----Year 790, July 2nd. Somewhere near West Capital.
 
It was an unusually warm morning, even for summertime. There wasn't a cloud to be seen in the horizon and the sun shone bright, the only star in a flawless azure sky.

A fairly good day for training, Vejita thought, as he went on exchanging a flurry of blows with Goku.

He had missed these long sparring sessions after the younger Saiyajin had unexpectedly taken his leave in the middle of the 28th Budokai. There had been nobody else but Trunks and occasionally Goten to practice with and they hadn't quite managed to provide him with any kind of serious challenge. Years of near idleness had gotten the boys a bit...rusty, to say the least. Of course, he couldn't resent them for having other goals and places to be, although he had never really understood why his son was constantly seen anywhere in town except behind his office desk and why Goten was still running through employment ads in the paper every morning or so.

Goku was an entirely different bargain and - Vejita had to admit - it was always a pleasure to test his skills against someone who was as driven and as much a perfectionist as he was when it came to fighting. Moreover, there was no need to worry about roughing the man up. He could take just about anything : broken bones, third degree burns, anything, as long as it didn't have the appearance of a needle. And unlike Goten, Goku didn't have a hysterical mother who'd come after him with ear-splitting reprisals or swear a bloody vendetta at the sight of a mere bruise on her son's body...

And Goku - Kakarotto - was Saiyajin. He could refuse to acknowledge that simple fact all he wanted but no one could really escape their true nature, and Goku was no exception to the rule. His true nature had surfaced many times, enough for Vejita to know that there were at least two pure blooded members of his race left alive in the universe.On a planet where every now an then, something would inevitably remind him that he was a stranger, Goku's company was somehow comforting. The former prince of the Saiyajin had adapted himself to life on Earth with a Human mate, but he could never shake off the strange feeling of nostalgia that swept over him whenever he thought of his long gone people... and of what could have been.

He, who had been born to rule.

He, whom the gods had favored.

In the end, there was no kingdom, the gods had favored another, and the latter was facing him. Their rivalry was intact, but the hatred that had plagued the prince's tortured mind for so many years was no longer. He now saw not only a companion of battle in Goku, but a friend he could trust blindly with his own life... Of course he had never breathed a direct word of all this to Goku, who'd either laugh at him, or worse, not understand. It seemed that the notion of hatred and Goku were two straight lines that never crossed path. The man was simply incapable of any ill-feeling : he could be angry, extremely angry at most, but never spiteful. In fact, he always tried to find a redeeming quality in his enemies, no matter what heinous crimes they had committed against him. How someone could remain so unfalteringly innocent and optimistic, Vejita didn't know, but it was this very trait of Goku's that had revolted him at first, and later on fascinated him.

The two men had been sparring intensively for over an hour, but neither betrayed the slightest hint of fatigue. They were evenly matched, both powered up to Super Saiyajin 2 level, pushing their limits to the threshold of level three. They slid through the air with a speed that made them virtually invisible to the untrained eye ; and whenever they slowed down, their forms merely became two blurs that disappeared as soon as one could catch sight of them.

And then it happened.

"Again", Vejita reminded himself, as he sent Goku crashing through several little mountains with a kick in the ribs. He was actually surprised; he hadn't expected to break through Goku's defences so soon -or rather, he hadn't expected Goku to make a  "mistake" and lower his defences when he shouldn't have.

Vejita flew along Goku's landscape altering trail and landed next to a large pile of rocks, waiting for him to emerge from under. A few seconds later - which was a long time - Goku's fist shot out of the rubble, followed by the rest of his body. He dusted himself wearily and, to Vejita's growing surprise and annoyance, he sat down and propped his head in both hands.

"Kakarotto, am I really boring you?" Vejita asked sarcastically."I could find another sparring partner you know..."

Goku raised his head, as he remembered where he was and who he was with. He darted a sheepish glance at the angry little man who was staring down at him.

"Gomen, Vejita..." was all he found to say.

