Yamcha awoke feeling somewhat disoriented. At first he couldn't figure out what was making him feel out of place, then memories of the night before came rushing back. He opened his eyes, turned his head, and took note of a broad expanse of chest before lifting his eyes to see Radditz still asleep.

Yamcha could not explain the rush of tenderness that shot through him as he watched the other man. Radditz seemed almost innocent in sleep, something the other man knew he was not. Not wanting to disturb him when the Saiyajin warrior looked so relaxed, Yamcha managed to slip out of the other man's embrace, intent upon taking a shower.  As he stood up and experienced soreness in places he hadn't realized were possible, he thought perhaps a bath might be a better choice.

He bent over and retrieved his swimming trunks, pulling them on before he headed back to the bed and pulled the sheet up to cover Radditz. On impulse, he pressed his mouth against the other man's forehead and headed to the door.

It was on his way back to his room that Yamcha started to worry.  The warrior had so many unanswered questions he did not even know how to sort them out. He thought about them as he entered his bathroom and bent to fill the tub.

::My problem is, I'm worrying too damn much,:: he reasoned as he dropped down into the warm water. ::Just take what you can get and enjoy it,:: he scolded himself as he washed off. ::And then maybe it won't be so hard to let him go in when this is over.  That is if we live.::

Yamcha had only been absent for half a minute before Radditz woke, sensing something was wrong.  He shot up in bed, eyes scanning the room for the intruder or danger.  When he couldn't sense anything - either visually or by scent - he frowned in confusion. *Something* was wrong.  What was it?

As his gaze dropped to the spot next to him on the bed, his eyes widened fractionally, and then a low growl escaped his throat.  So, Yamcha had left without waking him?  What was that ningen thinking?

Radditz didn't bother to sort out his feelings, or figure out why that was troubling him.  If he had, it would have occurred to him that the primary emotion he was experiencing was an odd feeling of rejection.  He had never been rejected by a lover before, and had never really been emotionally involved enough to care when a relationship ended.  Yet for some reason it bothered him that Yamcha could leave so easily.

But Radditz had never been a very introspective man.  He wasn't the sort to sit and think about things; when he wanted to do something, he did it, and never really considered the consequences of his actions.  He acted on instinct and intuition more than he relied on strategy and intelligence, a fact that had gotten him in trouble on more than one occasion.

So he didn't really try to think about why Yamcha's departure hurt him.  He didn't even think about the fact that it *did* hurt; all that occurred to him was that it was something he didn't want, and he wanted the human back.

As was Radditz' wont in situations like this, he didn't even stop to consider his reaction, or what he was doing about it.  He simply jumped out of bed and decided to go after his lover.

He only paused a second to sample the air.  It didn't take long to follow Yamcha's trail.  Not only was Yamcha's scent exceptionally strong at the moment because of their sexual activity a few hours before, but his own scent was all over him.  All he had to do was follow the trail.

Within seconds he had reached Yamcha's room.  He stormed inside, intent on demanding Yamcha return to him.  When he heard the sounds of water in the other room, a slow, feral smile made its way across his face.

So, his human wanted to wash his scent off him, did he?  Radditz didn't even try to consider why he didn't want that.  Instead, he simply stalked to the door, and without waiting to knock or see if Yamcha was presentable, flung the door open and stepped inside.

His lover - that beautiful male with the long, thick mane whose strands he had wrapped around his wrists several times the night before - was lying back in the tub, water lapping gently at the sides of his beautifully sculpted chest.  Radditz smiled, his gaze traveling possessively down the other man's form, down his stomach, to his groin, where he saw the stirrings of desire beginning in the other man.

His grin continuing to widen, his gaze moved deliberately back to Yamcha's face, and noted not only the blush staining the man's cheeks, but the fact that Yamcha was now staring at him, his eyes wide with dismay.

Yamcha had just been starting to relax, as he let the heat of the water soothe sore muscles, when the door to the bathroom flung open and Radditz stepped in. He blinked his eyes and knew he was blushing at Radditz' scrutiny, so said the first thing that popped into his head.

"Radditz? Is something wrong?"

"The only thing wrong, ningen," Radditz growled at him, still giving a feral grin, "is that YOU are in here, and *I* was in there.  Now, why did you think you were supposed to leave, hmm?"  He arched an eyebrow even as he moved closer.  "I don't think you *really* wanted to leave, did you?"

"Radditz, I..." Yamcha swallowed, trying to gather his thoughts. From the tone of Radditz's voice, Yamcha guessed that the large Saiyajin male was angry about his departure. It confused Yamcha that Radditz would get upset over it. He did not see why his coming back to his own room would anger the older man. "Radditz, my clothes are in my room. I figured I would just take a bath in here rather than head back to your room after getting them."

Radditz allowed his gaze to travel the length of the other man's body again.  "You came here for your clothes?  A pity.  You're too beautiful to hide behind clothing all the time.  I think I shouldn't let you get dressed.  Maybe you should parade around naked, and display that lovely body for everyone to see."

Radditz continued to grin wickedly. He knew some of his ex-lovers would see Yamcha and be jealous of their relationship.  Some because of his position as Radditz' lover, and others because they would want him as well.  Still others would try to take him away from Radditz, if they had the chance and didn't get killed for it.  Even Zarbon - who had always wanted Radditz, but couldn't make a move because of Freeza - might be both jealous of Yamcha's position with Radditz, and also desirous of Yamcha.  He wouldn't be able to do anything, because of Freeza's incredible jealousy, although that had never stopped Freeza from taking other lovers, both willing and non.

Radditz' grin faded at the thought.  If Freeza saw Yamcha....

"Yamcha," he growled, his eyes narrowing as he became serious, "when we get to Namek, I want you to stay away from Freeza.  Stay away from all of Freeza's men.  I don't want any of them getting near you."

