Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Crossed Paths ❯ Playing Games ( Chapter 10 )

PAIRING: Hints of Bulma/Vegeta, and....  well, I hope you've figured it out by now. ^_^
RATING: PG so far. But that will change.
WARNINGS: None yet
DISCLAIMER: Neither of us owns any of the DBZ characters, but we both wish we owned Vegeta. (We do own Vegeta action figures. Does that count?) These characters are owned by Toei, Viz, Akira Toriyama, and FUNimation, even though the last one is a crying shame. We do own what we've written here, and our specific storyline, just not Dragonball itself. We make no money off of any of these guys, nor off this fic.
SUMMARY: What might have happened if Nappa had been the one sent to Chikyuu to destroy it, rather than Radditz? What might have changed? And how might Vegeta and Radditz have reacted afterwards?
CHAPTER SUMMARY: Bulma takes her friends on a partial tour of the ship. Radditz forces Vegeta to partially admit his feelings towards Bulma.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: I don't have a beta anymore and I wish I did. Unfortunately since I'm no longer active in the DBZ fanfic community I don't know anyone who would be willing to beta. (shrugs) So no acknowledgements, except to thank my friend ZabJade for input occasionally when I needed it on this.
NOTES: When I wrote this over three years ago I hadn't yet seen the Bardock Special, so I didn't know much about the continuity of it. I apologize in advance for the fact that this is NOT accurate; I wouldn't make the same mistake had I written this now. I also think I write better than this now, but it is what it is, as a friend of mine would say.

Bulma turned towards Vegeta and glared at him. "We are NOT taking off without Son-kun!" she shouted at him. "And you aren't the one who has any say in the matter! The control codes to take off are known by me and only by me; we won't lift off until I say so! And I am not about to leave my best friend behind!" She glared at him for several minutes, the two of them caught in a battle of wills, before she shrugged indifferently, her face softening.

"Besides," she said off-handedly, "I still have to show you guys how to work things on this ship. Right now I'm the only one that knows how to do anything, and I'm not about to do everything on this trip! What if something should happen to me?" she said pointedly. "You guys need to know how to do things as well. So why don't you all come with me while I show you how to do things?"

She looked at the two Saiyajin. "I figure you two are likely to know the most about piloting a ship like this, so I'm going to show you how to pilot. But I doubt that you two read our language yet, so I want to show Yamcha and Kuririn how to navigate and handle the various computer systems like life support. I'm going to have to teach the two of you our language as well, so you can also learn to do the same thing. Otherwise, if something should fail, and I'm asleep or unavailable, we might all die!" She glared at them, daring them to argue with her.

Even though every instinct in him was screaming at him to throttle the small human female in front of him who was bossing him about yet again, Vegeta simply narrowed his eyes and shrugged. It startled the warrior how much control he was exhibiting. He had no idea why he hadn't blasted her and her companions hours before.

::If nothing else,:: he thought wryly, ::these humans can teach me better control.:: If Radditz was surprised by his Prince's behavior, he was not showing it. ::And maybe Radditz can learn a thing or two as well.:: The other Saiyajin was at his customary place behind Vegeta and hadn't moved an inch during Bulma's entire tirade.

There was something in the situation that Vegeta was sure he could use. But since she did seem to have the upper hand at the moment, he saw no other alternative but to cooperate. "Yes, I think learning how to operate this equipment may come in handy."

A smirk settled over his features as a sudden idea occurred to him. ::Radditz,:: he sent privately to his companion, ::do what she tells you and learn about this ship as much as you can. It could be to our advantage at a later date.:: The smaller man could even hear the amusement leaking into his mental voice as he continued. ::She seems not to have noticed that if she teaches us how her ship works, she will have lost her edge. Cooperate with her for now. Understood?::

"It seems we do have some time until Kakarotto gets back. Perhaps you would like to take the time to explain some of the basics," he remarked and noted to himself that she was thrown off balance by his lack of argument. "Unless you have some other way you would like to pass the time?"

Bulma frowned suspiciously at his sudden acquiescence. From the little she had learned about this Saiyajin Prince, he wasn't one to back down easily. He had tried to order her friend around and she had rebuked him for it; she had expected him to argue with her at least. The fact that he hadn't, surprised her, and made her wonder what he was up to. ::Well, I'm a genius. He may think I'll be easy to take advantage of, but he has never had to deal with Bulma Briefs!::

Radditz was watching the interplay between his monarch and the human female with what was - for him - an inscrutable expression. The little female seemed to rub Vegeta in exactly the wrong way, even more than was warranted for her behavior. It surprised him to some degree the control Vegeta was exhibiting with regard to destroying her, but he also knew Vegeta could be pragmatic when necessary. Right now they needed this woman and so Vegeta wouldn't harm her. But Radditz knew that the moment she was no longer useful to them, she would be dead.

