Chapter 61
" … All I wanted was for us to go out for a drink together. Was that so wrong?"
The crowd has dispersed inside with Gohan following Washu off into her laboratory to get his visor fixed and to unknowingly fill in the gaps in her database surrounding Saiyan hybrids. Vegeta stands before the window Ryoko is sat down in front of as she finally speaks. She gives her simple reason for teleporting into his training room. Her hand reaches out for her cabbit, Ryo-Ohki nuzzles against her, Ryoko's breathing is agitated and her nerves are frayed. She continues to hold her head in her knees. She does not want to see him after this. There is simply no denying it to herself any longer. His silence she prefers for she could not handle him yelling at her. The overpowering strength of a Saiyan she can still feel even after he released her. None of it worked out for her.
" Not a date, just us as a group going some-place for a nice evening. I thought it'd be fun to get the Queen drunk and get outta the house. … I'm an idiot. … You're supposed to disagree with me there, Vegeta." She jokes about the sorry state she has found herself in whilst trying to justify her mistake.
It has all come flooding back to her.
"I did it again."
Ryoko mumbles this to herself and takes her hand back from her spacecraft. The same mistake has been made twice. It ruined her and she has done it again without thinking. He got her relaxed and calm, she was happy, and she did not pay any mind to what she was doing. Ryoko teleported in, she got hurt, she bled. Her new sense was tainted, her gift from Vegeta to make up for his sadism, but this time he is not in the wrong – it is all on her. Then to top it all off a superhero came along and stopped her venting her emotions. She went out to prove to herself something, her strength, that she is still a pirate to be feared, and it backfired massively. It filled her with rage. She could not move, she could not do a thing against him, she was powerless against a Saiyan all over again. Ryoko's fingernails dig into her scalp. Her feline eyes see it all again. The darkness and the red eyes are all she can think of; suffering from a flashback of her trauma her breaths come out ragged and her body twitches at the slightest breeze. A pathetic mewl involuntarily escapes her lips as a hand pats her head and is mindful to avoid her ears.
Her hands wrap around his. The scars are different to when he used these hands to beat her. Ryoko curses. Ryo-Ohki has squeezed her way onto her mistress' lap and cuddles against her to do what she can as a cabbit to soothe her. The answer to why bad things always seem to happen to her Ryoko believes she has found, and it is her, and she hates it. The fool who never saw her betrayal coming and got thrown in a cell to rot, the lovestruck idiot who went chasing Vegeta's love against all his threats and displays and now she is also the woman who forgot about his indomitable and ever-present training room.
" I can hit Gohan for you, or soften him up for you to take a swing at." Vegeta speaks.
He ruffles and strokes her hair as he removes his hand and sits down next to Ryoko. She quietly chuckles at his joke offer that she knows he would actually go through with if she said yes. She is half tempted to say yes but her past experiences in handling these things with rage makes her decline. This is who they both are, they are messes with twisted personalities and actions driven by their inescapable past. Ryoko cannot help but laugh at the stupidity of it all. Strangely it relaxes her now that his hand is gone from her head even after she clung to it.
"That's … That's not exactly the comforting drivel I thought you'd – well no I didn't think you would but- … I wanna beat myself up." Her head raises and she looks across to her fiancé and shakes her head in self pity. In some parts she is thankful that Vegeta is as callous as he is for she never has to worry about seeing any pity towards her in his eyes, that would be the worst for her. She babbles, her thoughts are not clear. It is a mess. Neither of them touch that comment she leaves hanging there. Vegeta cannot make the joke about beating her up or such. She drags her nose and shakes her head with her hair whipping about. "Two times I've cried here, I won't do it a third. I won't."
"Ryoko, the next time you will cry will be when you're wearing a veil and a gown." He smiles at her and Ryoko's heart skips a beat. They covered enough in their brief conversation about bridal gowns for Ryoko to understand what he is referring to. A look of shock stares back at him. She blushes, she can see no deception and his words have blind-sided her. His uninhibited manner of fighting has bled into a sucker punch even in conversation.
"Not fair. Saying things like that and I will- You bastard. You're talking 'bout the shop, prick!" Ryoko playfully hits his arm and makes a disgruntled noise about his teasing. Leading her on with that is not nice. She sticks her tongue out at him and then collapses her head back into her knees. Her hands mess with the fluffy cabbit and she exhales a long sigh.