'That's not possible, Radditz." Yamcha frowned at the sudden mood swing. "We're going there to fight Freeza and his men, remember? I can't hide from them. I wouldn't want to in the first place."

"I don't expect you to not fight them."  Radditz frowned irritably.  "I just want you to stay away from them.  You don't understand what I mean.  Fighting them is fine, but don't let them get *near* you...."

He growled again, angry that he couldn't explain himself well.  He was afraid for Yamcha, terrified that Freeza would see him and desire him, and then would make sure he got trapped, and then would use him, willingly or not.  Radditz had seen the bruises and injuries to Vegeta too many times to know that it happened, and that even the most powerful warriors were helpless compared to Freeza.

"Look, ningen," Radditz snarled, deciding to be blunt.  "Freeza is evil, ruthless, and vicious.  If he were to see you, you would be in more danger than any of the rest of us.  Except possibly Prince Vegeta.  I'm not worried about Bulma - Freeza's tastes don't run that way - but YOU, on the other hand...."

Yamcha wasn't sure what Radditz was trying to say until he mentioned Bulma. Then it clicked. "You think Freeza would want me, don't you?" When his statement was met with a growl from Radditz, Yamcha sighed. "I'm here to help my friends kill him. I have to get close to him to do that, Radditz. Otherwise, my being here is pointless."

Yamcha blinked when he realized something else Radditz had inadvertently let slip. "You're worried? About me?" A small smile spread over his features, immensely pleased by the thought.  If the other man worried about him, surely he must feel other things. "Oh, well, I'll be careful."

Without warning, Radditz grabbed Yamcha's arm, forcibly lifted him to his feet, and lowered his head until the two were nose to nose.  The scowl on his face gave testament to the fact that the next words he spoke were in deadly earnest.

"You'd better be, ningen.  Because if you aren't, and something happens to you, so help me I'll go after Freeza myself.  And when he kills me, and my spectre is haunting Hell, I'll make sure it finds its way to you and that I haunt you forever.  So don't you DARE get captured by them, not if you don't want my ghost haunting you for the rest of your life and beyond."

Yamcha had to bring his other hand up to Radditz's chest to brace himself from slipping in the tub when Radditz hauled him to his feet.  It was obvious Radditz was entirely serious, a fact which threw Yamcha completely off-balance.  He could practically feel how seriously the older man was taking this.

Yamcha responded the only way he could think of. He leaned forward and brushed his mouth against the other man's in an effort to soothe him.

"I have no intention of dying, Radditz," he informed him, as he shifted back to look up into his face. "But I won't promise you that I won't die.  I will not give you a promise that I may not be able to keep. But I will promise you I'll be careful. Is that good enough?"

"It's not you *dying* that I'm worried about, ningen.  There are things worse than death."  Radditz growled again.  The thought of what Freeza might do to Yamcha chilled Radditz' blood.  Radditz knew that Freeza did to captured prisoners, at least the attractive male ones.  In most armies, you worried about what happened if you were female and were captured by the enemy.  With Freeza, you had more to worry about if you were male.  And with Yamcha's looks....

For whatever reason, Freeza had never chosen to use Radditz that way, although he knew for certain he had exploited a very young Vegeta in that manner.  But he thought perhaps one of the reasons Freeza had never touched him might have been because of Vegeta; he might have felt it would have kept the little prince in line, knowing he *could* hurt his men, and possibly threatening Vegeta with possible harm to them, to get him to cooperate.  Radditz knew Nappa had never been in any danger - his sort had never appealed to the ice-jin - but Radditz' looks were exactly the kind Freeza desired, making the fact that he had remained untouched by the tyrant something of a miracle.

And Yamcha... he looked too similar to Zarbon in many ways.  Long, fine hair, delicate features, and a muscularity that wasn't grotesque in its power.  Oh, Yamcha would appeal to Freeza, all right.  And Radditz would just have to do his best not to let him get his hands on him.

"Just don't get out of my sight.  As long as you're with me, I'll make sure they don't capture you.  Even if I have to kill you to do that.  And believe me, ningen, you would far prefer me to kill you, rather than what Freeza and his men would have in mind."

Yamcha arched an eyebrow at him. He didn't know whether to be flattered or annoyed that Radditz seemed to want to protect him, but he did feel a little insulted at the older man's lack of faith in him.

"I am not a complete idiot you know," he snapped at the other man as he jerked his arm out of Radditz's grip.  Angrily he stepped out of the tub and out of Radditz's reach. "It's not as if I'm going to try to be caught. I don't need a babysitter." He frowned as he wrapped a towel around his hips and stalked into his bedroom for something to wear.

"I don't think you're an idiot!" Radditz snarled back, striding impatiently behind Yamcha as he watched him dress.  "But I don't think you know what we're going up against.  Even Prince Vegeta isn't strong enough to go against Freeza's top elite warriors, and he knows it!  Any of them - Dodoria, Zarbon, the Ginyu Force - would have any or even all of us for breakfast, if we go against them!  And if they're bad, their master is a hundred times - maybe even a thousand times - more powerful!  Freeza," he growled low in his throat at the thought, "destroyed my planet with a simple point of his finger.  We were NOTHING to him!  Every Saiyajin warrior on the planet, and it meant nothing!"

Radditz' mouth pulled back into a scowl.  "If we end up fighting Freeza, then unless we become *much* more powerful between now and when we get to Namek, we're not going to stand a chance.  Right now, of course, my prince and I have no choice in the matter.  Freeza heard us when we were on Chikyuu; he knows we've betrayed him, and are no longer loyal.  And because of that scouter, he also knows about those dragonballs of yours on Namek.  We have no choice.  We *have* to destroy him now, or die trying, because if we don't take a stand, we *will* die!"

