayeka is understanding in this as much as she can be but her sister is not. Vegeta is too proud to have Sasami act like that to him when he is making the effort for Ayeka's sake. She pushed him too far and now Ayeka shakes her head to herself at what her sister has caused.
" No! You're mean and nasty and I'm not leaving you alone with my sister. You hurt her, you hurt Ryoko. Ayeka's so mad she's going to dump you, so there." Sasami looks to her sister for support and finds none. She is not being helpful like she thinks she is. Her elder sister looks away at that last remark and grimaces, having struck a nerve concerning the delicate edge she stands on for this relationship. It would be so easy now for her to agree with Sasami and call it off with Vegeta. To run away from her second engagement. Ayeka will not be that woman, she does not want to be the one who flees and has her actions dictated to her out of fear, she wants to be strong and so right now she is fighting tooth and nail to find the strength within her to go ahead with allowing Vegeta to ask her for forgiveness.
"I will not be treated like some animal in my own home and do not put words in your sister's mouth. Sasami, out, now."
"Make me. I'm cooking breakfast anyway so I'm not going anywhere and you're not having any. … Touch me and I'll scream." Realising that saying 'make me' to Vegeta was not the wisest of things, she hurriedly adds that last threat and stands resolute before him. Vegeta looks across to Ayeka and she to him. Sasami is becoming a nuisance and things are difficult enough as it is for the Juraian princess without her sister meddling in these very private matters. The Saiyan lets a thought enter his mind about telekinesis and how that will involve no touching, of course using forceful methods before Ayeka would be extremely counterproductive so he gives up on that method.
"Fine then, Sasami, I will not touch you, but you will exit this conversation of your own accord. You are not helping Lady Ayeka right now. She appreciates the thought but you are making things more difficult than they have to be for her. These matters are very personal. If you want your sister to start feeling better then you have to let me and her converse and sort it out, you are only serving to exacerbate matters." Vegeta takes a leaf out of the thin book of parental knowledge he has to handle the uncooperative blue haired chef. The small girl looks across to her elder sibling to check whether or not she is wanted here. Ayeka gives a slight nod down to her sister and smiles at her to let her know that she will be fine on her own. Sasami makes a disgruntled sound and childishly pouts some more.
" … I don't know what exacerbate means but I'm not doing it. But, if Ayeka wants it then I'll finish cooking breakfast for her, and I'll be right here if she needs me. My mummy's going to hear about this anyway and sort you out." Sasami turns about to head back into the kitchen to deal with the unobserved pots when she feels Ayeka's hand on her shoulder.
"Sasami, please, I told you already. You are not allowed to tell mother about this. Th-this concerns Ryoko, she is the victim, and without her consent it would be wrong to breach her privacy by telling mother about something she might not want others knowing about. Now, thank you, and leave this to me."
Ayeka releases Sasami who nods at her sister and then disappears back into the kitchen with a huff. The Juraian maiden closes her eyes and exhales a deep breath before facing Vegeta. She was half expecting him to simply pick up her sister after being slighted by her rudeness, he did well to not do so. Now that Sasami has been cleared from the room she awaits for Vegeta to continue. Nervousness is gripping her as she looks at this serious man, the fear within her is still there but she is managing to keep it suppressed. They both hear some grumbling from the kitchen as Sasami sulks.
" Lady Ayeka, I am sorry. Now am I to be right in guessing that Jurai is paying another visit soon?" The Saiyan bows his head to her in such a brief manner it is more akin to a nod. He is curious about this talk of Misaki and what implications they might hold and so before he begins with all the apologies and repentance he wants to know if his house will become awash with all the noise and distractions that were brought from the last visit of the Juraian royal family. Ayeka looks away for a moment. She really wants him to get to the apologising and making up with her very quickly for she needs to feed herself with some token from him to keep her want to take this route.
"Yes. … Before the attack I was speaking with Miss Washu, who is very thankful at the moment towards you for saving her life, and she was telling me that she had received communications from my mother speaking of a return to Earth. There were not many details and … well there was some interference to the message we now know the cause of, and R- Ryoko came back. Knowing mother I would guess we have a few days until her return, and she most probably will come without father."
