Blood. There was so much blood that it was unbelievable. The pain reached its peak and the smell of blood grew stronger. There was crying and rejoicing. Everything was so fuzzy; there was so much blood.
Kakarotto sat up quickly, drenched in sweat, "Jita… Jita, wake up." He said, shaking his mate.
"Hn… What? Is it time?" Vejita questioned, sitting up with a bit of panic.
"No, but I had that dream again. I think there's gonna be trouble with the baby." The boy whispered, tears stinging the back of his eyes.
Vejita didn't know what to do except comfort him. So, he did just that, reaching forward and pulling the boy to him, embracing him strongly.
Kakarotto held onto his love, his king, as if he were hanging on for dear life, and that's when he lost his grip on his emotions, "Why!? Why doesn't anything work for us?!"
Vejita was a bit shocked by the flood of hot tears on his shoulder along with the hitching in his mate's voice, "Shhh… It'll be okay. I promise."
"What is it?" Vejita asked at the sound of knocking at the door.
"Is everything alright, Sire?" Nappa asked. He and Raditz had been up for some time, dressed in their usual black spandex and white armor, gloves, and boots, and they'd figured that it would be best to let the two sleep.
"Everything's fine." Vejita said, pulling back to look in the eyes of his lover.
"Sorry, I'm just worried." Kakarotto said, wiping at the tears on his cheeks.
****
The two bodyguards stepped back as the door suddenly swung open to reveal their king dressed in his usual navy spandex and the boy dressed in an orange, low cut gi over a navy shirt, tied with a navy sash. His new friend, Yasashii, had given it to him.
"What are you wearing?" Raditz questioned, eyeing his younger brother.
"Nice, huh? It's a gi one of the Nameks gave to me." Kakarotto said with pleasant smile.
"Hn, it's a ridiculous color." Vejita said through a smirk, taking a seat on the couch in the living room as he pulled on his white gloves and boots.
"I think it's neat," Kakarotto said, also taking a seat on the couch, "He gave me these boots and wristbands too." The boy said, holding up a pair of navy boots trimmed in yellow with a small red tie to hold them on snuggly and a pair of navy wristbands.
"Is this Namek your friend or something?" Raditz asked, looking out the window at all the busy Nameks.
"Hai. His name is Yasashii. He's from another village, but wanted to live here since this is the biggest one. He's the one that made me that food yesterday."
As if on cue, Kakarotto's stomach growled loudly, "Speaking of food, I'm pretty hungry." He said, placing a hand behind his head as he laughed, embarrassed.
****
Stepping out of their temporary home, the four Saiyajin looked around at the many Nameks that had been hiding indoors the day before. Now they were everywhere, and all of them were working with the land. The young ones were working in fields some ways away from the village while the elderly and children were working in nearby gardens.
"Ah, I see you're finally up." Said a young Namek, running up to the small group.
"Hiya, Yasashii!" Kakarotto greeted.
"Ah, just call me Yasa."
"Kay." Kakarotto said as they all headed for the large meeting hall where they planned on getting some food.
"I thought all you needed was water… What's with all the vegetables?" Nappa questioned, gesturing to the many gardens sprouting lush, green plants.
"Oh, those are the plants of Ajasa. A long time ago there was a terrible storm that stripped the planet of nearly all vegetation. We're just trying to restore it to the way it was." Yasashii explained.
"Oh." Nappa said, not knowing what else to say as silence fell over them.
Laughing, "So, Kakarotto, hungry again?" Yasashii said, breaking the silence.
"Heh, yeah, we all are." Kakarotto said as they stepped into the large meeting hall.
"No problem."
****
Kakarotto leaned against a rather large tree, watching as Vejita and Nappa sparred. It was obvious the new king was going easy on the bodyguard. Raditz stood nearby, watching as well. Kakarotto so wished he could join in. He hadn't had a good spar in so long… The last time was on Freeza's ship, but Vejita said that it was absolutely out of the question. Resting a hand on his large stomach, he smiled as he felt a few small movements. It was a bit difficult to feel them from the outside, but on the inside... He could feel everything, every movement their unborn son made was etched in his memory.
Suddenly, Kakarotto felt a tense cramp in his abdomen and somehow, somehow he knew… It was time. Not knowing exactly what to do, with some difficulty, he rose to his feet, using the tree for support.
"Ji… Jita!" he called, clenching his teeth as a new pain pressed at his insides.
Vejita instantly stopped at the new tone in his mate's voice as he was called. Something was wrong. With uncharted speed, he descended to the ground, rushing to the boy's side.