"But *you*...!"  His eyes narrowed on Yamcha, who now stood fully clothed before him.  "You do have a choice.  He doesn't know about you.  You don't have to fight him if you don't want to.  You could leave, or stay away from the fight.  I won't think less of you.  Or maybe I would, I don't know.  But if you *must* fight, then please... please try to do something to protect yourself from him!  Even if it means killing yourself if you are captured!  Because if you don't, ningen, then once that lizard gets his hands on you, you will wish you *could* die!"

Yamcha folded his arms across his chest and sighed. "It's in my nature to want to protect the people I care about, Radditz. I won't sit back and watch my friends get killed if there is a chance - no matter how slim - that I can prevent it."

He studied Radditz' expression, taking in all the emotions that played across it at once. He was so unlike Vegeta, and yet in ways the two men were the same.  He approached the older man, wrapped his arms around his waist and hugged him tight. "And you had damn well promise me that you will be careful as well. I don't... I...."  He broke off, knowing that any declaration of affection he made would not go over well. He did not want to think of what would happen if Radditz were killed. Yamcha felt ill at the prospect of not having the other man around to torment him.

As quickly as he had embraced him, Yamcha let go and stepped away from him. "At any rate, we don't have to worry about it right now. I'm hungry, and I'm sure you are. Why don't we go to the dining room and get something to eat?  After you get dressed, that is," he added, taking note of Radditz' nudity.

Radditz' face relaxed, as he realized there was nothing either of them could do about it.  What was he going to do, make Yamcha wear a mask?  He didn't think Yamcha would go for it, and besides, it might cause more problems than it would solve.

"I don't know," he said, his eyebrow arching.  "If I go in like this, and Bulma sees what she's missing, maybe she will decide to choose the two of us after all."  He grinned devilishly.  "Then again, if she did, Prince Vegeta would have my hide.  Although being beaten within an inch of my life is good for my training, it's not a very pleasant process.  And he'd enjoy himself much too much.  And then you and poor Bulma, you'll be left without my services anyway, as I'll be in too much pain to enjoy either of you...."

He couldn't help grinning at Yamcha's blush, as he turned with deliberate slowness, giving Yamcha an eyeful.  "But if you absolutely insist," he said with a mock sigh of despair, "then I'll get dressed, and we can go eat breakfast with all the modesty you humans seem to require."

"I was right," Yamcha muttered. "Saiyajin like to run around nude. I can't imagine what Vegeta-sei was like if the rest of your race acted like you."  He shook his head.

Then the last thing Radditz said reminded him of something he had wanted to ask earlier.  "That's the second time you said that, you know," Yamcha remarked thoughtfully, as he watched Radditz make his way to the door. "I don't suppose you mind telling me what you're talking about?  I mean, about Bulma."

Radditz frowned thoughtfully.  He had explained Saiyajin mating procedure to Bulma, but it hadn't occurred to him that he would have to do so with Yamcha as well.  But he supposed it made sense; if he and Yamcha were going to be mates, Yamcha would at least have to understand his culture.

"It has to do with how Saiyajin mate," he explained, even as he headed towards his room.  He glanced around the hall curiously on the way, noting that if any of the others were awake yet, they must already be eating breakfast.  "There were far more male Saiyajin than female Saiyajin, so not all males could possibly have a female mate.  So we chose mates among the males, until a female would choose one of us.  Sometimes those matings were temporary, some were permanent.  If a female chose a male who was part of a permanent mated pair, she took both males.  If she absolutely could not stand one of the males, then usually the male pair split up, even if they had originally chosen to be mated permanently.  But that almost never happened.  Most female Saiyajin had no problem taking both males of a mated pair for her mates."

He glanced at Yamcha, noted the shocked look on his face, and shrugged, even as he began selecting clothing for the day.  He had been relieved early on in their trip that Bulma had found a way to provide clothing for him; he hadn't looked forward to wearing his armor day in and day out, with no protection underneath against his skin.  Although he often wore it that way for battle, because he felt a little freer that way, after a while it would have begun to chafe.  Then he truly would have chosen to 'run around nude' as Yamcha so stated, but mostly because he wouldn't have had much choice.

As he pulled his clothing on - not bothering with any underwear, Yamcha noted with bemusement - he continued his explanation.

"It wasn't uncommon to find Saiyajin families where a single female had many male mates.  The most common families were those where a female only had two males, both of them a mated pair, or four males, all of them mated pairs.  The former is the type of family I would like to have, someday.  I would have you, and we would have our female.  We would have a perfect family.  Bulma would make us a wonderful female mate.  Unfortunately, I don't think she would ever choose to discard Prince Vegeta.  But if she did, I would do my best to try to get her to take us instead."

He smiled at Yamcha, then without allowing the other man a chance to object, took him by the hand and began leading him towards the dining hall.  "She *would* be a good female for us, would she not?  I wouldn't expect you to have any objections about her.  Unless there is something about her I don't know about?"

"There is a lot to Bulma you don't know, but even though we've been friends a long time, there are things about her I still can't figure out," Yamcha answered absently, as he tried to absorb what Radditz had told him.  He had known there would be differences in culture between them, but he hadn't expected anything like what Radditz had just described.

But one thing that did sink into Yamcha's brain was that Radditz wanted a family with him in it. That implied the other man wanted something a little more permanent than just sex. At least, that was what Yamcha's heart was trying to convince his brain.

"You want a family?" he asked curiously as he led Radditz led him down the hallway, "I didn't picture you as the family type." He looked down for a moment at their entwined hands, and asked cautiously, "So you think of me as... family?"

Radditz frowned at the question.  It wasn't something he had ever thought about.  There were no Saiyajin women left, after all, and what was the point of having a 'family' if you couldn't have children?  Yet there was still the instinctive need for companionship with him.  Saiyajin had always been pack animals - even when they had been primitive they had always gathered in tribes - so despite the scarcity of them left in the universe, they had always felt the need to band together.  That was probably why Vegeta had tolerated himself and Nappa all those years, and had even protected them in his own odd way.  He might have been so much stronger than Radditz that the older Saiyajin's strength wasn't all that useful to him, but Radditz was a Saiyajin, and hence there was a strong tribal loyalty between them that was impossible to sever.