Wearing this outfit is something she no longer wants to be doing, Ryoko wants it off her skin and buried somewhere. She attempts to put an air on that she is merely sulking at Vegeta's trickery. Even if what he said was what she first though it was the issue still stands. They both have done horrible things to each other. She could ask for them both to read each other's minds but her fear is too great and in turn that fear sparks a new fear of Vegeta seeing her fear – an inescapable vicious circle. It all became too real for her at the taste of her own blood. Sleeping in the same room as him he could do whatever he wants to her, or even if she were flying away as fast as she can she could never escape him if he wanted to do evil to her. The feel of teeth sinking into her ear, of failing to support herself on a missing arm, of all the words he got stuck inside her head, she can recall it all clear as crystal.
Ryoko forces herself to raise her head. She sees Vegeta, his eyes are not red, he is not going to ever hurt her again, he is here with her because he cares: she tells herself this. His attention is on her, Ryoko cannot sense another one of him so he has not multi-formed. After a few deep breaths intended to calm her she crosses her legs so she can no longer hide herself. She messes with the torn front of her dress but her hands are all thumbs and fingers. In truth she owns outfits that reveal more of her cleavage than this but with this dress it is different. She covers her chest with an arm and pets Ryo-Ohki with the other.
"This is where I came back. Right here. See, my blood, from you. Next was me having a freak out when I came back as your fiancée. Good thing princess was there. It's your fault we're friends now by the way. She's too nice, makes me look bad. How is Ayeka coping with mom of the year?" She talks to him about the previous times she found herself sat in this spot to clear up what she said earlier about crying, pointing at a dark patch of the wall.
This is the first time she has been here with Vegeta and not Ayeka and so naturally the princess who helped her greatly through those dark times becomes the subject. At breakfast Ryoko saw Misaki's inquisitiveness first hand and so wonders if Ayeka has managed to successfully keep secrets from her own mother as the maiden has some very large tells if questioned about certain things.
"She's doing good. They want me to broker a peace between the Planet Trade Organisation and Jurai, give it a while and they will concede to my victory." Vegeta gives her some information that as a rival Ryoko can get behind and use if she wanted and also easily make a joke out of. Singing the praise of the princess or how Ayeka has shown her caring side towards his son is not something he will say to a despondent Ryoko. He senses Ryoko's ki to see how stable her emotions are and finds many small and constant fluctuations: the sure signs of distress. Ryoko smiles at him. She likes the thought of Vegeta taking down the empire that wronged her but she is not so stupid to think that is all there is, he is keeping other things from her like he always does.
"That'd be a great gift to me, you crushing Jurai. They need to be knocked down a few rungs. But, then again so do you. You won't though, and it won't be fair to Ayeka to put her through that. How much does Misaki know? Washu's her informant and someone, naming no names, already told her you're mine. Shall I tell her of my romantic proposal to you?"
"You can tell her whatever you want, though if you could make it so that she doesn't try and interrupt my training after you tell her that would be appreciated." He will not tell Ryoko what she can or cannot do for she purposefully flies in the face of all that just to make a point and right now she does not need someone doubting her own decision making abilities that she is deriding herself for. It is Ryoko's choice whether or not she reveals Vegeta's mating season to Misaki.
Her golden eyes close and she leans her head back against the lower part of the window pane. A straight yes or no would make things easier for her. Thinking back on when she screamed and raged at Vegeta and somehow he accepted her proposal is reinforcing this fact that she is not good at making decisions. He is her fiancé. Ryoko repeats this in her head, telling herself that she was the one who managed to do this accomplish something she did not think she ever would. There is a bitter tint to her happiness surrounding her engagement. His ki is so prominent next to hers. That ki will be there with her for the rest of her life, that is what she desires. Ryoko supposes it is about time to act her age. She has always spoken her mind. He has always been able to see through her lies. Opening her eyes she sees his confident smirk as if he can already tell what she is about to say. This is her point of no return.
"I still hate you for it. Probably always will. Even out of practise you're too damn good at breaking people. But, I'm no better. … I tried the same on Ayeka, carved my name into her back and made her scream. I know how good it feels to do it. And she's stood by me and helped me as a friend after all that, I ain't done anything to deserve it. Then I also almost had my way with you. That night was a lot better than last night. I don't want that any-more though. I don't want to sleep in your arms, just a damn light so you'll behave. … Fuck. I'll say it. We're both to blame for what happened then. I made a mistake and you slipped up, and had stupid plans about it all. Thanks, by the way, for not killing me and stopping yourself. And you need to get Washu to put something around your training room 'cos I'm sure if I've done it sober I will after I've had a few." She has said it and admitted it. Part of her hates herself for it but today has made it undeniable, Vegeta is not entirely guilty for the attempted rape. He warned her and all she ever said in response was how she was confident she could withstand whatever he could dish out and would enjoy it. She nods in affirmation. It is out in the open now. That large step of progress has been taken. Ryoko hopes this decision was not another folly.