He wondered about that, however. He was getting the impression more and more that Vegeta was trying to come up with excuses not to destroy the woman for her insolence, although he noted the woman wasn't making it easy on him. Radditz was beginning to wonder if she were suicidal. He didn't think so - she was too intelligent and gifted for that - but then he wondered. There was a haunting sadness about her, a desperation, which made him wonder if she were trying to taunt one of them into killing her so she wouldn't have to make that decision on her own. It was something he would have to talk to Vegeta about. He didn't know if his prince would care, but at the very least he should inform him.

"All right." Bulma was still frowning at the Saiyajin prince. "I think the most important parts of the ship for everyone to learn how to handle are the galley and medical bay. If your eating habits are anything like Son-kun's, we won't be able to keep up with you. Let me show you where our supplies are and how to prepare a meal. And I'm sure all of you will be hurt on a regular basis, so you'll need to learn how to patch yourselves up. Come on."

She headed back down the corridor, almost the way she and Radditz had come from earlier. She took a quick left, then showed them the sick bay, where there were medical supplies. She also reminded them she didn't have much medical knowledge, so if anyone got hurt, they were going to have to go with textbooks. Despite that, the equipment in the medical bay was state of the art, and even though most of it was more primitive than Radditz and Vegeta were used to, there was an extensive lab with more equipment than they had even known existed in the same room.

The next room Bulma brought them to was the mess hall and galley, which was immediately next door to the medical wing. When Radditz made a sarcastic comment about that, Bulma 'accidentally' trod on his foot. Then she explained that the two areas had required similar wiring and logistics in the ship, so it was simpler just to put them in the same area.

It didn't take long for her to explain the basics of the replicator, although she didn't explain that she had put some limits on the one in the galley. It could only replicate organic materials, not inorganic ones, and only specific things she had programmed into it; it was designed for food replication only. Bulma knew there were weapons that could be made out of organic materials, but she doubted these Saiyajin would need to do anything sneaky like that. Their whole bodies were weapons; if they wanted to, they could easily kill all of the humans on the ship as well as Goku, and she and her friends couldn't do anything about it.

Bulma showed them the programming codes for some of the food they had eaten the previous day, and explained that every type of food had its own code. It was only programmed with things she was familiar with; if they wanted to add to its repertoire, she would need a sample of the food so she could program it in. There was a fairly huge list of codes next to the replicator that they discovered they could refer to at will if they needed to.

After introducing them to their new source of food, Bulma led them to the sleeping quarters. She pointed to the door at the end. "That room is mine," she stated, not informing them that it led to the largest room on the ship. "You may each select from any of the other rooms. When you've picked a room, tell me, and I'll program it to respond to your voice and handprint. You may not enter anyone's room without their permission, is that understood?" Her gaze was fixed rather firmly on Vegeta's countenance as she stated this last, glaring at him fiercely.

Vegeta couldn't help but smirk at that. "Is that so? I am beginning to think that is a theme for everything here. Get one's permission and it is appropriate." His smirk widened and then without any warning Vegeta leaned forward to whisper in her ear. "Well then, woman, you have my permission to enter my quarters as you wish." When he backed away, he noted with some delight that the blush was back on her cheeks. "And I suppose I need your permission to do anything on this ship?"

"Um...." For some reason Kuririn felt the need to interrupt what appeared to be Vegeta intimidating Bulma. He found it a little strange; Bulma was not easily intimidated and was usually the one in control of their decisions. But it looked like this alien prince was somehow taking control, and he bet Bulma wasn't happy about that.

"Maybe I should take this room..." he said, heading to the room right next to Bulma's, and earning a glare from the small Saiyajin, who growled menacingly.

"Radditz will take the one next to yours." Vegeta's eyes narrowed on Bulma. He had to suppress a smirk as Bulma's confusion flickered over her face. "I'll take the one across the hall from hers."

"Er...." Kuririn gulped at the implied menace in Vegeta's tone. He glanced at Bulma and saw that she was glaring back at Vegeta. There was definitely something strange going on here. He had chosen that room out of a need to protect Bulma, sensing some implied hostility towards her from the two aliens. Not being overly astute with regard to human interaction, he wasn't entirely sure why they disliked her so much, but he was absolutely positive they did.

"Maybe Bulma can trade rooms with someone else then. If she doesn't want to stay there." He was surprised at her silence in this confrontation, as well as his own temerity. He wasn't particularly known for his courage, so the fact that he was sticking his neck out here was more than slightly unusual.

Radditz felt the corner of his mouth quirk up in amusement. He was enjoying the battle between his prince and the little Chikyuu-jin 'princess'. Perhaps she wasn't official royalty, but she was right about one thing; she was the closest to it that he and his prince had ever met, including most 'real' royalty that they had met in their travels. This woman had about her a regal air and an aura of command that had rarely ever been matched in his experience.

"Oh, no. I think Vegeta would enjoy having Bulma-san as his neighbor. I think they will get along very well." His grin widened when she shifted her glare over towards him, the twinkle in his eyes unrepentant.