But that wasn't the cause of Radditz' puzzlement.  Yes, he could understand his need for a family, in an instinctive way.  But Yamcha wasn't Saiyajin.  So why did he feel that there was a tie between them, something that might extend to the same tribal loyalty he felt towards other Saiyajin?  It wasn't just that this man was a friend of his little brother's, nor even that he was attractive, but there was something more.  Something about Yamcha *felt* Saiyajin, just as something about Bulma felt Saiyajin.  He didn't understand it, but there was no denying what he felt in his gut.

Radditz spoke slowly, as much to try to understand it himself as to explain it to the human with him.

"I'm not sure I understand it either.  I need... Saiyajin need each other, more than other races.  We need... companionship, family.  You feel Saiyajin, you and the other humans.  It makes it right, somehow."

His eyes narrowed, even though he didn't look at Yamcha to see his expression.  "I've never wanted anything permanent with any other lover; none of them felt Saiyajin to me.  You do.  Maybe that's why."

Yamcha nodded in agreement. He thought he knew what Radditz was talking about. The younger man could understand wanting to find someone like yourself for companionship. But why Radditz really pursued him was a bit puzzling.

In personality, the two men weren't at all alike. Where Radditz was hot-tempered and impulsive, Yamcha was more relaxed and laid back.  Radditz was built bigger, stronger; Yamcha was more compact. Nothing about the two men was even remotely similar except their loyalty to their friends. But there was something that drew him to Radditz, even though he couldn't define it.

"I understand, I think." Yamcha looked up in time to notice that they had reached the mess hall.  He tried to tug his hand from Radditz' grasp. It wasn't that he did not want his friends to know about his new relationship, it was more that he didn't know how they would react.  He thought it might be easier if he could break the idea to them more slowly. "No one is really meant to be alone."

Radditz arched an eyebrow, noting Yamcha's attempt to withdraw his hand.  He held onto it firmly, however, almost in defiance.  He had no idea why Yamcha would be ashamed of him, but he wasn't about to let that deter him.  He wondered if Yamcha were trying to tell him he only wanted something temporary, that he wasn't interested in what Radditz wanted.  Radditz wasn't going to let Yamcha know that it hurt him.  And he was too stubborn to let him go that easily.  He *would* lay his claim in the human, and if the human thought he could get away without a struggle, he was wrong.

Without releasing Yamcha's hand or allowing the smaller man to free his, he slapped his palm to the pad next to the door, and it slid open almost silently.  To no one's surprise, Goku and his son were already eating, along with Kuririn, who was mostly watching the other two gorge.  Radditz continued to stride into the room, his fingers still firmly entwined around Yamcha's, and a broad, bold smile on his face.

"Good morning, little brother!" he boomed out at Goku, ignoring the puffed out cheeks of the younger Saiyajin who was stuffing his face unceremoniously.  "Good morning, nephew!" he greeted Gohan, who smiled brightly at him and waved.  "And good morning, little noseless ningen," he grinned at Kuririn, who blushed briefly at the teasing.  "Isn't it a wonderful day, everyone?" he called out cheerfully, still refusing to release Yamcha's hand.

Goku swallowed and flashed his brother a very big grin. "Wow, you are in a really good mood! You must have slept great last night." Goku noticed, but did not mention that Radditz seemed at ease because he had a certain baseball player's hand tucked in his. Despite the effort that Yamcha was taking in trying to get his brother to release his fingers. "I didn't think you were going to get out of bed today."

Radditz couldn't help leering at Yamcha.  "I almost didn't.  But someone else did, so I had to as well.  I'm still tempted to spend the day in bed, if I had something to do...."  He grinned suggestively at Yamcha.

Kuririn stared at the two men and gulped audibly.  It was quite obvious that something *had* happened between the two of them, and he was slightly shocked to know it.  He saw a faint blush tinge Yamcha's cheeks as he stared at him, wondering what on earth he could say to his friend exactly.

"Considering that you are a lech, I am not in the least bit surprised."  Yamcha tried to sound bland.  He finally managed to get his fingers free from Radditz', and he trailed over to the replicator to get something to eat.

"Oh, Radditz can't be that bad!" Goku protested, stuffing his face with more breakfast. "I'm sure he's just kidding.  Or just teasing, right?"

Yamcha was glad his back was to the others as it hid the blush. Teasing was something the large Saiyajin was extremely talented in. And as much as Yamcha hated to admit it, Radditz hadn't been just bragging about his bedroom prowess. He had experienced it first-hand. And he hoped to experience it again.

"Probably.  I don't think he's ever serious." He arched an eyebrow at Radditz who was studying him with an intensity that startled him. "Aren't you hungry?" he asked.

Radditz arched an eyebrow at Yamcha, and looked blandly at him.  "As a matter of fact, I am.  But you left bed before I could do anything about it."  He grinned as Yamcha's face turned even redder.  "But since I can't have that sort of feast at the moment, I'll have some breakfast instead."

Yamcha was saved from further embarrassment by the appearance of Vegeta and Bulma, as they entered the room together. The young man assumed that his ex-girlfriend and the Saiyajin prince had spent another night together.  Strangely, instead of content, Vegeta looked even more distant than before. Something was apparently bothering the smaller of the Saiyajin warriors.  Yamcha doubted, however, that the aloof prince was about to confide in him.

As he glanced between the two Saiyajin, he was struck again by the differences between them.  He supposed it wasn't really fair to compare the two men; Radditz was as diametrically opposite Vegeta as was possible.  Whether you were comparing their physical make-up or their mannerisms, the two were as different as night and day.  While Radditz was quick to show his emotions, Vegeta was reserved and distant.