"It'd be better for her to make it so no-one can get in by any means unless I say so. But, you're quite well versed at getting past security systems so I'll just have to have faith in you. …. So, where do we stand? Do you want me to go or keep talking?"
"Ya ain't escaping that easy. You're keeping your arse here till I say. Hug."
With a grin she opens her arms. Her legs are crossed and so she makes this excuse that her leaning over to him would prove awkward when sat down in this position. This is her gesture of goodwill, not of forgiveness but of mutual understanding. Vegeta raises an eyebrow at her. There is a deep need in her eyes for this. He hugs her and Ryo-Ohki begins loudly meowing and thrashing about as she becomes trapped between two people. The cabbit leaps to freedom and bounds off after just a few seconds when the hug ends. Ryoko looks down at her hands. That was pleasant, and that is about all she can say about that brief embrace she terminated. One of her suspicions has been proved with that. She still has an adverse reaction to him touching her body. Vegeta looks at her as he expected her to hug for longer or tighter or make some sly comment but she sits there thinking to herself. He rolls his shoulders.
"Have I ever made a promise to you?" Ryoko nonchalantly cracks the knuckles of one hand as she ponders and poses this question to the man sat at her side.
Words to that degree have flown plentifully from his lips, some of them fools gold he spouted as pure lip service and others he broke against her like rods of bamboo. She can not name one true promise she has made to the man she loves. Ever since one promise she made with a young Juraian boy split her back open Ryoko has never been one to idly say those words.
"A proposal is a promise, apart from that I cannot recall one." She smiles at his words. That is a truth she overlooked. Vegeta is wondering what is going through her troubled mind. He can see she is trying to act carefully and think about every little thing she does and also has noticed she no longer has the large affinity to physical interaction with him. Used to Ayeka he can work with her not wanting him to be physical with her. This is a load off his back with Ryoko wanting to smooth things over with him, he shall make sure there are no deviations to throw her from this course.
"And I can't even count all the promises you've made to me. Or the ones you broke. Maybe I should start writing 'em all down in a diary like princess, and I can write how I slept for a bit, ate, drank some booze and argued with you, wouldn't be the best read. Will you tell me now what happened on your date with Ayeka that's so hush-hush? We shouldn't keep secrets, you tell me and I'll tell you something."
The Saiyan prince declines revealing the truth of the primate enclosure to her. Ryoko then grins and chuckles to herself stating that Ayeka was wearing glasses that can translate languages and the events of that day are written down where the only thing previously stopping her was having forgotten most Juraian words. He warns her that she will be disappointed. She unfolds her legs, smooths out her dress, leans closer to him and asks what they saw at the zoo together that he does not want her to know about. Vegeta looks at her and does not speak, she proceeds to read his face and tries to logically decipher this mystery. He gives her no clues. From the rest she read and heard about Ayeka's date there is little she can think of that they would have reason to keep from her. She can see that Ayeka enjoys having this trust put in her and having a secret bonding them. Ryoko nods to herself and happily smiles. That took her longer to work out than she would like to admit.
"I think I know. I've been told off about saying it so I won't. It is about that, right?" She believes she has got it and he continues to stare back. Vegeta nods at her, inferring clearly that she has figured out that monkeys and apes live in zoos. Her face gets closer to his. Ryoko pauses and then pulls back so that she is sat up properly again. She impishly sticks her tongue out. Both know she was not playfully teasing by bringing herself so close to him. She experimented and the result speaks loud to pirate and Saiyan."You didn't tell me 'cos I was being a bitch. I'm very good at that as you might know. 'Spose it makes sense since Ayeka's labelled me a 'racist' now. Vegey is as well though. I know quite a bit about you. Just, for you it's everything that isn't Saiyan, that isn't you, you hate them all. I want you to- … I want you. Obviously. And I want us to trust each other, so how 'bout you start by making good on your engagement to me?"
"Even if I did there is such a thing as a wedding night. You cannot handle it, plain and simple." Vegeta smirks at her as he warps her failure to bring herself to kiss him into his favour so that he does not have to give her another reason she openly would not enjoy hearing. He puts this fact of her avoidance of physical contact in the open. Her having the courtesy and respect to avoid the racist slur she has yelled at him countless times is a marked improvement.
"I already said I don't wanna sleep in your arms."
