Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ What Exactly Is Involved In A Saiyan Mating Ritual? ❯ Hunting Hell ( Chapter 9 )

Wow chapter nine already, lol, I just new that this was going to end up as an epic! Thanx for all your wonderful reviews, I think that I probably would have given up on this story by now if it weren't for all your encouragement! Well as always thanx and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I haven't ever, nor ever will, own the rights to DBZ, I am not profiting by writing this story, so please don't sue!

Chapter Nine

"I scraped my way through endless twisted, bracken filled paths, all the while keeping a trace on my "assistants" ki. Ha, what a great amount of help he was, circling the very top of the canopies like the idiot he was, refusing to join me in its disgusting depths. I didn't blame him, though, because if I had been in his position, then I would have done the exact same thing. I couldn't, however, feel the electric energy of his small ki beams as they flew through the branches, killing whatever was unfortunate enough to be next on his list, without having a small pang of envy at his hunting freedom.

I was having a tougher time of it than I would care to admit. Practically all of my training prior to that event had been in aerial pursuits, and the dampness and general clumsiness of the uneven floor were causing me problems. Every step I took seemed doomed to make me fail at my task, a snapped twig here, a squelch of rotten vegetation there, and I may as well have been meandering through those endless tree's carrying a great big neon sign saying 'Run! I'm trying to kill you all.'

I have never admitted this to anyone before, but I was a little nervous about not being able to fly away. I remembered my nursery tales at every step. This forest is the place of myths and legends amongst our people onna, and you yourself have seen the true nature of our story telling from our friend at the festival. They are not pretty, and this place was literally crawling with such tales.

At the time I concluded that this was the influencing factor of our Korosu, psychological warfare, because in life you have to prepare yourself for anything, and this was an added difficulty, a fresh challenge to be gotten over. That was my reasoning and I would get over it. I would not let the mere exaggeration of folklore deter me and make me look as weak as I felt. In true Saiyan style, I ignored my doubts, drank new courage from my fears, and marched boldly on.

Fortunately, most of my list was made up of animals that were either too bulky, too slow, or just plain too stupid to try and escape from me, and I sat down at the base of an age-old crooked tree with my first two hours hunting scattered around my feet, strangely happy that I had been as successful as I had. Half of the bizarre creatures that bled before me where species that I had never even heard of, and I was truly thankful that someone had foreseen enough of my ignorance to draw intricate pictures of the more obscure creatures.

Almost too enthusiastically I moved away from the enormous tree I had rested on, and taken stock of my killings by, gathering together the oddly diverse array of creatures, ready to continue, and pray on the more tricky game. I stalked stealthily towards the knotted depths, my senses instinctively tuned into every sound in the forest, and my eyes focused on every thing around me, temporal or not, until I reached the very edges of my mind. I had been creeping around the forest in this manner for almost ten minutes when I felt something unnatural flare up inside of me. I could not place it as it skipped around my thoughts daring me to try and decipher its origins, and laughing at me when I couldn't. I turned to look over my shoulder, trying to get a glimpse at whatever it was that my gut instinct had made seem so real. My eyes, however, were no more successful than any other sense, as they met with the only thing that they couldn't avoid, and that damned thick foliage and its annoying greenness, was all that invaded them.

For a couple of minutes I remained motionless, and in that time the gnawing feeling that something was out of place just wouldn't go away. I let my fear get the better of me as I felt the power, so strong, so infuriatingly elusive, but so demanding all at the same time. Then almost as quickly as it appeared did it vanish, and I was left in the middle of this freezing forest, with nothing but the mist from my breath as company. I had lost track of Nappa about an hour previously, but knew that all I had to do was call if I needed assistance, and he would be by my side quicker than a flash.

For my sanity and the sake of my honour I kept going. I had no choice, giving up is not a phrase that I give into, and if I had slowed or failed, then I would have been the proverbial laughing stock of my species. I ignored the feeling of inevitability, keeping my senses alert, continuing with my task, and left worrying about my encounter with that strange presence until whatever it was chose to present itself.

At about half way through, my hunting skills were starting to look more promising. I had managed to shun all thoughts of eerie spectres and mythological beasts, and was even starting to master the diverse undergrowth. The material of my body suit had been torn to shreds by my earlier confrontations with thicket hedges, and winterberry bracken. My legs had suffered a similar fate to my suit and the blood poured out, having an unexpected affect on the woodland around me. The majority of the pitiful animals I had collected were what I have, (taking the habit from my father,) referred to as nature's food animals. They are of a similar breed on almost every planet that I have visited. Usually annoyingly cute and furry, they are used to being preyed upon, it is in essence there only reason for being, existing simply to form the correct food chain for the more worthwhile creatures.