"Yes, I am sure we will get along well," Vegeta agreed dryly.

"Well then." Yamcha finally spoke up. "I guess I'll take this one." Perhaps surprisingly he tapped the door that was right across from Radditz's, and winked at Kuririn. He hoped the smaller man would get the hint. Even if they were only a door or two away from Bulma, it might give the impression that while they would not dispute the Saiyajin's room choices, they would be keeping an eye on them.

"Goku and Gohan will probably take the ones down there." Yamcha pointed to the opposite end of the hall. "We know how he likes to be close to food."

Bulma didn't look overly pleased with their choices of rooms, but refused to argue with them. Instead, she spun on her heel, continuing down the hallway to the last door. This led to a large room with a large empty area, the walls lined with shelves filled with small boxes. Bulma smiled at all of them. "And this room can be anything you need it to be!" she announced proudly. She had already shown it to Vegeta earlier, but the others hadn't had a chance to see it yet.

Kuririn looked around in confusion. "Uh... Bulma? How?"

Bulma turned and glared at him. "Kuririn, are you naturally that stupid, or do you practice?" He flushed, but didn't answer, and she pulled one of the cases from a shelf nearby. She opened the box, showing that it was a capsule case. "What is my company famous for, Kuririn? Capsules, right? Well, these capsules contain almost every kind of room, vehicle, or item imaginable. You want a movie theater? I have them. You want a swimming pool? Got them as well! You want to play tennis? Golf? Have a picnic in the park? Got those as well! We have spaceships, scooters, cars, boats, submarines, gymnasiums... practically everything! A few of these capsules can't be opened here because they would be too big, but I have those clearly marked. Just don't open anything unless you know what it is. And if you need something in particular, look."

She pointed to a small screen by the door, then typed in the word 'car' with the small keyboard. Immediately, several lines of text showed up, showing key codes and descriptions. "See? If we want a sports car, we can narrow it down to these. If we want something that can carry a lot of people, go to these. If we want a transport, we'd go down to these. Now...." She pressed for sports cars, and a list of numbers showed up.

"Ok, here's one. Let's go to XAS-794. Come on." She led them through the bookshelves, until they got to an alphabetical listing that was 'XAS'. She pulled a capsule case from a shelf labeled '781-800'. She opened this, and pulled out a capsule numbered 'XAS-794'. "You see? Just search there, and you'll find what you're looking for here! Simple, huh?"

Yamcha let out an appreciative whistle. "Good thing we have you for these kinds of things. Somehow," he said, looking around, "I don't think we would have been quite that efficient. This is great, Bulma!"

Piccolo snorted. "Maybe, but when the true fight starts, it would be better if she isn't there."

"Hey, now! Just a minute there, Piccolo!" Yamcha started to protest.

"She may have brains, but she has no fighting ability whatsoever," Piccolo countered. "She would be killed just like that."

Yamcha opened his mouth to say something but Vegeta beat him to it. "Then I suggest someone teach her how to fight." Vegeta looked over his shoulder at her. "Otherwise she will be a liability instead of an asset. Unless," he folded his arms over his chest, "you are afraid to learn?"

Bulma was glaring at Piccolo, her mouth agape. "I have never been a liability! I'll have you know that I've saved everyone on more than one occasion! I may not be able to fight, but there's more to life than fighting! You need me, no matter how macho it might be to say I'm weak!"

Kuririn scratched his head. He hated to admit it, but as much as he wanted to side with Piccolo, he knew Bulma was right in many ways. She had gotten them out of more than one scrape just by thinking their way out. But still, the others were right as well. If she could at least defend herself, they wouldn't have to be as distracted worrying about her.

"It's probably a good idea, Bulma. You know, if you at least learn how to defend yourself. Yamcha or I could teach you...." He wasn't sure he wanted the two aliens teaching her. They would probably get too rough with her, and might hurt her or even kill her.

Yamcha nodded. "Sure. We could show you at least the basics."

"Ah, but you never did answer me, did you, woman?" Vegeta put in challengingly. "You certainly know how to rant about your worth, yet you avoided the question. Are you afraid to learn? Is that why you are content to let others fight for you?"

Bulma narrowed her eyes angrily at him. "And are you content to let everyone else think for you, monkey-brain? Take a look at this ship, Mr. High-and-Mighty! If it weren't for my brains, you wouldn't be in it now. You'd be flying in those tiny little space pods, and you would take, what, a year to get to Namek? You know this Freeza person will beat you there. Only in my ship do you stand a chance of getting there first. I've spent my time doing things that are constructive - my father and I designed this ship, I invented capsule technology, and I'm the one who discovered the dragonballs. Just because I can't fight doesn't mean I'm a liability!"

"But, Bulma," Kuririn protested, trying to head off an argument, "you could at least learn to defend yourself... couldn't you?"