That whole line of conversation gets terminated as Ryoko looks off over the lake. That is all she will say on the matter, she should not have to speak her reasons at all to this man. Her nostrils flare as she inhales and exhales. She raises a hand to brush some hair back from her face. Her wants are a convoluted mess. Until she can fully trust him she will not be able to cope with any kind of intimacy with him. For Vegeta it is a relief that he does not have to worry about any stray advances during the hours of night and this dislike will put into perspective how aggressively she normally physically pursues him. He decides that her self reflective mood and lowered ego make this an opportune moment to broach with her a subject she will raise a loud fuss over. Ayeka has brought this into the limelight. No longer will he let slide this pirate's mostly indifferent attitude towards his flesh and blood. Vegeta stands. He walks in front of Ryoko and blocks the light shining on her and her view of the lake. Crossing his arms he watches as she looks up at him: there will not be an escape.
"Ryoko, you learnt of the zoo incident so let me ask you one question: what about Trunks?" His voice is respectfully quiet yet even still she winces at his words and begins looking around instead of directly at him. Vegeta's gaze does not falter from her face. He expected as much from her. There is no willingness here from her to take up the mantle he has not pushed onto either woman. Her face contorts and Ryoko looks deeply troubled. She has no clue how to respond and the words she wants to say she fears will not be the ones he would want to hear.
" … I-he's alright. We've played and trained together? I'm not … I thought you wanted him to be independent."
"He is my son."
"The kid doesn't need looking after and he's part Saiyan. I don't get why you're saying this." Ryoko is not prepared for this, to her, unrelenting questioning about how involved she wants to become in Vegeta's family. She tries to wave some excuses up about something she remembers about Vegeta saying he is only looking after Trunks until his son decides to go it alone. Those defences he shreds for that is not what he is discussing.
"You marry me and you become his step-mother. What does that mean to you?"
Whether or not she wishes to become a parent she will be bound to it by the bonds of matrimony and Vegeta clearly sees she has not put any thought at all into this eventuality and has been openly and purposefully ignoring it and willing it to go away. The baggage he carries from his previous marriage is a heavy burden and if Ryoko is not strong enough to brunt some of its weight then there will be problems. Plain and simple he asks her for her thoughts. There is no choice of just him, this is a package deal.
"He already said he prefers Ayeka. I don't- This isn't- What does being a mother mean? I don't know. I don't know it means! I've seen it and Misaki and stuff like that but it ain't me. What d'ya want of me?" Teeth bare and she presses herself up against the wall, cornered by him and the frightening term he called her. Ryoko lashes back. There is no possible way she can even think to answer his question. Raised as an orphan with no knowledge of her parents and having gone without any strong figure like that throughout her life she hits back at Vegeta's insistence to hear her thoughts on motherhood. She does not know what a mother does. The word is hollow to her. Romance is the only type of love she has come to grips with and that was very recently. This is not something she can do. She firmly shakes her head in rebellion.
Panicking that this is some test she is spectacularly failing, Ryoko strongly suspects this line of inquiry has to have been brought on by some Juraian. She hates it. Ending up like Misaki is a horrific prospect to her. She continues shaking her head. The lingering and unspoken reason adding to her denial evades mention. Motherhood is not something she wants nor ever planned to have. She has no clue what either Vegeta or Trunks would even want from her in that situation, how much she would have to do and change and the constant effort and at the end she would not be herself. He has not asked this of her before and she never thought he would with his blasé nature and lacking parental skills. Just her and Vegeta and she would be perfectly happy. She cannot look after a child, she keeps telling herself that she cannot do it and there is no way it would ever work. Someone like her could never succeed at being a mother. It does not make sense to her. The concept is too vague for her. He is nearly a teenager and is not that fond of her. Those empty shoes she dares not step in would make Trunks dislike her even more. She knows that her rival would not answer like this. Ryoko hates how this makes her feel and this feeling of inferiority that is greatly rising when thinking of herself compared to the benevolent and compassionate Ayeka.
Her lips part open and she is about to exclaim her inability to ever be someone like that when Vegeta crouches before her, bending his knees so that he is level with her. Very lightly he puts one hand on her bare shoulder and rubs. He is careful to not use any strength or else she will merely feel trapped by him and he can already see in her eyes how his touch is adding to how uncomfortable she is. Vegeta looks at her and sees the fear of rejection building within her. She knows her answer is not the right one. The unspoken reason is playing its part but he will not address it unless she does. She is correct to be anxious and worried about such a massive thing he is asking of her and he hears in her arguments the same things he said when Trunks was born. He removes his hand from her and holds it out, it is met by reluctance. Her confidence is lower than he thought if she cannot even muster one single lie boasting about how easy it will be for her.