"Yeah, yeah...It's about the fourth time you've come up with that lame excuse. What the hell is wrong with you?"

"N...Nothing!" the other Saiyajin protested energetically.

"Right. Are you hiding something from me? Is there something I should know, like now you're able to turn into Super Saiyajin 4, but you don't want to tell me? Or maybe is it Super Saiyajin 5?"

"No...No... But I'm trying. I'll show you if I ever get there...It's just...I'm just a little hungry, that's all."

Vejita's arms dropped at his sides and he stared blankly at his companion. His sullen expression ostensibly softened and, with a tone almost too considerate for his own liking and comfort, he invited Goku over to Capsule Corporation. For *some* food. An extremely efficient therapy in Goku's case - at least it was all Vejita could think of.

Bulma yawned and streched lazily. She was alone between the warm sheets; Vejita had mentioned  "meeting Kakarotto" when he had left earlier this morning, but she hadn't really paid attention then. She was still incredibly sleepy and it was his fault. Partially. But she wasn't the one who went around grabbing him in the dark corners of the house.

Smiling and keeping her eyes closed, she tried to recall the strange dream she had just woken up from. There had been water, clear, cristalline water flowing from a fountain... and  the statue of a woman, her beautiful features forever frozen in peaceful slumber. A question asked over and over again, but never answered... That woman had seemed so familiar...

Still wondering about the statue, Bulma pulled herself out of bed and headed for the shower. She did not stop by the mirror but glanced approvingly at her reflection, something she couldn't have done when she was younger. Indeed, she never had that fresh, confident look on her face nor that long mane of blue hair streaming down her back when she was thirty...And sleeping in the nude certainly hadn't been one of her most notable habits. If anyone at the time had told her that she'd become an Amazon at fifty, she wouldn't have believed it. But then, she wouln't have thought it possible either if anyone had sworn up and down that she's still be with Vejita after all these years.

Some things really did get better.

Mister Popo looked worriedly at the two Nameccians. Piccolo and Dende had been standing there for hours, at the edge of the platform. He had been rewarded with a snappy "I don't know" from Piccolo and a grim silence from Dende the first time he had asked what was going on, and he didn't dare to reiterate the question. He remained with them for a while, concentrating on what might be monopolizing their attention, but he didn't find anything particularly out of place or out of the ordinary down on Earth. Today was a day as perfect as it could get; there was always a possibility that Piccolo and Dende's fears were unfounded. But Mister Popo knew better than to ignore the fact that these two did have heightened senses in the paranormal department...and that their present state wasn't announcing anything good.

Perplexed and even more worried than before, Mister Popo started walking back inside when he heard the young Kami's hoarse and unsteady whisper.

"Piccolo san....This... can't be..."

"I needed a break anyway..." began Vejita, once they were in the air, flying back to West Capital.     "But I'm not letting you off the hook that easy. After breakfast, I'm fully expecting you to give me the workout of a lifetime, and I won't accept apologies.  Kakarotto... Kakarotto ? Are you--"

Vejita came to a stop and turned around, just in time to see the other Saiyajin slowly dropping in altitude, then fall freely to the ground far below.

"--even listening?" Vejita finished the question, as he dove towards Goku.

Asleep.

The big moron had been dozing off during their flight.

This was unbelievable. Vejita was used to Goku listening absentedly to him, but this was beyond appaling. And odd in a way.

Holding Goku firmly by the collar,Vejita slapped him awake.

"*Just* a little hungry, eh?"

"Gom--"

"Say that one more time and I'll really knock you out."

Bulma stood speechless at the kitchen's entrance. The scene that laid before her eyes would have brought a smile on anybody's face, but she struggled to remain silent.

Crouching in front of the wide open fridge were two Saiyajins. Two relatively famished Saiyajins, with a very distressed expression on their faces.

