Nappa was surprised by his prince’s fierceness. They’d been sparring once a week for years, but today was the first day he’d actually thought that the young prince would end his life.
Nappa had been a royal bodyguard ever since the prince had come into the world. He was nearly twenty years old and a member of the Saiyajin elite. He was the third strongest warrior on the red planet, Planet Vejita. The strongest being King Vejita and the second strongest being Prince Vejita. However, Nappa wasn’t the brightest fellow in the world, and that caused him to be a little less aware of the strength he was capable of. He did understand loyalty, though, and would never stand down from his prince’s side.
Dodging a few attacks, Nappa considered calling it quits, but he knew well that the prince would only be angered. Even as a child the prince had been rough and daring. He had so much pride and arrogance.
Prince Vejita was at the young, innocent age of eleven, but he was anything but innocent. In his lifetime he’d seen more blood than most second or third class warriors at Nappa’s age had seen. At birth his ki had been measured and he’d been proclaimed an elite Saiyajin. That, along with being the son of the king, automatically had him sent on purging mission after purging mission. At first he’d stand at the sidelines with Nappa, watching as a group of Saiyajin warriors murdered all that lived on each planet, but as he got older, he began to participate. That was the Saiyajin in him, of course. All Saiyajin loved to fight. It was in their blood.
Nappa stood back and floated down to the tiled floor of the training hall. His prince did the same. He was much taller than the young prince, and his muscles bulged much more. He had dark skin, a bald head, and a thin mustache, causing him to look older than he really was. His armor was chipped and broken, and his furry brown tail was wound around his waist in the fashion of most Saiyajin.
Prince Vejita was short but that was normal for his age. He had smooth, tanned skin and dark features. His midnight locks defied gravity in a way much resembling a flame. His armor was in much better shape than that of his bumbling bodyguard.
"Am I getting better or are you getting worse?" the prince asked through one of his trademark smirks.
"You continue to improve, my prince." Nappa replied quickly, bowing slightly out of admiration.
"Boot licker." The prince thought, turning to leave the empty training hall. He was somewhat surprised to see his father standing in his way. Immediately, he bowed, knowing that Nappa was doing the same.
"Prince Vejita, I see that you are improving, but I have another matter to speak with you about." King Vejita said in his usual deep voice. The king was a tall man, and he looked very intimidating in his golden armor and flowing red cape. He had dark and rough skin most likely caused by the various battles he’d been in. His hair was a deep brown and stood on end much like his son’s. His straight face was hidden under a thick mustache and short beard, but it was obvious that he wore a scowl by just looking into his eyes.
"Sire?" the prince asked, straightening his posture as he waited for his father to continue. That was when he noticed a young soldier at his father’s right. He hadn’t seen the woman before and guessed that she had just recently moved to second class status, judging by the scouter worn over her right ear. She also wore the same Saiyajin armor worn by most second and third class warriors and had a main of deep violet hair that hung down to her knees.
"She’ll be cutting that when she realizes how much of a hindrance it can be in battle." The prince thought, just then noticing the child at the woman’s feet. It was obvious the child was a Saiyajin by the amount of energy that seemed to surge from it, and most likely it was destined to become an elite warrior.
"This is Kakarotto," the king said, interrupting the prince's thoughts, "His mother died in childbirth and his father was recently killed on a purging mission. I feel it’s time you learn some responsibility. So, I’ve decided to place him in your care."
A look of shock and utter confusion came over the prince’s face. The child was merely a toddler and by the looks of it was going to be quite annoying. He was clutching a small scrap of white material that the prince only guessed was supposed to be some sort of blanket. He was wearing a loose blue gi tied snuggly with a white sash, and he was trembling.
"I don’t understand. He must be…" Prince Vejita began, only to be cut short by his father.
"He’s three."
The prince looked over the child again. He had wild locks of ebony hair that stood on end, jutting out in several different directions. His skin was unusually fair and he had dark features.
"What a lame excuse for a Saiyajin." The prince thought as he noticed the boy’s large innocent eyes welling up with tears, his bottom lip trembling. The prince also noticed the strange way the boy held his tail, letting it hover behind him.