"Would you want to learn? Trunks is my son and will always be a permanent part of my life, if you want to also become a permanent fixture in my family by me taking you as my wife then the bare minimum is that you and my son have to get along. I won't push the role of motherhood onto you, but ... it will be a factor when the time comes." It might be unfair to say but he speaks only the truth as he explains to her how the partner he is looking for could be decided by how well they bond with his son. He may be bad at it but he is still a father. Being a single parent is challenging and his son is reflecting the fact that only Vegeta is raising him too much, something Bulma would not approve of in the slightest for her son. Even if Trunks left in a day's time he would return and regularly visit.
Ryoko holds Vegeta's outstretched hand. She cannot shout out at him to ditch the son he loves for her, she cannot argue against this demand he has made. This is the first real thing he has asked of her in their relationship, that he wants from her, and after all that she has claimed and taken from him he is asking for her to get on good terms with his child. There is far more to it and she knows and fears it. Vegeta has faith in her. He believes that she can do this and he is offering to help her if she wants it. Ryoko wants to become his wife, she wants a place to call home and so she will accept. She does love him. Her hand lets go of his and moves past and touches at his chest so that she can feel the abnormally slow rhythm of his pulse. The organ within her own breast is beating at an accelerated pace. If he is there for her then just maybe she will be able to do what he asks. Too much touching has happened, her hand retracts and she gradually nods, uncertainty still clouding her eyes.
"... I'll promise you that I'll give it a go. In exchange for 3 promises from you that you won't break. Final demands. I see what you want and you keep your word to me. Fair?" A smile shines bright through her worry. She waggles three fingers at him. To do this for him she will need at least one of these. Her niggling fear tells her she will need more than that if she follows up with this promise.
"2. Final offer."
One of her fingers lowers and Vegeta smiles back at her. He can see from her expression that none of what she will want now will be a want but more a need, a requirement to ease her into having a go at making friends with Trunks. She has not backed down. Her courage cannot be quelled and he fails to think of anything he could throw her way that would test her more than this. Ryoko makes a light scoffing sound and relaxes into a more comfortable seated position.
"Stingy. I can make do. You want to hear what I want you to promise me or can I take it for granted you're saying yes regardless? This is a helluva lot for me so I'm asking for something equal in turn. I got a bad feeling about it. I can't rush this. We might even reach your deadline before I make any decent progress. ... Just remember that I ain't had any parents or someone like that, so I won't be good at any of this, and I don't like it."
"Ryoko, honestly how good a parent do you think I was when my son was born and needed me the most? Everyone starts somewhere."
"But I never wanted to do this. I don't want to start anywhere. You want me to. I can tell where it'll lead and I don't want that! … That's not who I want to be. Ayeka has Sasami to look after and has all that stuff, I've got a fuzzy spaceship – that's the end of any knowledge I have for caring for things. You probably haven't talked to Trunks about this anyway." It nearly comes spilling out of her as Vegeta's words only serve to annoy and anger her. Those are not the words she wants him to say to her. No thanks or heart-warming comfort of telling her how he thinks she will be awesome and the best. Ryoko does not need him telling her how they both are very ill suited to being parents. She has said yes and that is all he should need from her. That path he is setting her on she does not want to walk for the end destination is a foe she has already lost to several times.
"I did, as a matter of fact. A year surprisingly lends itself to an awful amount of both training and talking. Does my son want for this? No. No, he will not be that cooperative. And you are talking to the wrong person if you want to bring up not wanting to walk the path of changing yourself. You cannot ignore my child. And no using him to fetch you cigarettes or I will hit you both."
Both stand up. Ryoko sneers at him and that joking threat. The father is being deadly serious. Her hands go to her ruined outfit as the fabric falls now she has moved. Looking at herself and the state she is in she cannot see how Vegeta thinks this is a good idea or why to bring it up now of all times when she is down in the dumps. She tries to rationalise some of what is going on but her mind is whirring too fast and her emotions are running high. This is serious. This is a committed and long term relationship thing and it is really scaring her. Him wanting her to become involved in his family would make her happy if it was about anything other than his kid, she cannot get past the hurdles she has imposed upon herself.
" Fuck off, I said I'd try. … So is that how it's gonna be? A kid, a pet, a daddy and- and me? A-"
"Guardian to my son, a somewhat responsible adult to hopefully look after and care for him if he requires it whilst I train. Now, how about we make those promises in the most universal unbreakable fashion, I'll be taking your hand."
Vegeta smooths over that rough patch for her and gives her a euphemism to soften it all. She is being brave and pushing through all of what he is asking of her but that word he sees she cannot manage. He understands and knows why. That word she has come to hate in recent days. To take her mind off these things before she can put up any-more arguing and stress herself out further he goes and grabs her hand, not waiting for her to give it and she stiffens.