"A few days. It would be best if this were all sorted out before her arrival I feel, especially Ryoko, of course it cannot be completely cleared up in such a short amount of time. What you said to Sasami, that was a half truth, you do not want your mother to be against this relationship like your father and you do not want her to call off your engagement either. Ryoko, however, might not keep the silence you would like her to."
" … Did you cry? At your wife's grave, it must have been unbearable to stay there, did you cry when you were there?" Ayeka takes a moment before she questions him in a quiet and sombre voice. She has no time to listen to him seeing through her words to Sasami or him speaking of the possible futility of it all. She needs him to start making things better. His emotions are always kept inside and she wishes to learn if they are ever let out. She is in pain and he is, but the question of how much is something she cannot answer. Not when he keeps such a permanently stern expression void of all but a frown.
" Saiyans do not cry. I did not. It was painful but it was the place I needed to be." This is not a welcome line of inquiry for Vegeta. He can guess why she is asking such things but he is who he is. Blood has fallen from his eyes more than tears and he prefers it that way. Neither his deceased wife nor the rules of Saiyan culture he upholds are topics he wishes to discuss or finds all that relevant. Ayeka meekly shakes her head. That is not the answer she wanted.
"You can cry, I have seen it. If you want to cry then you can and I will not think less of you. You … Y-y-you always make others cry, make m-me cry, so … I would like to see you do the same. Not -not for the malicious reasons that Ryoko holds, I do not want to cause you undue pain but I … I want to see that you can care. You keep all your emotions hidden and locked away except for anger. I need to know." Finding some proof, some strong evidence, that her fiancé is a man with feelings like her is a hard task. Ayeka knows what she is asking but to stop him being seen by her as some monster she needs to see the living and feeling man underneath. How can she sympathise with a stone. She does not doubt his sincerity but she does doubt the depth of his sincere emotions. If he cannot feel enough sorrow or loss at his own wife's grave to upset him then how can he feel enough negativity about his sin to justify her acknowledging his plea of atonement. Does he care for her, for them. She has asked herself this question many times and now she is questioning as to whether he can care to a satisfactory degree or if he is too emotionally stunted for even that.
" I hear your reason but you cannot expect me to cry on demand. And just because I will never show my tears does not mean I do not love my wife or that my emotions are to a lesser degree, this is happening because of my lack of control so I will not lose the control I naturally have over myself. Lady Ayeka, you can ask of me to do things for you but not for me to radically change who I am." The prying has made him defensive. He has the patience to hear her out but he cares not for the insinuated insult about his own emotional capability. Vegeta will not have his love for Bulma be besmirched, not any further than he has besmirched it already. He is not about to go changing for her because of his debt. That will not earn him forgiveness but rather it will make him into someone else free of sin. He crosses his arms. His stomach rumbles and growls in protest at not being able to consume the foods he can smell. A resolve has entered Ayeka's red eyes in response to her prince's natural resistance against any talk about his nature.
" We have been over topics like this before. … I … I will change you. Like Bulma did, I will carry on her work and make you a better man for it. Not today though, nor tomorrow. Not now. But I want you to admit to yourself, and to me, the changes that have already occurred. If I am to forgive you then I have to know the real Vegeta." It has never been something she kept secret but she now openly declares her future intentions. Vegeta is a changing man no matter how much he dislikes that fact. With or without her help his identity as the Saiyan warrior will gradually dwindle as he spends more time on Earth with his son. She will aid him along this path and she knows he will kick and struggle with every step. Ayeka realises that it is not the healthiest thing in a relationship for you to want to change the other for the better yet he is changing and it will be better for all of them if someone gives him a few shoves and reminders. She would rather it not be needed but when you cut it down to the basics it becomes the very simple truth of reforming a killer so he is no longer a threat. It is a necessity. Ayeka has her mind set on completing the domestication of the Saiyan. She will help him to become the man he was meant to be without the years of horror, war and indoctrination. Ryoko would have been all for not changing Vegeta and would have accepted him warts and all as the planet destroyer he is, however now she is certainly not in that camp any longer.