It was these types of animals that I had relatively few of, but as I said before, my luck was being unconsciously changed. As I am today, I would have realized what was happening, but back then I was a novice, and it didn't even occur to me, that in that big expanse of a forest I was no different to the rest of Kandai's creations, and in that situation the hunter could just as easily become the hunted. The smell of my blood had been wafting around on the unnaturally cool breeze, sending it's potent message out to any nearby wild beast, that I was injured, and unknown to myself I had been letting a trail of bloodthirsty carnivore's sneak up behind me for the passed few hours.

Their instincts were good, trained by millions of years of evolution, but in the end it wouldn't matter. The average forest dweller didn't really have the opportunity to come up against an eight-year-old Saiyan elite. Maybe for their sakes, their ancestors should have done, perhaps then they wouldn't have been stupid enough to try their luck, but it is useless to speculate, because they did.

It was in a clearing not too dissimilar to that which we started out in, that I learnt about my four-legged pursuers. The, not so little swine's, had ganged up on me, either willing to share their kill, or simply to kill and then fight over my carcass when the opportunity presented itself. Poor delusional beasts, they died because of their combined stupidity. Never, ever plot to kill the Prince of all Saiyans! They may as well have all committed suicide right there and then and got it over with quickly, rather than let me kill them one by one in my own torturous way!

Fortunately for the sport of the day, they slowly crept out of the forest, a whole pack of the snivelling Ketsuki-hounds. They had chosen their spot well and I was cornered from every angle by a mixture of their feral snarls, and gnashing fangs. If only I could have flown, then the task set out in front of me wouldn't have been nearly so difficult, but as it was, I knew that their combined attack might just be enough to get the better of me. I wasn't alone though, and although I couldn't fly I had my servant and decoy nearby.

Snarling my tongue into an ancient royal battle cry I let my ki burst into its fiery light around me, "NAPPA!" I shout, my eyes darting from predator to predator, and my feet twisting into the ground, ready to attack and defend if needs be. In a swift motion one of the multitude of dogs jumped out at me, but its bravery was rewarded with nothing more than a spinning back kick. It practically furled around my foot, before being propelled by the action, and was left squealing on the sidelines as I twisted my stance, using a hand to steady the momentum of my acrobatics. Those that would try and take me unawares, leapt from their previously immobile positions behind, but I was waiting for them.

I was only eight years old, and the saying child's play, was so fitting for that moment, that it is a pity that such a pathetic race as the humans cultured it. That was the first time that I ever experienced pure joy in my bloodlust killings. The empowering blood of my ancestors boiled through every fibre in my body, making me ignorant of anything other than the means of my victory. All I had was a primal instinct, working as though our race had never overtaken our rival species, and the need to kill and hunt was a matter of mere survival, just as it used to be all those thousands of years ago.

At first, in my ignorance, I tried to control that feeling, to curb it's boundaries and keep my head above it. Even at my young age I was an adept scholar, and the thought of not being able to rule its sheer brutality was extremely daunting. Whatever had happened before that day I had always let logic dictate my reason, but at that moment logic seemed to be irrelevant, and if I had gone about it with the mind of a mathematician, then in all probability I would have failed. Ha, even now I still have to rationalize it, but every use for reason is void on the battlefield, and I think all those fighters here would agree with me when I say that this is the addictiveness behind our blood ties. It is a release, an unlooked for plaything, in essence, a form of escapism. Just as your species find their solace in alcohol, gambling, or any of the other vices that give you a burst of something that is outside the everyday mentality Bulma, then so does ours. Only unlike your race ours is unified in its knowledge and acceptance of that necessity.

I was covered in a mixture of blood, mud, and sweat, and the longer the beasts attacked the harder my task became. I called out again for Nappa, but still he did not come. I remember cursing his ass to hell as one of the pack of dogs got the better of me, managing to rip its way through the chest-plate of my armor, and take a decent chunk of my skin with it. The foolish pup got what he deserved though, I saw him tailing off to recuperate, staying his time, waiting to attack me again, and in my blind fury I allowed myself to be distracted by it, aiming a ki beam maliciously at its head. The energy spun away from the tips of my fingers, burning through that beasts skull as if it were nothing but butter, and again I did the wrong thing by allowing myself to feel a moments elation at my victory. It took my mind off the task at hand, and more of those baka hounds, bounded onto my exposed frame. I beat them back as best I could, but it seemed that their efforts had attracted more than just their own kind.