He looks into her eyes and nods at her as he feels her fingers worm about in his grasp. These two promises she wants he shall make a display out of them. Ryoko trusts him and his promises as far as she can throw him so this extra mile will help. She is looking at him wondering if this seemingly simple handshake is supposed to be what he is after and then she feels pain and immediately tries to yank her hand free. Vegeta shushes her as her fear threatens her mind and then whilst still holding her by the wrist he shows to her what he has done. There is a small incision on her palm. The Saiyan then releases her hand and presents his palm. Ryoko takes her hand back and inspects it and slowly she nods. With a strong swipe of her nails she breaks through the toughened hide of his hand and beads of red begin to form. Her hand and his then meet, she grips strong as an unease in her stomach rises. She can feel his blood mixing with her own and her clammy and cold sweat. This is a blood pact. This is what he meant by an unbreakable promise.
Ryoko goes to make a teasing comment about their bodily fluids mingling but a large wall stops her. Like a layer of oil on-top of water they will never mix properly. His hand feels so warm. If it were what she wanted it would be so easy for her to let herself get lost in that comfortable body heat and get snug and cosy: Ryoko will not do that as the queasiness in her stomach remains from this simple hand holding. She takes several deep breaths. An unbreakable blood pact with Vegeta sounds very nice to her and her elfin ears, though hardly any blood is being spilt from the pressure of their grip. She shifts her posture and tries to formulate the words in her head, and Vegeta waits. He keeps his focus on her face. If she can face all her fears like this and smash every challenge being with him brings about then he sees no reason why she would fail at helping him raise and look after his child.
" … Promise me that you will always, always, always treat me right and with respect, with just as much tenderness and care as you dole out to princess, or more. You treat me right. Forever. And I'll promise that I'll give it a shot, to be Trunks' guardian or friend or whatever he wants – can't say I'll be any good at it. … I think I have my other one. Y'see my third one was gonna be about getting the next set of dragonball wishes but you're only giving me 2 and this I can do without you anyway. My s-second wish is for … it's for what you said. After last time Misaki came you said it to me. That no matter whatever happened, n-no matter who you choose … that I would never be alone and can hang about if I want. Best buds. A good thief always has to have a backup plan. Is that good, Vegey?" Those are her promises. She does not want to be alone again. If Ayeka loses then she has a family and a future, things that Ryoko does not possess and will not if her battle turns sour and Vegeta puts too much emphasis on his fatherhood like he is now. Sheepishly she looks at her fiancé. Her own promise to him she wove in so as to not make it all one sided, this is important to him and she is trying to treat it as such. A contingency plan for her loss she does not like but it is a smart safety net just in case. She nods her head at him and he bows his head back. There is concern in his dark eyes.
" I, Vegeta, prince of all Saiyans, promise you this. … Why does it still bother you? You don't need those wishes or Washu. It won't change anything." His hand keeps a tight hold of hers. Vegeta will speak of it even if she will not. The current that caused all the waves and ripples on the surface is the only thing she really would want the dragonball wishes for. He assumes responsibility since the topic he brought up is pertinent to say the least.
Ryoko shakes her head. She tries to take her hand back and shakes her head with added vigour as Vegeta does not let go. Her sensitive ears are hearing two separate things from him. He cannot go on a rant about his child and not expect her thoughts to fixate on the one thing that she cannot give him. The path he is setting her on, no matter how winding or how long, she sees it terminating at a dead end for her. Ryoko pulls at her hand and gets her release. She sees it clearly. Vegeta gets her to get used to and accustomed to a family life, she settles down like he did, she helps raise Trunks and gets better at those kind of things and then she might find herself liking that too much for her own good. Above her fear of not being a capable step-mother to Trunks she is terrified that at some point she will have a want for motherhood herself. That she cannot allow, not for her to be happy and all of this darkness to come and ruin it all and spray in her face. He says it will not change but she predicts it will be her that will change. It will be too late then for her to change, preventative measures are all she can think of. Ryoko shakes her head and looks down at her cut hand with Vegeta's blood decorating it.
"And who says I want to do it for you, or that it's … Fine, it is about that. I want it done for me. I really, really don't like thinking that there's something wrong with me, with my body. Not a word about it. I don't care for that reason, I'm doing this for just me and you will let me. You're the one pushing me here."
"There isn't anything wrong with you, Washu said it is just down to us being different species, it cannot be that uncommon a thing. My want for you to show some interest in my son is no indicator that I will ever want for future children. If your vanity was that high you would have had that scar on your back removed decades ago."