Goku and Vejita stared in disbelief at the half consumed pack of green peas, the small pot of ice cream and the meager remains from last night's dinner at the Chinese restaurant. The fridge, for all they knew, was as good as empty. And really, Vejita didn't feel like fighting Goku for a few miserable green peas...

A muffled noise interrupted their inspection of the fridge. Goku and Vejita lifted their heads and discovered that Bulma had not only been spying on them for the past few minutes but was also on the verge of bursting out in laughter.

"You did that on purpose, didn't you..." Vejita said accusingly.

"Where's the food?" Goku asked weakly, as his eyes went back to the fridge, in a desperate attempt to find something they might have overlooked.

Bulma went over to stand beside them.

"Well..." she began, letting out a low whistle. "It seems now's a good time to make a raid on the market, don't you think so?"

"I think," Vejita replied, " that we should hurry. Kakarotto's about to faint here, and frankly, I'm not that far behind..."

Bulma reviewed her grocery list. She had a check on every item so far, but she wondered, as she looked back at Goku and Vejita, who were each pushing two full carts, if it was really enough to merely feed one hungry Saiyajin. They'd definitely have to come back in the afternoon in order to replenish her poor fridge...

"Kakarotto, don't open that." Vejita commanded sternly.

"But I'm hungry..."

Smiling, Bulma turned back to her list. So absorbed was she with it that she walked without looking at where she was going, and as a result, she nearly collided with another woman.

"Oh, I'm so sor--"

She stopped short in her tracks. The person she had mistaken for a woman was actually a teenage boy - a very androgynous looking boy, albeit a boy. He had a thick, unruly mane of dark green hair that fell mostly over his face and a very unsettling pair of equally green eyes staring intently at her.

*Come with us* a voice suddenly whispered inside her.

Bulma shook her head, trying to dismiss the strange thoughts that were suddenly creeping into her mind. When she looked again, the boy was gone. She turned around. Vejita and Goku were still quarreling over food, so they probably hadn't noticed anything. Unless she'd simply been seeing things and hearings voices... She let out a small nervous laugh and proceeded toward the dairy section.

Such a silly girl.

Really.

She picked up a milk carton and turned it over to look at the date.

*Why do you want to die?*

The milk carton slipped from her hands and fell on the floor where it burst open with a splashing sound.

The boy was standing right beside her, still staring at her with his glassy, pupilless eyes. She had seen eyes like these before...A nagging, screaming emotion she could not name welled up inside her and it grew even louder as the boy's gaze wandered in Vejita and Goku's direction.

"Leave him alone..." she whispered.

The boy looked back at her, an innocent, childish smile spreading on his lips.

*Leave who alone?*

"Leave him alone!" Bulma repeated between clenched teeth.

"Is there a problem, ma'am?" a security guard inquired as he approached them.

"Stay where you are..." Bulma told him.

The guard looked incredulously at her.

"Excuse me?"

The boy did not move. Only his smile grew wider.

Vejita was still trying to prevent Goku from devouring everything at once when a general outcry came close to piercing their ears.

Without a moment's hesitation, they lifted themselves up in the air, where they could have a good overview of the whole area. Vejita immediatly spotted Bulma who stood apart from the rest of the crowd, her face set in courageous determination. The floor beneath her feet was crimson with thick, dark blood that was steadily gushing out of a decapitated body - a neatly decapitated body, if one was fond of gruesome observations.

He didn't have to look very far for the unfortunate security guard's head ; it was dangling from the hand of a green haired boy standing a few feet away from Bulma... and getting dangerously closer to her.

Vejita instinctively prepared himself to attack. The boy, as if he had sensed the Saiyajin's presence, turned around to face him. He tossed the head backwards with a graceful flip of the hand. The crowd uttered some new horrified screams.

His ki flickered on, like an awesome and sudden wave of power. Without any other preliminary, he charged at Vejita, leaving the latter no other choice but to counter attack. Vejita had to think quickly, however. This was a confined environment, and Bulma could get hurt. As for the other people... he only cared about them because she'd get on his case if he accidentally killed anyone. He raised his palm and fired the big bang attack at his opponent.