Vegeta appeared even more distant than usual that morning.  As the others bantered jovially, Vegeta merely kept his usual silence, scowling briefly at the conversation before heading over to the replicator to get himself a meal.

"Morning, Bulma," Goku greeted the blue-haired scientist. "Sleep well?"

To no one's surprise - except Goku's and possibly Gohan's - Goku's question caused Bulma to shoot a quick glance at Vegeta and suddenly turn bright pink.  Turning up her nose at her friend, Bulma ignored Goku's question as she stalked towards the replicator to make herself some breakfast.

Radditz' couldn't hide his surprise at the pair's entrance.  That they had entered together implied that they had spent the full night together, something Radditz hadn't expected.  He knew Vegeta's habits, and knew that no matter how many women Vegeta chose to be with, he had never once spent an entire night with one.  He hadn't been surprised when Vegeta hadn't spent the previous night with Bulma, but was surprised he had spent this one with her.  It indicated to Radditz that he had been correct in his first assumptions; Vegeta's feelings towards Bulma - whatever they might be - were stronger than they had ever been for any other female.  He had apparently offered her a true Mating, and staying the entire night with Bulma seemed to confirm it.

Radditz couldn't help the small feeling of regret and disappointment he felt about it.  He knew he should be happy for his prince - Vegeta had been alone far too long, and if anyone deserved some happiness, it was him.  Yet Radditz had also coveted Bulma, and now the hope that she might eventually choose him and Yamcha seemed to pull further and further away.  He had no desire to take away the woman Vegeta had finally chosen for himself, but she was beautiful, and desirable, and Vegeta's interest in her had in no way lessened Radditz'.

But he would never compete with his prince.  To do so would have felt to him tantamount to treason, something he could never even imagine.  So until Bulma chose to leave Vegeta - a situation Radditz couldn't even imagine, Vegeta was the Prince of the Saiyajin, after all - Radditz would treat her like a sister.  Or a queen.

"So, Your Highness," Radditz said, turning towards Vegeta, "I imagine you're going to be spending your time today with the lovely Bulma, and leave the bruises and pain to the rest of us.  I wish I could spend the day with such pleasant company.  Looking at the ugly mug of my brother just doesn't seem quite as enjoyable."

He grinned at Goku as he said this, and his little brother smiled back at him.  Gohan looked between them in surprise.  Why was his Uncle Radditz calling his father ugly?  He thought they liked each other.  It made no sense to him.

Vegeta rolled his eyes heavenward as he headed back to the table. "I am sure I will be thoroughly impressed with your battle prowess when I am through teaching Bulma.  And don't doubt that I intend to test you myself. " A slow smirk spread across the Prince's face, one well-known to Radditz.  It was one he had seen every time Vegeta had been about to obliterate an opponent.

Yamcha winced inwardly. ::Why do I get the feeling that will hurt a lot?::

"Oh, well, he hasn't been slacking, if that's what you mean," Yamcha spoke up, drawing the younger Saiyajin's eyes to his. "He's been training."

"Bedroom prowess does not count," Vegeta remarked with a smirk. His smirk deepened when he noticed the blush spreading across Yamcha's cheeks. "Try to remember that."

"You wound me, my prince!" Radditz said with a laugh, his eyes twinkling at Vegeta.  "In more ways than one.  I'm sure you'll take great pleasure in grinding my poor body to mush when you get the chance.  You always do.  And I don't know what I do to deserve it.  But my body and spirit are yours to use as you wish, and if you wish to kill me, it is my great honour to serve you."

He bowed dramatically, sounding so comical and ridiculous that the others weren't sure if they should take him at all seriously.  They were also unaware that to a Saiyajin, a bow was a sign of mockery.  Saiyajin had never bowed to their royalty.  They would have either knelt or saluted, but a bow was something they only did when falsely giving respect to another's ruler.

Yet when Radditz rose, his smile for a moment had disappeared, and the look he gave Vegeta said that despite his clownish behavior, his words were meant quite seriously.

Vegeta arched a brow at Radditz' flair for the dramatic, but acknowledged the unspoken loyalty with a nod of his head.  "What good would you do me dead?" Vegeta asked rhetorically. "I would rather simply beat you. It is not like you do not enjoy it." At Radditz' grin, Vegeta snorted, knowing he had made his point. "You can always have Yamcha take pity on you."

Radditz didn't appear surprised by Vegeta's return banter, but it baffled Vegeta why he suddenly felt so comradely towards his old companion.  Whereas Radditz was social, Vegeta had always been aloof, preferring to remain silent and alone.  Vegeta wondered with narrowed eyes if being near humans for so long was causing the change.  Their nature, unfortunately, might be rubbing off on him.  There were many similarities between the two races, and Vegeta was beginning to believe they were more alike than different. Which might be part of his attraction to Bulma.

He was still uncertain exactly what had happened between them the night before. But he was damn certain he would figure out what it was; he couldn't afford an open attachment to anyone. If Freeza found out just how much he... valued the blue-haired woman's existence, Freeza would use that against him.  The relationship would probably cause her death.  And that was something that Vegeta would not, could not accept.  He would keep her at a distance, no matter what it cost him, in order to prevent such a weakness.

But to his dismay, he caught himself watching her eat out of the corner of his eye and wondered if it was already too late. "After you are done, woman, we will start where we left off yesterday," he informed her more abruptly than he intended. "Unless you have a better idea how to proceed."

Bulma arched a brow at Vegeta's command.  "Any time you want, O Lord and Master," she replied mockingly.  Yamcha chuckled at her sarcasm.  He was used to it, although when it was directed towards himself he had always found it intimidating.  "I assumed you wanted to gorge yourself first, the way you do every morning.  Unless you don't mind starving today, after all."

She knew, of course, that he could always use the replicator in her lab, but she wasn't going to offer it to him.  She knew how much he ate, and preferred not to have enormous quantities of food around some of her sensitive equipment.