The charade of her argument does not hold up, vain as she is it simply is not true. Vegeta sees she is strongly trying to hide the apparent truth and sticking her head in the sand does not prevent him for knowing what her reason is. So many times he has reassured her and he hears that last sentence of hers the loudest and focuses on it. He is not meaning to pressure her into this decision, nor would he ever force her to do anything of the like – if she wants children that will be down to her and not him.
"Why are you so against it? What does it matter to you? My body, my decision!" Ryoko does not get how he can want for her to look after his kid and then be so against her choosing something that will allow her motherhood. Never has he once spoken a positive to her about her changing species, a decision she is making on his behalf because of her want to be with him. She lashes out defensively with angry words. He is sounding like a broken record and he is not explaining why to her.
"OK then Ryoko, how would you feel if the reason I fell for you was that you became a Saiyan? That you became someone else? That you did not win but this other woman similar to you did? We're here because you don't think about things before jumping into them so put some forethought into this." That should be reason enough, Vegeta thinks, as he uses the most potent argument he can as to why she should not want to wish to become Saiyan. She is acting purely off of her high emotions and saying these rash decisions out of her large fear concerning motherhood and Vegeta will not let her make this mistake or consign herself to a fate she is not fully aware of. He steps immediately in front of her as he scolds the same mistake for her previous melancholy.
" So go on then and enlighten me. Pros and cons, list them off for me so I can make an informed decision. Or is that something beyond the mighty Vegeta's ability? You start properly talking to me about this and not just saying 'no' to me then we might get somewhere, but no. Training time isn't it? I'm gonna do this just to spite you if you keep pestering me about becoming a replacement mom to your brat so you better start looking for wedding dresses that have holes for tails." Not cowering or backing down from his advances she takes a step forward and their chests touch. Ryoko mocks his blatant lack of knowledge about the opposite gender for his own species and then tries to make him the villain whilst ending the conversation she is intensely disliking. The Saiyan prince has said nothing about leaving to train nor made any notion that he wants to abandon their talk. She is telling him to leave in a disguised form that she can deny. She steps back and snarls her final comment with her feet lifting from the ground and levitating. This talk is over as far as she is concerned.
"And there's the Ryoko I know. The only con I will list right now is that you will not be you afterwards. You want me to treat you right, here it is, I am concerned about this choice of yours. The rest is up to you to think on or question Washu about. I won't stop you. I will disagree with it. … And doing this won't make you a princess."
He walks off and leaves her floating there. Vegeta will not say no to an opportunity to train. He has said his piece and Ryoko has reacted and replied, she is all hot tempered and fiery again and not the mopey woman she was when Gohan apprehended her. That part of his job is done. Ryoko sticks her tongue out at him and pulls a face at his turned back then stomps her foot in the air to no effect. She has a dress to change out of and vanishes from the scene. Vegeta shakes his head to himself and hears Juraian voices from inside. Apparently his son had no want to be the distraction he used him as and is training again, more so to keep pesky blue haired women at bay from enhanced gravity than to further himself. A multi-form of Vegeta splits off and joins his son as a Super Saiyan 3. Both train separately with no word said to the other. His second self gives thought on Ryoko and the blood pact he made. Ayeka might not be best pleased with it but she will have little reason to disagree to Ryoko staying if he has already married into Juraian royalty and their main point of conflict is gone.
In the absence of a Saiyan presence the topic of Vegeta has been raised yet again between mother and daughters. For a moment he listens in to get a feel for the room and conversation he shall enter. The high pitched voice of Sasami carries the clearest giving her innocently honest and truthful opinion on the man her sister loves. She says that he is grumpy and can be mean and do nasty things and she goes on to explain that she thinks he does this as he is lonely and misses his wife and that he does nice things too and always works hard. Sasami then smiles and tells her mother of the funny story when he comforted her after a bad dream. The young girl stands by her opinion that Vegeta can be a bully but trusts her sister and sees how happy he can sometimes make her when there's no shouting. Vegeta waits unnoticed in the entranceway to his house. More shall have to be done to appease his chef, the shopping trip should help. Misaki smiles at her child and comments that it seems that the Saiyan she can clearly see from where she is standing has done a good job of looking after her children in her stead. Ayeka and Sasami have their backs turned to Vegeta and so have no clue that he has silently walked up behind them. Misaki is grinning as she asks her eldest to shed more light on the mysterious man she is engaged to.