Bulma turned her baleful glare on him. "And exactly how much fighting can I learn in the little time we will have before we land on Namek? Certainly not enough to make a difference! Any of you would still be able to disintegrate me with a look. And if these people we're facing are so much more powerful than you are, then what I can do is hardly going to be significant, no matter how much I manage to learn! No, my time is better spent elsewhere. Or do you not want to be able to listen into Freeza's transmissions with those scouter things of yours, while he can't do the same to you? Because that's what I had been planning on working on during our trip!"

She didn't tell them that she didn't think those modifications would take all that long. There were other things she was thinking of working on. She had already encapsulated the two alien pods of these two men and brought them on board, and she wanted to study them. She had learned a lot from the circuitry and patterns of Nappa's space pod, but didn't know if there would be anything different in these she could learn from as well.

"And once again she avoids the question." Vegeta shook his head. "I hate to tell you this, woman, but they won't disintegrate you if they catch you. I think I mentioned what they would do." He arched a brow up at her. "But in any case, you probably can't be taught in the first place."

Bulma flushed at Vegeta's implication, as well as his insult to her. She realized he was right - she should at least learn how to avoid their enemies, so she wouldn't be caught by them and possibly tortured or killed. Her mind deliberately shied away from what other innuendos he was making. She wasn't going to let that happen to her no matter what!

"I can learn anything!" she snarled at him. "If you think you can teach it!"

"Bulma," Kuririn started, suddenly afraid of how the Saiyajin would rough her up. "Maybe it would be better if Yamcha or I taught you...."

"No, you would be too soft," Radditz interrupted suddenly. "If she really wants to learn, then Prince Vegeta and I should teach her." He leaned forward, bending down close to her. "Unless you are afraid?" he challenged.

Bulma's eyes narrowed, and instead of backing up from his obvious attempt at intimidation, she moved forward until their noses were touching. "Hardly," she drawled. "But I'm not stupid, either. I'm not an idiot who caves in just because someone accuses me of cowardice, and therefore shows how stupid I can be. Yamcha and Kuririn can teach me just fine. I doubt you two can teach me anything that they couldn't!"

For some unknown reason, Vegeta started chuckling. "Is that so, human?" He tilted his head to the side, folded his arms over his chest, and smirked at her. "We might surprise you. I am sure there are several things in my repertoire that you don't know." He cast a smug look over at Yamcha and Kuririn. "I'm sure there are things that those two," he inclined his head, "wouldn't have the first clue how to teach you." He let his eyes travel along the length of her body so there wouldn't be any mistake in what he was implying. "But I would make it an experience you would never forget."

"You... you... you...." Bulma sputtered incoherently for several seconds, well aware of what he was insinuating.

"Uh oh..." Kuririn muttered, as steam began to come out Bulma's nose and her face turned bright red. He knew these were signs that her anger was at a no-turning-back point, and if that happened, the hapless victim would come to seriously regret it. Fighting power or no, Bulma was scary!

"HOW DARE YOU?!?" Bulma shouted at him, fangs flashing in her fury. "I WOULDN'T TOUCH YOU IF YOU WERE THE LAST MAN ON EARTH! IF YOU ARE A MAN, WHICH I DOUBT! YOU ARE MORE REPELLENT THAN A SLUG! I WOULD RATHER SLEEP WITH A PIG THAN WITH YOU! I WOULD RATHER SLEEP WITH YAJIROBE THAN WITH YOU!"

Vegeta arched an eyebrow at her display of temper but refused to let her insults affect him. "Who said anything about sleeping, woman? I was referring to fighting." He didn't try to hide his smirk. "I have been traveling around the universe for years, woman." He sneered at the group. "I have picked up techniques these friends of yours would not comprehend."

He stalked towards her slowly, enjoying her discomfort. "As for 'sleeping' with you, I am a Prince. I can have any female in the known galaxy. Why would I settle for a scrawny, loud-mouthed, overbearing, conceited little girl like you?"

Bulma flushed in mortification, but she was well aware - as was everyone else - that fighting had not been what Vegeta had been referring to earlier. "They may not," she ground out, "but they know sufficient to teach me! I don't need any of your 'techniques', you kusotarre! And as for conceited...!" Her eyes narrowed on him. "I have never met anyone more conceited and arrogant than a certain Saiyajin Prince who thinks he's so much better than anyone else! And, I'm happy to inform you, you are not!"

With that, she turned and stormed away from them, no longer interested in continuing the tour of the ship.

Kuririn sweatdropped as Bulma disappeared around the corner. "Er... I guess we can get her to show us the rest of the ship later," he said with a sigh. "At least we know where the food and beds are. I was just hoping she would show us how to fly the ship before we took off."

"I don't think she had any intention of doing that," Radditz interrupted with a smirk. "She would be afraid we would leave without Kakarotto, and she's not going to allow us to do that. And I'm sure she'll have some way of overriding anything we do anyway. She's a clever one, that little Chikyuu-jin Princess."