Vegeta barely succeeded in suppressing a smile at Bulma's response. He had never known anyone with the courage of the fierce-tempered scientist.  Annoying the pale-skinned woman until she was angry enough to start shouting at him was starting to become one of his favorite pastimes. Though he hadn't known her very long, he seemed to know exactly what to say to get her riled up.  He loved watching her lose her composure and start hurling insults.  Vegeta found that verbally sparring with Bulma was almost as invigorating as a physical sparring match.

It pleased him that Bulma was not afraid of him.  She was not afraid to argue back, and she did not flinch when he raised his voice.  Perhaps she could sense that he would not hurt her, and therefore she could scream at him as much as she wanted without fear of retribution.  No one in Freeza's forces would have dared use such tones with him. Vegeta's glares alone had scared most of the lower echelon forces.  Yet Bulma - despite having almost no power level - seemed incapable of backing down.

She reminded him of the females of his own race. Perhaps it was one of the other things that drew him to her.

Smirking, he did not resist the temptation to goad her by saying, "The proper form of address for one of my station is 'Your Majesty'."  His smirk deepened as she scowled at him.  "But since you are not Saiyajin nor of noble birth, I suppose I can let you pass on that small offense."

"Ah, but Your Majesty," Radditz cut in smoothly, before Bulma could retort, "as the king's Mate, the protocol is different.  Even in public she is allowed to refer to you more informally.  And the proper address for her by any other Saiyajin would be 'Your Highness' or 'Your Grace'.  If you *really* want all of us bowing and scraping to you, this whole voyage will become very tedious."

He looked over at his brother.  "Kakarot, what about we avoid them, so we don't have to bow all the time?" he asked dryly, giving his brother a sly wink.  "We can leave them alone to make as many cubs as they want, and you and I might actually get some *real* training in."

Vegeta wasn't sure which comment of Radditz' took him off-guard more - the one about Bulma being his Mate, or the one about their offspring.  The thought of Bulma being his permanently was something he had already considered; in fact he had already offered it to her and she had so far accepted. The latter comment was one that intrigued him. He hadn't given much thought to an heir.  Mainly because he had never thought it was possible, since there were no females of his species alive. But Gohan was proof that a human female could bear Saiyajin offspring. ::Maybe it's not a bad idea,:: he mused to himself. ::But first I have Freeza to take care of. Then we will see.::

Goku smiled at his brother, wondering for at least the thousandth time why Radditz goaded Vegeta so often. It was almost as if Radditz treated Vegeta as a younger brother and not his ruler.  He somehow knew that if he mentioned it, both men would deny such a claim.  But as he watched Vegeta's facial expressions go from angry, to thoughtful, then to annoyance, the younger Saiyajin decided the safest course of action was to get Radditz out of Vegeta's immediate line of sight. Then Vegeta might just forget that Radditz was annoying him."

"We can go right now..." Goku suggested, always eager for a fight.

Bulma stared thoughtfully but not angrily at Vegeta.  She realized he had only been teasing her about referring to him formally, and although it was insulting - particularly after their intimacies - she also realized that something in what Radditz said had disturbed him, although she wasn't sure what.  Was it that he didn't like the idea that their relationship gave her rank?  Did he think that as a human, she was unworthy?  She sighed, deciding she would never figure him out.  He was the one who had pursued her, but he didn't seem entirely happy about it.  For some reason he was dissatisfied with her, and she had no idea what she could do about it.

Goku's words caused her to glance sharply toward him, and she smiled in relief.  Apparently Goku had forgotten about her morning training, if he was just going to train with his brother.  Or perhaps he had finally realized what she had figured out a long time ago; she was absolutely hopeless when it came to physical combat.

Well, she wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth.  If he wanted to forget about her training, she wasn't going to remind him.  Or Vegeta, for that matter.

"You two train," she agreed, "and Vegeta can teach me some more Saiyago.  I really want to get started on working on those regeneration tanks for you."

The sound of Bulma's voice drew the Saiyajin prince out his thoughts and he glanced over at her.  "Yes, I can teach you more," Vegeta agreed.  "But this afternoon.  Kakarot seems to have forgotten that you have training this morning.  He also forgot yesterday."

"Oops!" Goku gave his brother a sheepish smile. "I guess I did.  I think I'll have to spar with you this afternoon, Radditz. I have to do this first. I promised, you know."

"Don't worry about it." Vegeta leaned back in his chair and regarded Bulma with some interest. "I will teach her this morning. You can go and beat up on your sibling."

"Really? Wow! Thanks, Vegeta!" Goku replied, pleased he would not have to hold back as he would have if he had been training Bulma. "I guess that means you and I can spar after all."

Bulma scowled at Vegeta.  "You know, that really isn't necessary," she snarled at him.  "Training me is pointless.  I am *not* going to ever be a fighter, so I don't see why you want to bother."

Radditz arched an eyebrow, then glanced at Vegeta.  He guessed Bulma had no idea how arousing training was to Saiyajin.  If she knew, she would realize that training with her was going to be quite a stimulus for Vegeta, and it was why he had objected to Kakarot training her in the first place.  Given an excuse to take over her training was something he bet the prince had been looking forward to for some time.

Vegeta arched an eyebrow at her. "I agree with you. I doubt you will ever make a good fighter. But before you go off on a tirade about how useless this is, I should remind you that what you learn might be enough to help you escape or avoid capture. And that is something worth learning. Don't you agree?"

Bulma continued to scowl at him.  She didn't want to agree with him.  She didn't want to do what she felt was a waste of time - and a cause for pain - training with him when it wasn't going to help them.  At least, not as much as her inventions could.  She didn't want to admit - even to herself - that taking an hour off to train each day wasn't going to slow her research down a significant amount.