Her slender arms cross as she observes the gears grinding away within her prince's head. Vegeta blinks slowly and goes to scratch his back. Ayeka's feet move back a pace. He withdraws his hand, he was not touching anywhere near his tail stump but even so Ayeka responded with fear seeing him act similar to before his mating season. She quickly regains her composure and waits for him to answer her on the sore issue of his identity that his pride aggressively defends.
" It is a long list, the changes, the compromises I made. If you want to know more about me then you can ask, if not right now then I can suggest some ways in which I can earn your forgiveness." Vegeta skirts around her demand of admitting who and what he is now. He can hear her want for him to say how much of a good and decent man he is now but many of the things she wants to hear would be lies, or at least lies from his point of view. Ayeka might say she wants to know how Bulma has tried to tame him but she would not be able to currently handle him stating how he slowly learnt how not to kill and destroy every being he met. She notices his avoidance of the issue. Her pale fingers grip tight to her crossed arms. She is really pushing herself here to talk to him like she is. There is a pause in their conversation. Some movement can be heard upstairs from the waking policewomen.
" Did you want to cry when you were at your wife's grave?" Since he will not talk about his identity, the princess revisits his repressed emotions. Vegeta will never admit to crying but she has made the major change of two words. She wants to know not whether he will let himself cry now but did he stop himself. Wanting to know about his emotional capabilities for caring this will fulfil her want.
" Sure, yes."
"Lord Vegeta, please, answer properly. This is very important so treat it thus. … After … a-after it happened, did you want to cry then?" His succinct and blasé answer has annoyed her, and she is mad enough at him already. Ayeka stumbles in her question as it is painful to say but she forces herself to remain resolute and strong. She will not back down at all. To surrender to him and submit to all the flailing excuses swirling like a tempest within her mind would break and destroy her.
"Instantly after, no. I was still busy exerting what control I had over myself. I know instant transmission, I had to stop myself returning and following Ryoko so I did not take the time to indulge in emotions. Afterwards, a good several hours later I would say, my answer is still no. I felt guilty, very guilty and ashamed of my actions, but I do not attribute this with crying. I am not too sure what 'wanting to cry' even is, this is guesswork on my part, I do not cry and so I cannot say if I ever am at that emotional stage you want me to be at."
Vegeta's truth hits her like a tonne of bricks. Upon his words of being able to teleport back at any given time dread freezes her to the core and she begins to cower as dark recesses of her brain whisper to her what he could have done to her had he not been stopping himself. For all his talk about not understanding how wanting to cry feels he has certainly made Ayeka feel like she should cry. Scared and gravely upset that he is callous even in his remorse she shudders. He is being honest with her but that does not stop his words from cutting through her. A shamefully large part of her wishes that he would just lie, that he could just speak the words she wants to hear so that it would all be fine. She shakes her head to rid herself of the very dangerous thoughts trying to shatter her pain and herself. Hurt and frightened eyes glare up at him as she backs up against the door to the kitchen. He has failed this course of questioning.
" Why do you have to be so cold?" Ayeka moans out this complaint as she strives to keep herself from breaking down into tears before Vegeta again. His glacial words never fail to pierce her. She sniffs and angrily glares down at the floor. With her focus not being on the Saiyan she does not notice a rising snarl on his face or the veins popping on his large forehead. Unable to look at him she is unprepared for his own emotional outburst.
" Because my wife died! Lady Ayeka, my wife died and I failed her and I made no effort to save her life. Saiyans are not people who cry. Even Kakarot does not cry and I failed my wife and my son and her memory. … I betrayed Bulma. I broke my promises to Bulma. … I – I really need this year of training." His voice cracks and breaks on that first hard statement and then proceeds to catch in his throat several times as he exclaims the rest. If she thinks that she is the only one going through a hard time, the only one suffering then she is dead wrong.