"Princess?" Kuririn squeaked in surprise. "When did Bulma become a princess?"

"And when was she not, little Chikyuu-jin?" Radditz replied with a smug smile, an amused gleam in his eyes as his gaze settled on Vegeta. "I would say she shows more royalty than any queen or princess I have ever met in my life, wouldn't you, Your Highness?"

"Hmmmmm." Vegeta's mouth twitched in amusement. "I am sure she would give some of the nobility we have met in the past few years an earful." He cocked his head to the side, listening to her retreat as she made her way down the corridor. "But then again, I wonder if they would have let her live."

"What do you mean?" Yamcha asked with a frown.

"Simply that. If she were to have taken that attitude with some of the beings we have had contact with, they would have been insulted and had her killed for her insolence." Vegeta smirked at Yamcha's shocked expression and continued. "As a matter a fact, if we had been on Vegeta-sei she wouldn't have finished her sentence."

"Then why let her live if she irritates you so much?" Yamcha asked, not really wanting to know the answer.

"She is useful." Vegeta shrugged again. "Not that it is any of your concern."

Radditz frowned, but didn't want to dispute his prince's statement. But he suspected that if Bulma had been on Vegeta-sei, she might not have been killed; they might have respected her courage too much and let her live. Sometimes it wasn't just fighting power alone that gave one prestige on Vegeta-sei - courage was important as well. Radditz knew of several instances when powerful warriors had lacked courage and had been executed for their cowardice. Anyone could learn how to fight, and even someone as weak as she was could eventually become halfway decent as long as they had courage. And this woman definitely didn't lack courage.

"Yamcha...." There was an edge in Kuririn's voice, and he shook his head warningly when the other man glanced at him. He thought it best if they didn't press the Saiyajin too much where Bulma was concerned. The more they spoke of her, the more Kuririn worried about what they had in mind for her. He didn't trust either of these aliens as far as he could throw them and he doubted that would be far with either of them.

"Well, I'm going to get something to eat while we wait for Goku to get back!" Kuririn announced, heading towards the mess hall. "Might as well, unless you guys can think of something else to do!"

Radditz gave a slow smile, and his gaze lingered on Yamcha assessingly. "Oh, I can think of a few more interesting things to do while we wait...."

"Huh?" Yamcha glanced over at Radditz and found his face immediately getting hot. It simply wasn't fair that every time Yamcha found Radditz' gaze on him, he felt... strange. ::Damn that man! Why does he have to look at me that way?:: He looked away from the tall Saiyajin, biting his tongue, trying not to ask the other man what 'interesting things' he had in mind. He told himself he really didn't want to know what they were. "Somehow I doubt that."

Radditz' grin only widened at that remark. "Oh, is that a challenge? I think I could find something, if you really don't believe me. We just need a little privacy. Perhaps in the room your friend Bulma gave me...." His gaze turned predatory. "I would be quite happy to give you some private lessons...."

Yamcha flushed a bright red at the other man's innuendos. "Now, just a minute..." Yamcha found himself quickly wanting to protest whatever Radditz was suggesting. Yet something in him found the other man attractive, and as much as he fought it he found himself reluctantly curious about what the other warrior had in mind. He was saved from that embarrassing thought by Vegeta's timely interruption, as he spoke before Yamcha could even form a coherent sentence.

"Radditz, play with your human later," Vegeta interrupted, not a moment too soon in Yamcha's opinion. "Since you seem to have an abundance of energy we shall put it to good use by training."

He smirked at Radditz' expression. It had been a little while since the older of the two Saiyajin had taken a lover. It did not surprise Vegeta that Radditz found Yamcha attractive - what did was the obvious flirting he was doing. Radditz had had many lovers in the past - a few of which had been relationships that had lasted about a year - but never before had he been so aggressive about pursuing it.

Vegeta made a motion with his hand for his comrade to follow him and then walked back into the large, empty room, shutting the door behind them and leaving the humans outside in the hallway.

Radditz grinned as he followed his prince. He was having fun teasing the handsome human. He enjoyed watching how flustered and confused the male got. He still wasn't entirely sure about Chikyuu-jin taboos or traditions, and possibly his attentions were unwanted, but he didn't think so. He could smell the human male's arousal, and was fairly certain it had to do with him.

Radditz leaned against one wall as Vegeta glared at the control panel that would show them where the capsules were, and grinned when he realized Vegeta was staring at it in frustration. The Chikyuu symbols that appeared on the screen were completely unreadable to both men.

"I think we've got to let your little princess teach us their language before we can get one of her training rooms out," he commented. "Maybe we should go find her." His expression sobered abruptly. "Vegeta," he said, dropping the formality abruptly in a manner intended to catch Vegeta's attention, "I wanted to discuss Bulma with you without the others around. I believe it's important."

Vegeta arched an eyebrow at his companion. It was rare when Radditz got serious. And when he did, the prince always paid close attention to what his companion had to say. Though Radditz was a little rash and let his emotions the better of him, he sometimes had a sixth sense about some things. If Radditz said he thought it was important, then it would behoove the prince to listen.