The Ketsuki-hounds were joined by, Futtota-Boars, and Denisho-hunting cats, making my situation all the more hopeless. I shout again, this time with more despair than I had ever thought imaginable escaping from my own lips. What I didn't know at the time was that Nappa was coming, but he was not alone. Our Korosu had been faked, a set up from the start! My father and his men had willingly brought us into this forest knowing full well what would happen. They chose this place and had made damn sure that we would be so delightfully entertained, that we wouldn't even notice it, until it was too late. I guess in a strange way it was for my own good, who knows what I would have become if he hadn't. Being one of Frieza's lackeys was bad enough, but if I hadn't have had an encounter with those strange creatures, then I probably would not be alive today, or if I was, I would be too lost to everything to even see beauty in something so precious as this Chikyu girl."

Bulma blushed, it was a rarity to receive a compliment from his lips and to her horror it completely disarmed her. Kandai floated forward turning to face Vegeta. "Let me guess Ouji, the Ko-oni-jin?"

Vegeta snapped his head around and brought a hand with it. The gloved fingers clasped so quickly around where his neck should be, that not one of the spectators could keep up with its movements. It lifted the aging man clear off the ground, "You will not presume to guess anything!" he said, his eyes burning in rage, "You have no idea spirit, no idea at all!"

A few minutes passed in which nothing but the gasps of the guardian could be heard. In that time Vegeta seemed to be having some sort of momentous inward struggle. He tossed his head from side to side muttering something along the lines of "Mustn't let it dictate me!" before cursing out loud, closing his eyes, and letting his fingers relax, causing Kandai to fall to the ground. For a moment the Saiyan no Ouji seemed at a loss for words, "I…" he gritted his teeth with vehemence, "I apologise old man." His lip curled and he looked to the ground, "Yes, it was the Ko-oni-jin as you call them, but just the thought of it disgusts me!"

Bulma came up behind Kandai and laid a gentle hand on her princes shoulder, "What did they do to you Vegeta?" her blue eyes were given an almost heavenly aspect by the now raging fire, and as much as he didn't want any of the assembled to see her pity, he needed its comfort and made no attempt at its removal.

"It isn't about what they did woman!" he snapped, "It's about what it cost me! It's about right here, and being with you. It's about everything that has influenced me since being under Frieza's control. It's about the staining of my hands with millions of differing life-forms blood, failing everything that I wanted to become, and being what I am!"

"So you failed your Korosu, what's the big deal?"

His head snapped up, "What makes you think that I failed?"

"You spoke of what it cost you!"

"Baka, not the Korosu, right here" he snarled, and held a hand to the left of his chest. "Right here," he affirmed grabbing her hand and placing it over his heart. "It cost me what I should have been!" his eyes glazed over as he continued to relive that day, "I was out numbered, not out classed! Singularly those beasts wouldn't have had a chance, and only in their sheer number did they over power me. They weren't, however, destined to be the victors for long 'Vegeta where are you?'

'About time!' I curse as the bulking frame of my future bodyguard blocks out the small rays of light that actually manage to filter through the semi clearing I lay bleeding in. I see him move in a blur of speed as he attacks the beasts with stream after stream of calculated energy beams. He was laughing, the baka was laughing at his prince's helplessness! I lost any thankfulness in rage, and when he had disposed enough of the stupid animals for them to realize what they were up against, running away with their tails between their legs, I rushed at him, wondering if slaying a Saiyan along with the rest of my kills would give me extra credit.

We landed at the boarder where bracken met grass and tumbled along the ground, as nothing but a mangled twist of arms and legs. I had been panicked, injured, and cultured into that moment of disarray! The smell of blood that surrounded me, the primal instincts that had been awakened inside, and the humiliation of being overpowered by such worthless creatures as a pack of hunting dogs, all came crashing down in one instant of pure animalistic wrath. I had to hurt the bastard! He had to pay for humiliating me! He would regret laughing at the Saiyan no Ouji!

My fists met his stomach in blow after vengeance filled blow, but it wasn't enough! Nothing was enough to palliate that feeling that rushed through my senses clouding any judgement and pushing me to the brink of insanity and beyond! I screamed out, giving into that feeling, living its carelessness, and delighting in its recklessness, fully prepared to end the life of one of my father's favourite fighters, and my own protector. It was at that precise moment, as my bloodlust raged, that the Ko-oni-jin chose to interfere. What happened with their kind is not important at this time, lets just say that certain things were gone through, that the little imps took me against my will, but not against my reason. They showed me… powers, to be precise a new power, the only one that I would need, so they told me, but…" he snapped his head, as though he had escaped some sort of mental hold, "It does no good to think of it, that brief interlude is not what we are here to discuss, so I will skip the rest of my meeting with the Ko-oni-jin, and continue with reiterating my Korosu."