"Now?" he questioned, placing a gloved hand on his mate's sweaty forehead.
Kakarotto nodded, finding it more than difficult to talk.
With that, Vejita gently scooped the boy up in his arms, hurrying back to the village, "Raditz, hurry ahead and get the healer." He ordered.
"Nappa, find a sharp knife of some kind, some blankets, and some water." Vejita said after Raditz had hurried off.
"What's the knife for?" Nappa questioned curiously.
"Just in case. Now go." Vejita spat as he finally reached the village, entering their temporary home and finally lying Kakarotto down on their large bed.
****
"I'm here, I’m here. How's the lad?" the healer said as he stepped into the room. He was one of the older Nameks. They'd met with him before, but none of them, including the healer, were sure what all he could do.
"He seems to be in pain." The elder said, who'd come as soon as possible. Both Nappa and Raditz were there, standing back, watching, and worrying.
Vejita was by his mate's side, watching his face for any and all signs of pain, which there were quite a few.
"Let's get these clothes off and see what we got." The healer said, pulling the blankets off the boy.
****
"I really don't know what to say. Saiyajin anatomy is much different from us Nameks." The healer said after examining Kakarotto.
"Isn't there anything you can do?" the elder questioned, pleading.
"I'm afraid not, but it seems to me that nature will run its course." The healer said, hoping to provide support.
"Don't you see! This isn't nature. It's science." Vejita said, starting off yelling and ending in a whisper.
"You mean, this isn't the normal way for Saiyajin to reproduce?" the elder asked, looking to the alien king with worry in his eyes.
Vejita simply shook his head.
****
Hours passed and things were only getting worse. Kakarotto was reaching a new level of pain every hour and was soaked with sweat. Vejita saw no other option.
Leaning over he kissed his mate on the forehead, "Please, live."
"Nappa, did you get everything I asked?" Vejita asked, his voice stern. After receiving a nod, he continued, "Hurry and bring it here."
"Hey, what's the knife for?" Raditz asked when the shiny metal caught his eye. When no one answered, panic suddenly took hold of him, "What are you going to do? What the Hell's the knife for?" he was practically yelling in his king's ear now.
"Nappa, take him outside and keep him quiet." Vejita ordered, waiting until the bulky bodyguard had over powered the worried brother and had escorted him outside.
"What are you going to do?" the elder asked calmly.
"I've seen it done with animals, but I'm not sure… Still, there's no other option at this point." Vejita said, removing his gloves and picking up the knife.
The two Nameks grimaced as they watched the boy being cut open, blood spilling everywhere, "Aren't you cutting too deep?" the healer asked.
Vejita ignored the fool, but he was right. It did seem like he should have already been there. He needed to hurry. There was too much blood and Kakarotto was growing paler and paler. Luckily, it didn't seem he felt the pain. The boy's eyes were held shut and his teeth were clenched, judging by his strained jaw. Other than that, however, he was keeping quiet and keeping still.
Finally, Vejita was reaching something. His eyes grew as a child came into view, covered in blood. Quickly, he reached forward and pulled the baby from his mate's body, being sure to remove all of the afterbirth.
"Quick, heal him." Vejita ordered as he proceeded to cut the umbilical from his… His son. Pride suddenly began to swell in his heart as he wiped his son clean with the warm water Nappa had provided, then, drying him off.
"There." The healer said, panting heavily, stepping back as the king returned to the boy's side.
"Kakarotto…" Vejita said, gently shaking his mate.
Both Nappa and Raditz stepped back into the room after the elder had called them in. Both were surprised and happy to see the small, naked child in their king's arms as well as a healed Kakarotto. However, there did seem to be quite a lot of blood, and the boy's eyes were still closed.
Kakarotto slowly opened his eyes, feeling as if something were missing from his being. The smell of blood was strong and he feared the worst. Then, he saw his mate's happy face and the beautiful child resting in his arms. Reaching out, he took the child into his arms.
"Oh, Jita." Kakarotto whispered.
"It's a boy… A prince." Vejita said, as he looked down at their son. His skin was as white as Kakarotto's, and his raven hair was wild and spiked nearly exactly like Kakarotto's. Extending from his backside was a long fury brown tail, proving his strong Saiyajin blood.
Everyone stepped forward to get a better look, when suddenly, Kakarotto glared up at them, looking up at them from beneath his bangs, growling protectively.
"Shhh… It's okay. They just want to see the new prince of all Saiyajin." Vejita said gently, placing a hand on his mate's.