He could only bring himself to see where his wife was interred once, with both Ryoko and Ayeka, as he had missed the anniversary of her death and he has just had to spend a whole night with only the cold embrace of death and stone. His sensitive olfactory senses constantly playing tricks on him and making him imagine he can smell her rotting corpse. Just because he internalises all of his 'weak' emotions does not mean they are not there like Ayeka suspects. Only through exhaustion and his sheer determination did he manage to stay at his wife's grave to deliver his apology to her. If Ayeka is curious as to why he acts cold it is because what made him happiest was taken from him. In the year following Buu he was not like he is now. He growls to himself in frustration and curses as a petrified maiden stares up at him.
"Oh Tsunami, it is always your training."
It is more from a lack of not knowing how to respond than being triggered by that word does she say this. She wanted to know the depth of his emotions and now it has been let loose on her, and she was not ready for this flood of compassion and grief from this stubbornly stoic man. Hearing him speak of his wife in such a fashion, in spite of all her wants for Vegeta to be a caring man, aggravates the jealous part of her that has been dormant for the past few days. It is good he does repent but the side of her that loves him feels wounded by all his attention being on his deceased wife. This jealousy is confusing her for she does not want it, she is better than this and such pettiness is not going to help her get through this. He loves his wife still and she understands this, hence the year of his life he is giving up.
" You know what I was referring to."
" Be quiet. Yes, I know, I know ..." Ayeka calms the ambivalent conflict within her heart at his love for his late wife and takes several deep breaths. It was unfair of her to call him out on his training when he is going to use it to help her. She is not thinking right and so she wants to calm herself down before proceeding any further. Clearing her throat and holding her regal head up high, Ayeka reconstructs her equanimity from the rubble it had collapsed into. Her hands jitter and shake as her nerves are tested. She thought long and hard on this last night with only her sorrow for company, and now she is ready to voice it with the dignity of the Juraian princess she is. "Lord Vegeta, I am going to make a demand of you. One that you cannot refuse. You cannot. From henceforth, every time that you cause hurt you will lose an hour of training immediately from your schedule. Minimum. There is no arguing here. This is one of my terms."
Sasami is busy further reducing a sauce as she listens to the deathly silence that has fallen outside of the kitchen. She wants to go out and help her sister but her sister does not want her there and so she will respect her wishes for she does not want to make this most trying time any more difficult. Ayeka stands tall and proud and flicks back some of her royal purple hair. Underneath her robes though her knees are close to buckling, the confidence she shows is a needed facade. Her crimson eyes watch Vegeta and his face turns to look away. She can see how much he hates anything that might cut into his time pursuing power. He has proven her prior conclusion about his emotions wrong and thus she gives him this second test. She has the resolve to stand tall and proud at him, to talk to him, to listen to his words, and now she will determine how great Vegeta's resolve is for cleaning up the mess he made. He wipes at his face and snorts through his nose as he stares off towards the imposing metal door. Ayeka clears her throat loudly to press him for an answer, she would give him the time to answer if she could but she simply cannot bear waiting with him in her presence.
" I have a worry that being deprived of training for an hour will only serve to increase my chances of causing more insult to someone." Vegeta's voice is gruffer than he means it to be as he points out a possible flaw in her plan. His black eyes scan the hurting princess, she has a fire within her that is burning in spite of her fear towards him and she is pushing all of his buttons and sore spots. Training is his life and this is a bold attack on it. As his obsession and addiction push him to just flat out decline Ayeka, he does see that his training will only suffer in correlation to the other suffering he causes. He swore to her that he would put an inordinate amount of effort into this, and here the only effort he truly needs to put in is to make sure he never causes any pain to the people boarding in his house. He has no intention of doing that anyway so in truth he could view it as merely a form of discipline to punish any future failures on his part. If this did not concern his training then he would congratulate Ayeka on the intelligence of her plan.