Bulma wouldn't have believed that it was possible for the guardian to be any paler than his normal alabaster hue, if she hadn't seen it with her own eyes as he stepped back in complete astonishment, "You managed to escape?"

"Escape?" he snarled the words, " There was no need to escape, not when they let me go of my own free will."

"I don't understand Vegeta what had they got to gain by letting you go? The prince of the Saiyan's is a very valuable asset. It would have given them unbelievable bargaining power, and although they are naturally strong and mentally proficient, they would be no match for the Saiyan's. They are restricted to the forest, because of your race!"

A dry rasp of laughter, accompanied with little amusement, escaped from his lips, "Ha, and you want me to recognize you as a god? Not in this lifetime! Your ignorance is painful. You obviously do not know that they had forged a treaty with my father. I do not know the exact details, but I think my father was willing to trade land, a small price to pay (in his opinion) for the knowledge of their powers. He might as well have just sold my soul to HFIL! No doubt in some twisted way he has done me a favour, but I still have to condemn it!"

"Treaties and race relations are not my jurisdiction Ouji, that's what the Kai's are there for! But what did they do that is so terrible? From all that you have told me, they saved you from killing your fathers charge, gave you a new power because of this new treaty, and then let you go. Excuse me if I missed something, but that doesn't sound all that terrible to me."

Vegeta tensed, "What they did, is none of your concern spirit." He moved closer, and instinctively Kandai stepped back, "All you need to know is that I did finish my Korosu. I managed to kill all one hundred and sixty five different species on my list in seven hours, (an hour early even throughout all my distractions,) at the tender age of eight years old. It was the most successful Korosu in the history of our race, and that evening Nappa and I celebrated our success at one of the biggest parties that my father has ever thrown."

The glint that shone in Vegeta's eyes was a look of barely controlled anger, "I would not waste the breath to tell you what happened! No one in this damn forest knows shit about anything that I have been put through! I have seen things in one lifetime that most beings wouldn't experience in whole millennia of existence so don't try and say that I have not suffered because of that day. Do we understand each other old man?"

"Ouji I meant no…" Kandai couldn't continue. The look in Vegeta's eyes turned from dangerous intent, to bed-wettingly scary in nanoseconds, and any small amount of patience that his royal mind had been clinging onto, was slowly starting to dissipate.

He stalked deliberately closer and closer until godly robes were pushed so far back that they met with woodland scenery. A ball of energy ignited threateningly in his hand, and it was then that Bulma knew things had gotten out of control. She had to stop him. "Vegeta!" she called, but he ignored her, "Vegeta, remember we need him!" she pleaded running up behind him and putting her arms around his waist trying to take the role of pacifist in the glaring tension.

Her caresses were the wrong action to indulge in at that moment. Vegeta responded to the touches with his mind on a different plain. In this instance he had switched to warrior mode, and the only thing that contact with another creature denoted, was an attack on his life. In his rage-filled blindness he struck out at whatever had grabbed him unceremoniously around the waist, and with a chuckle of amusement sent it's feminine form flying across the mossy glade, headlong into a tree.

************

AN - Well I just wanted to say a biiiiiiiiig thank you for all your kind reviews! I am writing this note, by way of an apology, for not having updated in sooo long; I am still working on this fic, but have come to a veritable crossroads in the story. Quite frankly there are so many options to take from hereon in that it is driving me loopy. I have written the next chapter five times over, and am unsatisfied with every single attempt. Most of the time I find that so long as I keep writing, then the dreaded writers block can be palliated, but this time I admit a temporary defeat. I say again that I WILL be continuing with this story, I am simply going to take a timeout, waiting for that all important inspiration to come up and bite me on the bum *^_^* Until that time I have a few other works in progress to concentrate on, so I will keep you informed of any changes, and by popular demand I have decided to write a third chapter to "All by myself" Everyone on my mailing list will be notified when it is finished. If you are not on my list and want to be for this or any other fic, then leave your email address in a review, or email me at ember_chan@hotmail.com, and I will add you to it. Well happy New Year, and thanx again! Best wishes and hugs ~Ember~