" Lord Vegeta is a good man. No, he is not perfect and his mistakes … hurt. He has never done anything consciously with ill intent to me. I trust him. What he says, he does, and he does it with all his might and he has changed so much now that he has had some time to grieve and let out all those emotions he represses. Mother, he is not a righteous man like you may have wanted for me, nor by any means is he just. Vegeta's moral compass is his own, his Saiyan nature can get the better of him – his culture is his, and solely his which he defends lest it disappears altogether. His- his sins are many, his temper is brutal, but for all that, in face of his past and what he was moulded into being by Frieza there is goodness in his heart fighting to be seen. Every sacrifice, every act of caring or compassion, every minute good deed he commits to is a choice he has to make. It is unnatural to him. It might sound wrong but I-I like that all this is done against his very nature, all his good he chooses to do in spite of what he is. They say the bravest man is the coward who takes a stand and so in similar light I see this. Vegeta makes constant effort to be a better man, he strains against his nature to be good. I-I like that."
"My ears are burning from such words." Vegeta saunters past the princess into the middle of his front room not really seeming to care much about Ayeka romanticising his struggle to not murder things. She squeals in surprise at his unannounced appearance and covers her face with her hands to hide her large embarrassment. Sasami points to her mother to say that this is the sort of bullying she is talking about, teasing her sister and such but also making her happy at the same time.
The man in the centre looks about at the Juraians, surveying them, and catches Ayeka peeking out from behind the sleeves of her robes and muttering 'no fair'. Her mother laughs. She sees how he has completely closed off her daughter's little speech about his humanisation in such a way that Ayeka has not realised it, there is definite forethought and planning behind each of Vegeta's moves. She can understand her daughter's viewpoint and empathise with it, there is an inner struggle within this man which he is fighting to live a domestic life like this. Vegeta updates Ayeka through a telepathic message that Ryoko's mood has partially been abated though Misaki is a large threat to her peace of mind and to keep the two from spending any length of time together. Through her blush, Ayeka lowers her hands and nods at him. Misaki watches on. Her daughter shared eye contact with Vegeta and then nodded as if in response to some silent communication, she safely assumes some power of Vegeta's is keeping private matters from her prying ears. She reaches out and puts a hand on the Saiyan's shoulder, smiling whilst also cornering him: he shall not escape like Trunks did.
"For such a unique individual you sound like something of a catch from what my darlings are telling me."
" 'Unique', is that in line with my power, my past or that I make up 50% of my race's population?" He does not need this and neither can he be bothered to humour her after she invaded his training room and then he had to deal with Ryoko. Vegeta brushes her hand from him. Misaki keeps her smiles and puts her alternate hand on instead. Ayeka sees he is not in the mood for this talk, she will step in if her mother pushes too far.
"It means what I want it to mean and you can perceive it however you wish, I am glad to call you my son." Her second hand is removed from her son-in-law's broad shoulder. Her smile becomes cheeky as she dances around his stiff and hostile question. She prepares herself to hug him but a warning look is shot her way from her eldest and she decides maybe to not be so physical with her daughter's fiancé when Ayeka places so much on any level of intimacy.
"And I am glad when you do not, not meaning anything untoward yourself Ayeka."
"I am a Queen, I rank higher than princes so I can do what I want. And I can call people what I want, my son." Her playful laughter causes Vegeta's teeth to grind. For anyone else he would strike them for lording over him and trying to pass as his superior. Ayeka is Misaki's saving grace here. She means no harm but naive and innocent idiots like his rival he does not get along with. He begins to walk away from the Juraians and towards his currently training multi-form.
"And there goes all my time for idle chatter. You, stay away from Ryoko, she's not in the best of moods and I don't need more trouble than I already have with all this." With his back turned he points at the Queen of the Juraian Royal Empire and commands her like a child on how to behave. Misaki pouts and Ayeka sees the danger in how riled up Vegeta has become over someone pulling rank on him.
"Vegeta, my name is not 'You'. Be polite. Call me mother. Just once, I want to feel how it sounds." She might have been playing and annoying but she will not be talked down to like that. Misaki pushes back against Vegeta's arrogant treatment and keeps on grinding away at this want of hers.
"No." Vegeta stops and flatly stomps out the idea of him calling her that name. He glares straight ahead at the bulkhead door. Hitting her is becoming more tempting every time she opens her mouth.
"Has this got anything to do with your relationship with your own mother? I heard from Sasami your little fairy tale … And I would not go recounting such a story to Washu if I were you."
"If I needed some amusement there are far better ways of torturing that poor soul." A dark chuckle escapes Vegeta as sadistic thoughts cross his mind. He enters his training room and leaves a frowning Misaki stood there whilst Ayeka tells her mother a few important do's and don't's for Vegeta and to not put him in a bad mood when he has only had a few hours sleep.