"My prince," Nappa began as he entered the common room they all shared, "Lord Freeza has assigned us a mission. We’ll be leaving shortly."
"Finally, it’s been days. Who all is going?" Vejita questioned.
"Just the four of us, Sire." Nappa answered, watching as they all stood. Soon, they were on their way to the docks. Vejita wasn’t surprised to see that Freeza and his faithful subjects, Zarbon and Dodoria, were there to see them off.
"Ah, Prince Vejita, I expect your return in no more than a week." Freeza said through thin, mocking black lips. The alien wasn’t very tall, but the energy from within him was stronger than that of any other. His body was smooth and pure white, being anything but pure, with violet plates of armor here and there. Tapping lightly against the metal floor was his large dinosaur-like tail. His feet looked much like his hands, long finger-like toes spread over the dull material of the floor.
Vejita bowed slightly, motioning for Kakarotto to step into his space pod, Vejita stepping over to get in with him.
"Oh? Is the boy afraid to fly alone?" Freeza questioned through a snicker.
"No, Sire, he’s just slow-witted. Please excuse him." Vejita said as the hatch was closed. Soon, all four of them were in the darkness of space.
"Jita… Do you think I’m dumb?" Kakarotto asked innocently.
"Of course not. That was just to keep Freeza off your back." Vejita answered, pulling the boy closer to him. His need to feel Kakarotto’s warmth was indeed growing.
"What’s a purging mission?"
Vejita was a little surprised that the boy didn’t know, but then again, he’d never explained it to him. So, of course he didn’t know.
"We’re going to land on a planet. We’ll have to kill everyone on it, purging it of all life. Then, Freeza will sell it or use it for his own purposes." He explained.
Kakarotto wasn’t too shocked, he’d guessed it was something along those lines. He rested his head on the older man’s shoulder, picking up on that strong scent yet again. He let it fill his nostrils and entire being, feeling the warmth build up in the pit of his stomach.
****
The purging had gone rather well. They had landed a day late, but made up for it by finishing the job quicker than expected. They’d all been surprised by Kakarotto’s fierceness. It was the first time he’d ever been in a real battle, where someone actually wanted his life to end. He killed without question, doing just as his prince ordered.
Now they sat around a fire, planning on leaving in the morning. Nappa sat on a large rock, his elbows resting on his knees, and his head resting in his hands. His gaze remained on the fire with a blankness that only meant he was zoned out. Raditz was leaning back on his elbows with his legs stretched out before him, a small bone of a foreign herbivore held loosely between his back teeth. Kakarotto had long sense fallen asleep, lying on his stomach with his arms crossed under his cheek, snoring lightly. Vejita sat Indian-style, gazing over the shapely body of the boy. He couldn’t help but notice the blood stains on the white gloves and boots and the red smear over his forehead. It reminded him of the intensity Kakarotto had used in battle, screaming as he allowed his ki to reach peaks it had never reached before. None of them had ever witnessed the pure innocence of his technique. He was fighting to merely serve his prince, killing without question.
"Are we leaving in the morning, Sire?" Raditz questioned, breaking the prince’s thoughts.
"Hn." He answered, nodding once.
"The mission went well." Nappa mused, blinking several times to focus his eyes.
"Hn." The prince repeated, nodding again.
A gentle tapping interrupted their meaningless conversation, and they all turned to see Kakarotto’s tail draped over his thigh, twitching against the hard surface of the ground.
"I wonder what troubles him?" Raditz questioned, brotherly love and worry filling the tone of his voice.
Vejita stood and sat again much closer to Kakarotto. He tugged at his right glove, pulling it off with some effort. Gently, he pressed the warmth of his palm to the boy’s cheek.
"Shhh…" he whispered, watching as the boy’s tail stilled.
"My prince, I know it’s not my right to intrude on your personal life, but is there a friendship between yourself and the boy?"
Vejita looked up quickly at the bulky man. He wasn’t shameful of the relationship forming between Kakarotto and himself, but oblivious to his supposed bodyguard was the fact that the relationship was moving beyond the stages of friendship. Quickly, he decided to entertain the man by answering his question honestly without saying anymore than what was asked.
"How very observant, Nappa. Kakarotto and I have been friends since the day of our meeting."
Nappa nodded. He knew this already, he’d just been hoping that the prince would share a little more.
"Jita?"
They all turned to see Kakarotto pulling himself up into a sitting position.