" I said no arguing, Lord Vegeta. Do not think that I have not foreseen that. You agreed to put effort into this, there is your effort … and it is not much to ask. Behave yourself for an hour, that is not hard, that is not unreasonable by any standard. My pain and Ryoko's pain, does it rank higher than your own selfish want for power? You are getting a full year of training, cram as many hours in there if you must, but out here I – no, we have to be shown that you do care. Accept it, Lord Vegeta. Accept it … or … o-o-or -or I will be l-leaving when mother comes."
Of course she realises that the more time he is forced to interact with others then the chance of him doing either something thoughtless or cruel increase, that is the whole point of it. He has to learn that she will no longer stand for any more hurt to be done to her, she has reached her limit. Though it pains her to say that she will leave him if he fails to comply she has to show that this is not all hot air and she will not stay around here waiting for him to continually break her heart. It will be impossibly hard for her but if need be she will sever her ties with him and return to Jurai. Anxiety and doubt plague her as she worries that the threat of her leaving might mean nothing to him, however if that is true then it is truly in her best interest to cut him from her life. The ball is in his court now. He has to be serious about forgiveness and devoted to this cause if he is to regain her affection. Striking at his core, she hopes that he is the man her heart desires him to be.
" Quite the ultimatum. So the challenge is to cause no hurt to either of you. How does your jealousy come into play in all this? In your rivalry if I were to ever choose a side, or support one of your arguments, would I not be finding myself in a position where at least one of you find some discomfort?" Vegeta knows what has to be done. There is little point denying it. He stalls. Checking the fine print of the agreement before he resigns himself to Ayeka. This is a most painful demand. His rational mind tells him that it in no way will impeach upon his rigorous regime if he does right by the women like he swore he would do. That is the main point he is cycling over and over in his head like a mantra. He can agree to this and still train as much as he likes, all he has to do is, like Ayeka said, put the effort in when outside his sanctum of strength.
"Accept it, Lord Vegeta. Just say yes. Please, please say yes. I will not trap you with unfair circumstances like those. Please, f-f-for me, accept this term." Her patience is running out, as is her willpower that is being drained by every second and word she shares with this man. She sees he is stalling and so is firm, telling him to cease for she cannot handle him avoiding it. Ayeka needs him to say yes. Her heart and her love depend on him saying yes and to finally putting something above his training. This way he will think twice, thrice and four times before daring to cause grievous woe and insult to her again, and hopefully prevent anything like this from ever happening whatsoever. She sniffs and rubs at her face with the back of her flowing sleeves. The want to cry is growing within her and this unbearable heat is not making things any easier for her.
Vegeta will not have Ayeka and Sasami leaving his home. His choice is sealed. It grates severely against everything he is but he knows that to make amends this is what must be done. In truth he has made greater compromises for Bulma, but she did always hold the power over his training room and so he had little room for negotiation except for when he forcefully took what power he could. Begrudgingly, he nods his head. A small light of mirth is born in Ayeka's eyes as he agrees to her condition. Vegeta then goes to seal the deal in the only manner he can think of and extends a hand out towards the princess. The light dies immediately, replaced instead by open disgust.
"No! … No. I will not have you touching me. Your hands are soiled and they will not be putting any further filth on me. Pledge yourself to my condition with a bow. No distractions this time. Do it." Even though she is overjoyed at him accepting her demand she is still mortally afraid at any physical contact with the man who pinned her down and trespassed into her mouth. She will talk to him but she will not be touched. Ayeka's red eyes glare dangerously and wide at his hand until he retracts it. Her eyes then narrow on him. He has agreed in spite of his insatiable appetite for growing and power, now he has to finally do what she first asked him to and he has failed to do twice. She will have her way and see him become the penitent man before her in all her kindness and compassion.
"Before I do this, you do look uncomfortable in your regal outfit and so I was going to offer to take you shopping sometime, possibly with Sasami as well since she is having to wear my son's clothes." Vegeta massages the bridge of his nose. He makes this offer in light of his faux pas and the fact that he can smell the perfumed sweat from Ayeka. With his multi-form ability it is easier for him to spare time and guessing that this will not take place until after his year of training it will be far in the future for him as to when it will actually take place. To sweeten the deal and earn himself some extra favour, his form vanishes for half a second before appearing with a few sprigs in his hand. He gives her both time with him and tosses across some fair smelling lavender blossoms to the purple haired maiden.