"Why?" the prince said, finding it the only thing he could manage.
"Because, son, he’s stronger than you were at his age and I think it would be wise to have him close as a loyal subject." With that the king nodded, dismissing them all before he turned and headed down the corridor that lead to his quarters.
Prince Vejita watched as his father turned a corner, disappearing from sight. The woman soldier had trotted off to her post most likely, and now he was stuck with Nappa and the brat. The prince found himself smirking when he realized that between the two there wasn’t much mental difference.
"Nappa, you’re dismissed. I’ll be in my quarters shortly." With that Nappa bowed again before leaving.
"Stop sniveling. A Saiyajin always stands proud." Vejita said, looking down at Kakarotto.
"It’s… It’s cold." The boy managed. The large palace was much like any other Saiyajin structure. It was built mainly of metal with little to no color or embellishment. It looked much more like the interior of a spaceship than a palace.
"Come on, chibi." Vejita said finally. It was late and his father would have his head for being separated from Nappa for too long. The prince walked slow enough for the boy to keep up as he headed down the long passageway that led to his quarters, which was in a separate wing than his father’s due to emergency purposes. Soon, they reached their destination and the prince pressed a large pad to the right of the doorway, causing the door to slide open. Upon entering, Vejita could see that his father had arranged for another bed to be placed in his quarters. For there was an extra bed against a wall that was once vacant. On the opposite wall was the prince's bed. The room was dull, much like the passageways. Other than the door they’d just stepped through, the room had three other doors. One leading to a washroom and another leading to a closet that was always being refilled since the prince often destroyed much of his armor and clothing during battles and sparring matches. The last door led directly into Nappa’s quarters for emergency purposes only, however, Vejita and Nappa shared a sort of friendship and often used the door just to pop in on one another.
The prince stepped to the closet, slipping out of his tattered armor and clothing and changing into a pair of simple white boxers. He turned to see the boy standing in the middle of the room, staring at him with innocence.
"Here," Vejita said, tossing the boy a pair of his own boxers, "Put these on." The prince wanted to yell at the boy for not answering with the proper dialogue used when royalty has spoken, but he was reminded of the boy’s age and thought twice about it. Vejita then stepped over to his bed and plopped down onto it, pulling the warm covers snuggly around his body. He looked up to see the boy had left his gi in a small pile on the floor and was now clumsily climbing into his bed, one hand still clutching the small blanket and the other holding the loose boxers up around his waist. Finally, the boy was in bed and was in the process of pulling the covers around him.
"Warriors don’t have such things as baby blankets." The prince said with a certain amount of arrogance in his voice. He noticed that the boy’s black eyes had begun to glaze over with unshed tears.
"It’s all I got left." Kakarotto said, biting his bottom lip to fight back the sobs that threatened to escape his throat.
"Saiyajin don’t cry." Vejita snapped, reaching up and pressing the pad on the wall near his bed, causing blackness to fill the room. Although the room was void of any light, he was still able to see the form of the boy in his bed and knew well that the boy was able to see him as well. For the senses of the Saiyajin were much stronger than the senses of any other species, allowing them to see from great distances or make out shapes and forms in the blackest of black.
****
Vejita’s eyes fluttered opened at the repetitive tapping at his shoulder. He let his eyes adjust to being open and realized that the boy was standing beside his bed, staring at him with large, innocent eyes filled with fear. It didn’t suit the boy.
"What?" the prince snapped, noticing that the boy was still clutching that damned blanket.
"There’s a monster." Kakarotto mumbled, almost fearing the prince’s wrath more than the monster he had dreamt of only moments ago.
Vejita smirked to himself. He wondered if he’d been like this as a child. The boy’s innocence somehow touched his thought-to-be-frozen heart and he scooted over, making room for the boy as he lifted the covers.
A grin spread over Kakarotto’s face as he climbed into the warm bed, snuggling against the arrogant prince.
The prince was a little surprised when the boy got so close, small hands gently pressed to his washboard stomach. Somehow the boy’s warmth and light snoring comforted him.
"Don’t worry, chibi. I’ll protect you." the prince mumbled before slipping into a peaceful sleep.