A brutal and deafening explosion shook the entire building as both ki collided, and Vejita had to keep his eyes shut against the blazing light. He faintly became aware of a sudden increase in the the boy's power level and thought he heard Goku shouting at him, telling him to get out of the way.

Then it was over ; the boy's phenomenal ki, as well as the boy himself had been wiped off the surface of the Earth.

There were more screams, coughs, and sobs from the frightened crowd ; the explosion had probably caused some light injuries and it went without saying that West Capital Mart would undergo several weeks of much needed remodeling. But all that was the least of Vejita's concerns, as he searched through the heavy clouds of smoke and dust for Bulma.

At last he found her, laying curled up on the blood-bathed floor where she had been standing only instants before. He breathed in sharply and rushed down to her motionless form. He carefully held up her wrist and checked her pulse. She was - thank God - merely unconscious, and the blood soaking her clothes wasn't her own.

Goku landed with a light tap next to them.

" Vejita, we have to get out of here. " he simply said, gesturing at the supermarket's sliding doors, in front of which a dozen patrol cars were already gathering, their sirens howling.

Vejita silently acknowledged Goku's suggestion. Lifting Bulma in his arms, he stood up and allowed Goku to place a hand on his shoulder and teleport them away.

" Where are you going ? " Vejita asked Goku, as the latter opened the window.

" Is there any other supermarket around here ? "

" ...? "

" Well, it's three in the afternoon already and we haven't eaten anything yet. You just stay here and watch Bulma. I'll...go and get us some food..."

" You don't even know what to buy..."

" Don't worry, " Goku said, holding up a piece of paper " I have her list. "

Goku stepped out of the window. Vejita watched him fly away, slightly puzzled but grateful for the other Saiyajin's sudden display of lucidity. If a state of prolonged hunger could produce that remarkable effect on him, then maybe the man ought to be starved more often...

Goku finally dared to let out the heavy sigh that had caught in his throat ; lying wasn't something he did on a regular basis. Although he had meant every word he said about getting food, he had left out the other - and foremost - reason for his little errand. So it was more "omitting " part of the truth than really "lying", but it made him feel uncomfortable nonetheless.

Still debating over the moral issues implicated with his actions, Goku landed in front of West Capital Mart. The paramedics and most of the customers had already left, but the police were still on the premises. They had engaged in a full blown investigation of the disaster-striken area, although it seemed that most of their efforts were now being spent in trying to fend off the attacks of hungry reporters. A few hysterical "survivors" from the morning's "inexplicable tragedy" remained, and were each relating a different version of what they believed to be the most " scarring experience " of their entire life. No doubt a different version of the story would also appear on every tabloid front page the next day...

Goku walked nonchalantly past the uniformed officers and the growing horde of journalists, and slipped unnoticed under the yellow tape. There were cops inside, but he could easily thwart their vigilance. He had more serious facts to consider.

He reached the spot where Vejita had confronted the boy and stopped. The security guard's body and its head had been removed, but the floor was still covered with a thin crackled layer of dry blood. He crouched down and tried to think.

" Hey ! You ! " hollered an officer.

But Goku lifted two fingers to his forehead and was gone before the man could even blink.

It was just as he had feared.

The policeman had interrupted him too soon, but Goku had had enough time to replay the whole scene in his mind.

The boy had stopped Vejita's attack.

It was highly improbable, but not impossible. His ki had risen to intimidating proportions and even surpassed Vejita's, but for some reason Goku could not yet determine, his power had suddenly dropped and he had been defeated.

And there was something else, something that bothered him deeply : for an infinitesimal instant, he had felt a second ki. It was similar to the boy's, flickering on and off in the same fashion ; the only difference was that it had been much stronger...

It was all very confusing, but Goku was certain of one thing : it was a miracle that Vejita was still alive.
 

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