Her fair hands catch the flowers. She brings them close to her face to smell their aroma, it is most pleasant even as the blooms themselves are not much to look at. He is trying to work off her Juraian affinity for flora and respect her want for not being touched by throwing them to her. Ayeka does not smile. Pleasant is not enough. It is a start, he is making an effort on her behalf and has agreed to this one term she has given him so far.
" Fine. I would quite enjoy to go shopping, and Sasami will as well. Wait till my mother is here though, she would want to come also, I feel it will be a nice family activity. Now bow to me, Lord Vegeta. Stop delaying, showering me with gifts earns you little. I am your fiancée and you have hurt me tremendously, make it up to me. Be humble, bow."
Ayeka points towards the floorboards with one dainty hand as the other holds the lavender close to her. A family outing will suit her well, and it would be embarrassing to admit but expanding her wardrobe is an idea she is behind if these temperatures are to persist. It has been a long time since she went somewhere with both her mother and her sister and getting out, seeing and partaking in Earth's foreign fashions will make the excursion all the more enjoyable. The bowing of Prince Vegeta is the only thing that will give her pleasure now though. Her hand shakes and points down again.
A loud sigh breathes out from between Vegeta's clenched teeth. There is no Sasami here to act out so that he can excuse himself from this debasement. Two people he has properly bowed to; Frieza and Bulma. Not even Zarbon, Dodoria or the Ginyu squad could force him to submit to them for he knew that if there were but a full moon in the sky all of them would be dead. He can feel the weakness in his leg bone as Ayeka demands of him to bend the knee to him. Wondering to himself whether bowing to his fiancée and a princess of Jurai is more damaging to his pride than doing more wrong to her, his pride once again takes a lot of convincing. A scarred hand runs back through his widow's peak and black hair. His left knee lowers and gradually touches the floor. Above him Ayeka nods and points to the wood again. Vegeta stares forward and focuses his inner drive onto beating back his pride so he can accomplish this simple task. His broad back arches. Deep and strong breaths are audible from his mouth. A mute growl escapes from him as his head lowers. The right knee falls and two clenched fists slam into the boards, cracking them and sending a few splinters into the air.
A bright flash of gold bursts through his hair, blackness falls and then golden highlights infuse through before his jet black can fully resume. His fists dig deeper into the floor of his house. Veins pop on his neck as his head inches down further, still a clear foot from the ground. The scab at the rear of his prematurely ending vertebrae splits open. Vegeta snarls loudly and frightens Ayeka, making her jump and recoil, as his face comes closer to the floor. Biceps bulge, bare feet and hands touch the wood but still not his pronounced forehead. Extreme and impossibly high levels of gravity can barely make him fall to the ground. None but one being in existence could beat him down to the ground. He is the Saiyan prince, the last of his line and race, he is Vegeta. Blood drips from his mouth as he bites down on his tongue. The woman who previously bit said tongue has her gracious face visited by a small smile as she hears the sound of Vegeta completing his obeisance before her and for her. A soft yellow light bathes the room as a Super Saiyan kneels before her.
"Thank you, … thank you. You may rise, Lord Vegeta. You have done exceedingly well. Go and take a bath now to cleanse your body and mind whilst Sasami and I breakfast. We shall speak again later, and remember your promise... unless, whilst you are down there, you wish to pledge more oaths to me?"