"Then enlighten me." Vegeta folded his arms across his chest and waited for Radditz to tell him what he thought was so imperative.

Radditz frowned, his eyes narrowing as he focused on something in the distance. "There's something wrong with the ningen woman. I thought at first that she provoked you simply because she couldn't control herself, but I don't think that's it. I think she's daring you - daring either of us - to kill her. There's something... wrong with her. She wants us to kill her, I just don't know why."

For the first time in his life Vegeta was rendered speechless. Though it did not seem possible at first, there seemed to be a thread of truth to Radditz' assessment. Bulma had taunted them, tested both Radditz' and his patience to their limits. Yet she knew what they were capable of. It was indeed very possible that one of the reasons she fought with them was to get them to kill her. The whole idea of a non-fighter going along on this trip was ludicrous, especially since Bulma had to be literally bullied into agreeing to learn the basics of fighting.

"You might be right at that," Vegeta murmured. "We will have to keep an eye on her."

Radditz' gaze moved back to his monarch and he gazed at him, considering. "Do you care if she lives or dies?" he asked bluntly. "She's not Saiyajin, nor even a warrior. Would it really matter to you?" He thought he knew the answer to that, but wanted to know how honest Vegeta was going to be with him... and with himself.

"Baka!" he snapped at the other man. "We need her for now. We can't handle the scientific aspects of this trip. After Freeza is gone she can kill herself for all I care. Do not question my decisions, Radditz. Otherwise I will have to remind you of your place." The ferocity of his response startled even himself. Try as he might he could not get rid of the nagging suspicion that it mattered what happened to the loud-mouthed female, even if he did not want to consciously acknowledge it.

Radditz studied Vegeta with a piercing gaze, not bothering with his normal deference. It was rare for him to drop his subservient stance. Vegeta had only seen him do it twice, both times when Vegeta had done something Radditz believed was foolish to the point of stupidity. This time Radditz couldn't ignore the exasperation he felt as he stared at his prince. He knew Vegeta had good reason to constantly hide his emotions, but this was completely ridiculous. If he couldn't see what the woman meant to him, then his blindness was irreversible.

Radditz also felt a pang of guilt. He knew Vegeta's actions were caused by Freeza's brutal mishandling, and desperately wished that he and Nappa had been strong enough to do something about it. But it had always been useless. Radditz knew he was weak compared to his prince - weak even compared to Nappa - and would have had no chance against Freeza. But it didn't help; he wished he had been able to do something, and couldn't help feeling an overwhelming regret for the abuse Vegeta had received and the way it had twisted his soul.

He wondered if this woman might not be the one it took to reawaken his prince's soul, but would Vegeta be smart enough to see it? The prince was intelligent, but when it came to certain things he could be incredibly stupid and Radditz knew it. Then with a sudden insight, Radditz knew exactly what he had to do.

He gave a slow, wicked smile, smirking at the Saiyajin Prince. "Well, then, Your Highness. Maybe she just needs something to live for. Who knows? I may just be the one that gives that to her, if you know what I mean!" He gave Vegeta a wicked leer, knowing Vegeta would realize exactly what he meant.

The blinding rage Vegeta felt was like nothing he had ever before experienced and he was ill-equipped to deal with it. The warrior merely reacted on instinct, sucker-punching the other warrior and bringing him to his knees.

"You will not lay one finger on her. That woman is mine!" he ground out, eyes flashing with a fury Radditz had never before seen. "Have I made myself clear?"

Radditz simply gasped for breath for several minutes before he turned his gaze back towards Vegeta. The smug look of triumph on his face was unmistakable as he remained kneeling in front of Vegeta. "You have made yourself very clear to me, My Prince. But are your own feelings clear to yourself?"

Vegeta gave a bitter laugh. "I have no feelings. I learned what a useless commodity they were a long time ago." The pain that shot through him at the admission was nearly as overwhelming as the rage he had felt earlier, and though it was brief Radditz managed to catch a glimpse of it before he hid it with anger. "The woman will be nothing more than a pleasant distraction. It is lust, plain and simple."

It never occurred to the prince that he was explaining himself to a subordinate, or even why he was doing so. Radditz had raised questions that Vegeta was unprepared for, but his reactions to Radditz' taunts made him wonder if there was more to it than he was admitting. But he was not about to let Radditz be privy to those thoughts.

The Saiyajin Prince fixed a glare on the still kneeling man before regaining his normal composure. "Go find one of the humans to translate this. I think it is time I reminded you of your place."

Radditz slowly stood up, his eyes narrowed on the prince, a smirk still fixed on his face. "As you wish, Your Highness." He pressed the door pad, stepping outside as it slid open. He hesitated a moment before turning back to Vegeta, a smirk still on his face. "But we have shared women before, Your Highness. You might want to think what it is about this woman that you aren't willing to share her."