"It's a waste of time," she pointed out.  "But if you want to waste our time, who am I to argue?"  She silently dared them to mention she was arguing with them now.  Instead, she dumped her empty dishes into the recycler and glared at Radditz, blaming him for distracting Goku.  She suspected that Goku was a MUCH easier taskmaster than Vegeta would be, and that her session with Vegeta was more likely to end in bruises and injuries for herself than she had ever gotten with Goku.

"Indeed," Vegeta replied, his tone clearly indicating his amusement. "You are the most agreeable person I have ever known."   He stood up and headed towards the door. "Then what are you waiting for, woman? Let's not waste any more time talking when there is training to be done."

Vegeta was still smirking as he headed out the door and imagined the glare she was undoubtedly giving him as he left the room. He did not go far, however.  Vegeta was not about to let her get away with not training at all that day. He knew that if he simply went to training room to wait for her, she wouldn't show up.  So Vegeta waited right outside the dining room door for the blue haired scientist to put in an appearance. ::Woman, you have no idea how much I am looking forward to this.::

Goku, however, was not enjoying the current situation, and decided to leave quickly before Bulma took out her frustrations by yelling at him. "That's not a bad idea," Goku said, as he watched Bulma's expression for any sign of losing her temper. "Let's go, Radditz.  We should probably get started ourselves."

Radditz nodded, looking uncomfortable.  He saw the look on Bulma's face, and had the feeling she was going to do something to deliberately provoke the Saiyajin prince.  He had no idea what would happen if she did, but he suspected Vegeta would never harm her, despite anything she might do.  He would not, however, hold back when venting his aggressions out on Radditz, which meant the larger Saiyajin was going to bear the brunt of his displeasure.  He hoped to Kami she wouldn't make things *too* bad for him, but suspected his hopes were in vain.

The two Saiyajin brothers left the room, Yamcha, Kuririn, and Gohan following discreetly behind.  While Yamcha and Kuririn were going to use one of the other training capsules, Gohan had decided he wanted to visit his friend Piccolo for a while, so headed off for the arboretum.

Bulma didn't hear Radditz' reply, nor did she even notice the others leaving.  She was too infuriated about Vegeta just walking out without giving her a chance to reply.  The nerve of that Saiyajin!  He might be a prince, but he was the biggest jerk she had ever met.  Well, if he was waiting for her to join him, she'd teach him a thing or two.  With a smirk, she walked over to the wall next to the television console, and opened a small hidden panel.  Pressing a button behind that panel, part of the floor slid aside, and from below, a small platform rose.  On that platform was what appeared to be a tiny, miniature model train.

Bulma didn't seem surprised by this, but pressed a button on the watch she wore on her wrist.  She might have given the original of this device to Roshi when she was young, but she had kept the blueprints, and had even improved on the device.  Within a second she was less than a quarter of an inch tall.  She stepped into the tiny train, pressed a button in it, and the platform lowered, the floor panel above sliding into place above it.

Bulma smirked as she piloted the train to her lab.  Unknown to the others, she had built an entire, complex subway system within the walls of the ship.  This train could take her to or from any room in the ship; there was no way she could be trapped if she was wearing her miniaturization watch.

She felt a twinge of guilt that she hadn't shared this knowledge with the others, but hastily suppressed it.  After all, when would they need something like this?  She needed an edge over them; a way to do something without their knowledge.  Her monitors throughout the ship gave her one edge, but this transportation method was another.  She had, after all, built the ship; there were things about it that she knew, that they would never know.

It only took minutes for her to get to her lab and return to her normal size.  She smiled smugly as she turned on the computer at her workstation, and became involved in studying the blueprints for the regeneration tank that Vegeta had so graciously given her.  She might not know a lot of the language yet, but numbers she did, and that gave her enough to study for the time being.

Vegeta leaned back against the wall, a smug smile on his face as he thought of his parting comment. He enjoyed annoying Bulma and getting the last word.  The Prince knew it was not really a good idea to rile the human female, but there was something that always seemed to goad him to do so. He was sure some of the appeal was he wanted to see how she would react, as he could never predict what she would do.

Radditz and Goku both walked by him moments later, the younger of the two sibling giving him a puzzled look. Vegeta simply arched a brow at him as they past. Several moments later, Yamcha, Krillin and Gohan came out of the room, looking unnerved. Yamcha gave the Prince what certainly looked like a sympathetic smile as he passed, which made him scowl in puzzlement.

Vegeta, in his arrogance, unwisely ignored Yamcha's silent warning.  If had but known the younger man better, he would have interpreted the look as one the other Z warriors used to let each other know that Bulma was not happy, and was most likely up to something he wouldn't like. Unfortunately for the Prince, he did not heed the warnings, and was in for quite a surprise.

He waited a few more minutes, impatient for Bulma to put in an appearance so they could get started. But when she still did not show herself several minutes later, he pushed off the wall and strode into the room in an exasperated huff

"What the hell is taking so long..." he demanded as he entered the room. His tirade was cut short when he realized he was alone in the room.

At first, Vegeta was confused. How had she managed to get past him? He knew she did not go out what he had assumed was the only door in the room. And considering how familiar he was with the dining hall, if there had been another entrance, the prince assumed that he would have found it by now.  It did not take long for the bewidlered expression on his face to turn to fury. How dare she try to make a mockery of him! Did she not know who she was to play such pranks? Many of his adversary's had died for less affronts and to think that she would waste time in this manner, left the Saiyan Prince seething.

He strode out of the room, intent of finding the little female to tell her a thing or two and headed down to the lab, certain that is where she would be and most likely smug as to how she had apparently managed to disappear into thin air. She had some explaining to do, and he wasnt going to be happy unless he recieved some answers.

He found her as he suspected. Leaning over her computer screen, studying the blueprints for the isolation tank and completely obvious to his sudden appearance. "I do not know how you managed that disappearing at of your woman." He snarled the moment he entered the room. "But are you not a little to old to act like a child?"