Vegeta says nothing. He shakes his head, promptly stands and stalks off upstairs with a face like thunder. Before his anger gets the better of him he will leave this humiliating situation and do as Ayeka says for his own foul smell is offending his nose and his perspiration does not have as sweet a scent as Ayeka's. His eyebrows are furrowed as he marches towards the bathroom and it takes a while before they fade back to their natural ebony colour. Every pool of water in the bathroom instantly boils and several pipes burst in an explosion of steam. His rage is great at having been made to bow like that. One quick and cold shower later he goes to his room, there is an old scent of Ryoko to his bed, he dresses in a new navy training outfit with boots and gloves and stands there for a minute. Out of the window he can spy Ayeka and Sasami sat by the lake, eating their breakfast outside in the glorious sunshine whilst dipping their legs into the cool water. Ayeka's robes make it awkward for her but she needs to cool down in her many layered outfit. His fists curl and uncurl and he swallows the blood in his mouth from where he bit his tongue.
Both Mihoshi and Kiyone have now entered the bathroom to find that they are going to have to wait a while to fill up the barren and steaming baths, and Trunks is still evading Vegeta's sensing abilities by dropping his power level. He grabs as much food as he can carry and stockpiles it into his training room, and then does another trip for more. Turning on the gravity now before he feasts would yield him wading through a superheated plasma of former meats and vegetables. Snacking as he does so, he turns on a simulation and massacres Frieza after Frieza as a Super Saiyan with food in hand. His hunger soon overpowers his want to dispatch such a boring and weak foe repeatedly. After a few minutes he exits his training room with all the inedible scraps, bones, seeds and gristle to dispose of. He gets a drink from the kitchen but the glass shatters in his hand. Underneath his breath he whispers a quiet thought to his wife. He cleans up the broken shards of glass and disappears upstairs. Vegeta sets down a large, battery powered electric fan outside by the two Juraian princesses and then goes immediately back to his training room without a word.
Hour after hour of gruelling exercise soothes his mind. The physical exertion eradicating his anger as all his mind focuses on strengthening himself and pushing further and further. It is a welcome sensation to him for his body to weigh several dozen tonnes, his mind and body need this challenge. His rolling musculature weeping sweat as he deafens himself to the outside world and all of the issues out there. Inside his training room there is one concern: his own power in comparison to Goku's. The morning Sun rises high into the sky and he takes no break nor rest. Noon is fast approaching and his left shin is screaming for him to stop, however having gone 3 days without training his drive and motivation to torture his body in exchange for power is high.
He slams a hand down hard onto the main console to shut off the extreme gravity of the room. An all too familiar pungent and foul odour is filling his training room. Vegeta sensed her appearance. He turns and faces her harrowing feline eyes as Ryoko blows a load of cigarette smoke in his face. She smirks as she watches him grimace at the strong and offensive smell.
" Some little birdie told me that you couldn't stand these, as far as drugs go they're pretty shit, just like you. Time for round 2, Vegey. Ready to beg for your life?" Dressed in a red t-shirt and faded jeans, Ryoko stands there smoking a freshly lit cig. Death is in her eyes as she glares down at this heavily perspiring man who was training and not doing a thing for her. Trunks visited her. He is not best pleased with his father and so shared a personal weakness that Bulma used on this Saiyan. Smoking the same brand as his late wife did, she sees the discomfort in Vegeta grow. She cannot taste the smoke and has yet to feel any true effect on her body from the nicotine, as far as drugs go she cares more for alcohol than this except for the fact that Vegeta hates these. Vegeta feels a very strong urge to lead with a comment regarding her teleporting in to a potentially lethal situation with no thought to her own safety but for his diminishing better judgement he does not.
"Not even if there were someone capable of making me. So, what-"
" I'm here to hurt you, Vegey. I'm here to hurt you real good, unless you have anything to say first?" She interrupts him by blowing another puff of smoke straight into his face. It amuses her to see that he is now breathing through his mouth solely to try and stop smelling it but even so, unlike her, he can taste it on his cut tongue. Ryoko's voice is stone cold and every syllable she utters is laced in layer upon layer of malice and hate. She only wants her revenge. He hurt her too much yesterday for her to take but now she has sharpened and honed her mind to a point on this idea of vengeance. Vegeta might have called her out on her ability to end his life but there are many more ways for her to make him suffer, she just has to make him go along with it first.
" Depends if you are going to listen to what I say this time."