Before Vegeta could reply Radditz released the touch pad and the door slid shut again. Radditz shook his head, still smirking as he headed down the corridor. The humans were no longer in the hallway; undoubtedly they had been bored just standing around doing nothing.

Radditz considered where they might be. They hadn't joined the two Saiyajin in the capsule room, so obviously they had headed elsewhere. The most obvious place - at least to a Saiyajin - would be the mess hall, so Radditz decided to go there. He wasn't surprised to see the two humans when he got there. He was surprised that they weren't eating, that they were instead sitting in front of a lit box with two small hand-held devices which seemed to be controlling something in the box. They were shouting at each other on occasion, and he could see that something they were doing with those devices was causing movement of light on the box.

"Gotcha, Yamcha!" Kuririn crowed, as a tiny man on the screen stomped another man on the screen.

"Not for long...." Yamcha stuck his tongue out, biting it in concentration, then quickly tapped a series of buttons on his controller. His fighter on the screen jumped up and grabbed Kuririn's in a neck-hold, tossing him to the ground and then stomping him.

Numbers flashed on the screen, and Yamcha stood up, his hands in a victory stance. "Who's been got now, K-man? You are toast!" He made crowing sounds as he did an odd victory dance.

Kuririn tossed his controller to the ground with a disgruntled expression. "Yeah, well, I'll get you next time."

Radditz frowned and moved forward. The movements on the screen had made very little sense to him. "Is this some sort of training device?" he asked, looking puzzled. He couldn't see anything on the screen to indicate it was so, yet the pieces on the screen had been doing some manner of fighting. Perhaps it was a training device for children?

Yamcha stopped in the middle of his victory dance the moment he heard Radditz speak. ::Kuso, he moves quietly. I didn't even hear him come in.::

Once Yamcha had gotten over the initial shock of the other man's appearance, he turned his head to see what he had been talking about. "Training? What training device?"

He blinked a few times before it hit him that the Saiyajin was referring to the video game he and Kuririn had been playing. He tried to hide a smile as he watched the big man try to puzzle what was on the monitor. Judging from the Saiyajin's baffled expression, Yamcha figured it was safe to assume video games were an Earth commodity with which he'd had no prior experience.

"Oh, that?" Yamcha smiled at Radditz when he had his attention. "That's just a video game." When Radditz continued to look at him blankly, the baseball player continued. "It's for fun, recreation. No training involved."

Radditz frowned, still confused, and peered more closely at the television screen. It still made no sense to him at all. The colored marks on the screen seemed odd and pointless. Why have a brightly colored background with two tiny figures fighting? What did the colored background mean? Did it have significance?

"Then why do it?" he asked bluntly. "If it's not to make you stronger or smarter, what is the point of the device?"

"We do it because it's fun, Radditz," Yamcha replied. "I know it must seem pretty odd to you because you haven't seen one before, but video games are fun. It's a great way to get rid of stress. Don't you Saiyajin do anything for fun?"

The minute he asked the question he regretted it; Saiyajin most likely thought killing people was enjoyable. It had seemed that way with Nappa, at least, and he doubted either of the other warriors had been allowed to have much fun if their people had been slaves. It just seemed wrong to him that such a thing had been allowed to occur. Nobody should be forced into slavery, and it hardened his resolve to help them if he could.

Radditz moved forward, leaning towards the screen, studying the images more closely. At Yamcha's words he looked back at the longhaired human. "Fun?" He frowned thoughtfully. "We train, we eat, we fight, we have sex. But only children play games."

His face didn't change, but he thought about his childhood and Vegeta's childhood. Neither of them had ever had a chance to 'play games' even as children, although they had seen children of other races do so. But Saiyajin children were trained from birth, and when they reached their twelfth year were conscripted into the military. There was never any time for 'games' for a Saiyajin child. There was life, there was death, and there was survival. No more.

"All people play, Radditz," Yamcha said quietly. "Adults need to play as much as children do. You need an outlet. Something to relieve the tension of day-to-day things. Maybe you just need to learn how to play."

Radditz shrugged, straightening out and turning to face the human. "When we want to relieve stress, we fight or have sex. Which did you have in mind?" His eyes twinkled as he smirked at Yamcha. "I could teach you several moves, if you're interested."

Yamcha felt himself blush from his hair to his toes at the remark. "BAKA!" He found himself snapping at Radditz, annoyed that his offer was mistaken. "I was being nice, not offering myself as a partner for you." Somehow he knew that Radditz would be way out of his league as a sparring partner, and as a lover he wouldn't be able to keep up with the Saiyajin. ::What the hell am I thinking?!?:: came his incredulous thought. ::He just made a statement, not an offer!::

Radditz gave Yamcha an innocently injured look. "I was just going to teach you some new fighting moves if you wanted." Then his face shifted back into its original mischievous one. "Or any other moves you might be interested in. I wouldn't mind teaching you." He couldn't help the slight leer as his gaze trailed up and down Yamcha's body, taking in the smoothly tanned muscles and handsome face.