"I had that dream again, Jita, but this time you were there too," he explained quickly, forgetting whom all was in their presence, "You were crying." Kakarotto was trembling now, trembling all over and it ached.
"Chibi…" Vejita whispered, resting a hand on the boy’s shoulder.
Kakarotto looked up at hearing the thick emotion in the nickname the prince had given him so long ago. It caused a smile to grace his lips, and his trembling slowed.
"Again, my prince, I don’t mean to intrude, but what is the nature of this relationship?" Nappa questioned, noticing the fire in the two young Saiyajin.
"Ah, Nappa, maybe you shouldn’t worry over it." Raditz said, sitting up and placing another block of wood into the dwindling fire.
****
"It’s been only a week since their return, yet they seem to be almost twice as strong." Zarbon said, stating the obvious. He and Dodoria were standing on either side of their lord, looking down on the training hall below, where the two strongest Saiyajin battled in a fierce sparring match.
"Yes, the younger one has my interests now that he is nearly as strong as the dear prince." Freeza sneered. He’d been sitting there watching them for the past hour and was completely mesmerized by the younger Saiyajin’s movements. He was sleek and strong yet completely submissive to the prince’s will.
"Ji… Jita, you’re too strong…" Kakarotto managed between ragged breaths.
The prince smirked somewhat at having the chance to see the boy this way, gasping for breath as he whispered his name, proclaiming his strength.
"Shall we call it a day?" the prince stated more than questioned, straightening his back as he started out of the room.
"Hai." Kakarotto called, trotting after his prince, Nappa and Raditz following them. It was late and they all could use much needed rest.
"Dodoria, did you hear what the boy said?" Freeza asked, trying to confirm what he’d just witnessed.
"Yes, Lord Freeza, the boy address the prince as ‘Jita’." The round pink warrior answered quickly, hoping he’d answered the question to his lord’s satisfaction.
"I see. It seems our prince has a little friend." Freeza snickered.
****
Nappa slowly opened his eyes. There was something bugging him at the back of his mind, a repetitive sound that seemed never-ending. He slowly sat up, rubbing his eyes roughly. Finally, it dawned on him. That buzzing sound… It was the intercom. Stumbling to his feet, Nappa quickly pulled on a pair of black spandex shorts, hurrying into the common room, pressing a small, square white button on top of the device.
"Nappa, Saiyajin elite." He said, noticing that Raditz was coming out of his room.
"Have Kakarotto, Saiyajin elite, report to Lord Freeza’s quarters as soon as possible." Commanded the monotone voice of an older man.
"And if he doesn’t know the way?" Nappa questioned, knowing that he’d have to get specific instructions. If he didn’t, a displeased Freeza could easily end his life.
"Then escort him!" another voice snapped, and with that, the line went dead. Nappa looked to a worried Raditz with a stern face. He had to do as he was ordered. Freeza was the strongest.
****
Vejita had grown fond of the night. It was a time when he could hold Kakarotto’s warm, naked body close. They used to only sleep this way when the boy was troubled, but it grew to be something the boy needed in order to sleep at all, and the proud prince quickly complied.
His eyes had fluttered open moments ago when he’d heard someone speaking, but he couldn’t hear it any more and wondered if it had been a dream.
****
Nappa stepped up to the door of the room his prince and the boy shared. He’d quickly gotten dressed and was now pressing the button to open the door. The room was dark and he knew Raditz was peering in behind him.
"Prince Vejita?" Nappa questioned.
Vejita stirred and his eyes fluttered open. Someone… Nappa was in his room and the door was open. What was going on? Suddenly, the room was filled with light and he could make out the two surprised faces of the bodyguards quite easily now.
"My prince…" Nappa stuttered forgetting his orders. He’d witnessed something similar to this before when the two young men before him were just children. It was strange that it still continued.
"What is it, Nappa?" the prince snapped, sitting up, causing the still sleeping Kakarotto to stir.
"We’ve received orders… Kakarotto is to report to Lord Freeza’s quarters." Nappa could see the surprise in his prince’s eyes shortly accompanied by worry.
"Now?" Kakarotto mumbled sleepily, sitting up as well. The nod he received from Nappa answered his question and he stood, stepping over to his clothes and pulling them on with clumsy ease.
"Kaka… Be careful." Vejita said, watching as the boy stepped out of the room. He received a quick nod, and soon both Nappa and the boy were out of his sight as the door slid close behind them.
"I know where it is. I’ll be okay."
Nappa was a little surprised but nodded nevertheless. He stepped back into the common room and sat across from Raditz.