" Yeah-huh. Is there much I need to hear? You come back here to make nice with Ayeka and then start training, forgetting about me, seems like that's all I need to know."
With one long final drag she finishes the cigarette. A ring of smoke gets blown around the head of the one who tried to rape her. She chuckles to herself in an evil and foreboding manner as she extinguishes and crushes her cigarette on Vegeta's chest. Ryoko is still very hung up on this unfair treatment against her, his kindness towards Juraians of all people and the name he called out to destroy her with. Now seeing that he was training instead of doing anything proactive towards helping her, the furious inferno in her has been stoked. They both glare at each other. Ryoko is too far gone in her wrath now to give a single damn about holding any fear towards this Saiyan, her mouth turns up into a snarl as Vegeta takes his turn to confidently smirk back at her.
" Yes, is that not strange that I come back to my home and leave you to have some time and space before I go to visit you. I was letting you choose once again to come to me." His mood has simmered down since having been made to bow but it is rising quickly again. This woman before him is daring to use one of Bulma's techniques against him. The same woman who said that his wife was better off dead, and here she is using a very private method of Bulma's that she is not welcome to. His wife smoked knowing about his strong sense of smell and she did it to get back at him and to relieve the large amount of stress living with him caused. It was their thing, it might have been a form of discipline but it was still something he shared with his wife and will not tolerate from this pirate who nearly killed herself.
" Well I was planning on dropping by sooner to take more of your money, but I was quite occupied pissing on your slut of a wife's grave." Ryoko is not going to play nice. He insults her and so she pays it back with a wide grin on her face.
Vegeta's hand releases her throat. Lightning plays across his body and his great ki pulsates throughout the training room. Icy blue eyes stare menacingly into the hateful gold orbs of Ryoko's as her hands stay firmly wrapped around his own neck. For someone he almost murdered she is sure pushing him towards finishing off the job. Only for the fact that he can tell that she is lying does he prevent himself from unleashing violence upon Ryoko. She cackles to herself, her voice hoarse after he compressed her throat.
"Temper, temper. Ha-ha, oh I am going to have such fun with you. You are right. I do like causing pain. So now I'm going to get my own back on you, Ve-ge-ta. I am going to mess you the fuck up, and you are going to let me. Lower your power level and we'll take this outside. You owe me this. You owe me a lot and then you'll think twice before hurting me. I will laugh and enjoy this, just like you did, and you – hahaha – you are going to be begging and crying … just like I did." Her feline and predatory eyes are lighting up just thinking about repaying Vegeta's sadism with her own. Fingers still grip tight around the prince's neck as she giggles manically. It took her a while to admit it to herself, but she cannot deny that she is exactly like Vegeta in regards to causing pain, so long as she is not the victim. Retribution and revenge are the two sweetest words to her. He has to pay for what he did and she is going to make him allow it. Vegeta is noticing that Ryoko's grasp on things is still pretty loose and her state of mind is dancing dangerously in places it should not be.
" You want to get back at me by causing me physical pain. … Easy. As long as you do not use your sword on me, then go ahead, do your worst. And you leave my wife out of this unless you want to join her." He could do with taking a short break from his training anyway, though he is sure he will not find much rest with Ryoko venting her justified rage on him. Vegeta nods at her and her smile widens from ear to ear. He sees that to make any progress with her he will first have to rid her of this aggression and want to nearly kill him and so he will let her work it out of her system. The prospect of being beaten up is not pleasant to him but it is a more appealing than being made to bow to someone. If luck were on his side he could even hope for a Zenkai boost out of all of this, though that would be very dangerous for him if Ryoko were pushing him to the brink of death. This is a price he can pay, and has to pay to appease this wronged woman.
Ryoko points to the door for him to exit the training room and releases her hold on his neck. She has been waiting for this and supposes not taunting him about his dead lover is something she could manage. She will make the most of this, she will have her fun and she was serious about driving him to the point of begging for his life. Vegeta's power level lowers to one similar to Ryoko's as he makes his way towards the thick bulkhead.