"Fighting techniques are fine. I don't mind that," Yamcha mumbled. "But that's all I'm interested in learning from you." ::Yeah, you just keep telling yourself that.::

"Are you sure?" Radditz couldn't keep the disappointed tone out of his voice. "I think you'd like the other quite a bit more." He shrugged then, and turned away as if it didn't matter all that much to him. "But no matter. I'll be happy to teach you, only neither Vegeta nor I can read your Chikyuu-jin writing, so we can't find the right capsules. Would you be willing to help?" He tried to keep his voice sounding nonchalant as he looked curiously around the room.

Kuririn had quietly shut off the Playtendo machine as he listened to the two men talk. There was something strange about their banter, almost as if there were some sort of undercurrent Kuririn didn't understand. But since he had no idea what was going on, he decided it was best for him to stay out of it.

"Sure, we can show you," he interrupted, reminding the other two men that he was still there. "Maybe we should go get Piccolo." He scratched his head, suddenly nervous. "Or maybe we shouldn't." Piccolo had disappeared to meditate earlier, and Kuririn was loath to disturb him. The Namek wasn't someone that he wanted to get angry; he knew how dangerous Piccolo could be.

Radditz turned in surprise, having forgotten about Kuririn's existence, then turned back to Yamcha. He gave a shrug. "I don't see why not. All right. Let's go."

Yamcha blinked, momentarily confused at the disappointment in Radditz voice. ::There was no way he meant that he wanted to teach me...:: He flushed at the thought, then forced himself to smile. "Sure." He made his way out the door, sure that the others would follow him. "But I think we should leave Piccolo alone. If he wants in our training session, he can certainly sense it and join us."

When the group had reached the room, Yamcha paused for a few minutes, consulting the index to let him know what Capsule he wanted. "Sheesh, Bulma sure brought a ton of stuff this time. " He searched for a few minutes, then grinned again when he found it. "Bingo! Capsule XCA-875." He held it up to show Radditz. "Now whenever you want to train all you have to do is find this one."

Radditz took the capsule from the human male's hand, taking careful note of the markings on the capsule, even though he didn't really know what they meant. More importantly he noted where the capsule case was located on the shelves in the room so he would be sure to find it again.

"Now we just have to find the prince," he drawled with a wry smile. "I wonder where he's managed to get to?"

"He's that way," Kuririn said suddenly, once again reminding Radditz of his presence.

A large, dark eyebrow arched. "How do you know?" he asked, sounding more suspicious than he felt.

Kuririn blinked. "I can feel his ki," he said in surprise.

Radditz nodded. He had forgotten about the humans' odd ability that way. That was something he still wanted to learn. He was tempted briefly to go find Vegeta, then realized that if the prince had wandered off he likely didn't want the others following him. It was probably a good idea to wait here for him to get back.

"Very well. I might as well show you those... techniques that I promised." Once again he shot Yamcha a mischievous grin, enjoying how flustered the other man got around him.

"Well, then, shall we get started?" Yamcha took the capsule back from Radditz, his fingers brushing against the other's unintentionally. The younger man repressed a shiver, then depressed the button and tossed it. With a loud BOOM it opened.

"Not bad!" Yamcha said looking at the training room with approval. "Looks like she thought of everything!"

Radditz grunted and said nothing as he stalked into the training room. The controls on the wall of the room made no sense to him; he couldn't read the numbers on the dials and buttons and had no idea what they would have referred to anyway.

"So, who wants to be beaten to a pulp first?" he asked the two humans jovially.

Yamcha smirked at him. "Oh?" He cocked an eyebrow at Radditz and approached. "What makes you think we won't beat you to a pulp?" He sank down into a horse stance and cracked his knuckles. "Come on. Let's see if you Saiyajin are all brag and no action."

The three warriors hadn't been sparring very long when the two humans stopped abruptly. Left off-balance when his two adversaries suddenly froze, Radditz stumbled. He cursed a stream that would have embarrassed both of them if they hadn't been concentrating on something else. It took Radditz several minutes to realize it and he frowned, going silent.

"What is it?" he demanded harshly, feeling annoyed that they apparently could sense something he couldn't.

Kuririn and Yamcha were simply looking at each other with solemn expressions, and without a word both humans took off at a run, out the door and towards where they had felt Bulma's sudden spike in ki. They were both worried about their friend. Neither of them trusted the Saiyajin at all, and it had suddenly occurred to both of them that they had left their friend - their non-combatant friend - in the company of one of these Saiyajin, a self-proclaimed destroyer of worlds, one who cared nothing about anyone other than himself. And they both knew that if anything happened to her neither of them would ever forgive themselves.

Radditz gave a quick curse and then charged after them. He had no idea where they were going or why, but if a fight was in the offing he wasn't about to be left behind.