Vegeta's voice - which didn't startle her as she had been expecting him eventually - first turned her cold with his words, then hot with fury.  How *dared* he refer to her as childish?

"And I had thought that *you* were too intelligent to act like an idiot!" she snarled without even turning towards him, her voice full of anger.  "But obviously I was *wrong*!"

"Idiot? Me?."  He moved towards her, gripped the back of the computer chair and turned her to face him. "The one who at fault here is you, woman. I think it is time somethings are made clear to you." He leaned down, almost nose to nose with her as he  spoke. "There will be no more avoiding your training. Do you want to be caught?"

"And do *YOU* want to be *KILLED*?!?" she screeched at him, standing up and glaring, her hands on her hips.  "I've checked the navigational computers.  We will be on Namek in less than three weeks now.  Even if I work full time on learning your language, and then I work full time on this regeneration chamber of yours, I will be *lucky* if I get it finished in another two weeks!  That will give you less than a week to use it!  If, as you say, you can use it for training to get stronger, then you will need it for as long as you possibly can!  So don't tell ME that I'm wasting time, when YOU are the one wasting MY time!"

"Then adjustsment will be made." He snapped back at her, infuriated with her for not acquiencing to his demands. It also exasperated him that she did have a point. "And if this was such an issue, why did you not mention it sooner! It seems that you have been wasting my time." Three weeks? That was all the time they had. Vegeta wasnt sure what bother him more, that they weren't no where near Freezer's level, or the fact that they were early . It changed things. She had changed him. Vegeta did not know how, or even when she had managed it. But she had more of a hold on him, that even he had realized. One that if Freezer realized his..fondness for the blue-haired scientist, her life would be in danger. And that was unacceptable. He would have to find a way to keep her out of harms way. Bulma would not share his fate if he failed.

"However, my death doesn't concern me." He said after a moment, anger subsiding as he began to pace.. "Freezer's does. If I die, it is impairative that he must be stopped. At any cost. At any price." He glanced over at her, eyes narrowed in thought. "How did you manage to get down here, without me seeing you?"

"I *did* tell you, you buffoon!"  Her eyes narrowed on him.  "I told you that I don't have *time* for that damned training, because the things I am working on are more important!  It isn't *my* fault you didn't listen to me!"

She smirked at his last question, and straightened slightly, her hands still defiantly on her hips.  "And I'm a lot smarter than you give me credit for, Vegetable-brains!  But I'm certainly not going to give you ALL my secrets!"

"No?" He glared a bit a her. "Is that a fact?" He stalked back towards her, "Even if that little trick of yours could be used to our advantage? Now who is wasting time. No more secrets woman, if we can use it to win then I think I should know about it.  And you can be assured that he will not play fair."

"NO!" she shouted at him stubbornly.  "It is NONE of your business!  I know this ship better than anyone else alive, and I can do things with it that you can't even *imagine*!  This ship isn't JUST from your technology; there are things in it that even if I spent the rest of our trip teaching you, you'd still never learn everything about it!  You will just have to trust me that how I got here is something only I can use, and therefore has no bearing or use for the rest of you!"

She knew what she was saying wasn't entirely true.  While it was true that only someone with a miniaturization watch could use the transportation system she had developed, she *had* made several other similar watches to her own.  But it was unlikely that any of the others would figure it out without direct information.  Her friends would probably remember about it only if they ever saw it in action again; it had been so long since any of them had seen her use one of her miniaturization watches that they probably had completely forgotten its existence.

"So you are saying that in your unfailing genious that you could not figure out a way for everyone to use it?" Vegeta folded his arms across his chest and snorted in disbelief. "I have never underestimated you, nor do I ever intend to make that mistake. You see woman, you taught me something, there is always a way. You have proved that on more than one occassion. So I don't believe that you are being entirely truthful."

His eyes went cold as he gazed at her.   "I do hope you know what you are doing woman, especially if this thing can make a difference between one of your friends life or death.  So keep your secrets, but hope Freezer doesnt want to get them out of you. He is not so tolerant as I."

Bulma tapped her foot irritably.  "As I'm sure you idiots won't even be IN the ship when we face Freeza, I don't see how anything about this ship could have the slightest bit of relevance.  As far as I'm concerned, once we land on the planet, I'm going to encapsulate this ship to keep it *safe*.  And if you think this ship can't be encapsulated, then you've underestimated me, despite your claims.  As *nothing* you could learn about this ship could be the slightest bit of use to you in a fight, why bother?  I'm sure you have *better* things to do with your time!"

The sarcasm in her last sentence was unmistakeable, and yet she knew her words were immensely logical, if Vegeta could get past his anger to see the truth of them.

"And now," she said, removing one hand from her hip and wagging her finger in front of Vegeta's nose, "if you'd be so kind as to finish teaching me your *language*, I *might* be able to get at least one regeneration tank completed quickly enough to be of some use to you *before* we land on the planet!"

"Unless we run into him in space, then knowing about the ship wouldnt be a waste a time. Had that thought not occurred to you?" He shrugged. "But then  I am sure you know all about fights in space, since you are such a seasoned veteran."  He said sacastically. "I tire of this pointless bickering. Let's get to work, so you can finish these tanks."

Bulma didn't think it was likely they would run into Freeza in space.  It was far more likely that either they or Freeza would land on the planet first, and whoever did would have the advantage in finding the dragonballs.  She just hoped it would be herself and her friends; if Freeza was as bad as Vegeta said, then she didn't want him getting the dragonballs before they arrived.

Besides, even if they did run into Freeza in space, she didn't think that knowing of the transportation system would help them very much.  Knowing how to use the weapons systems was more to the point, and she had already trained all of them in that earlier on the trip.  Even Goku, although he hadn't really seemed to grasp it very well.  Gohan was surprisingly - or perhaps not so surprisingly considering how well he did at video games - the best of all of them with the weapons systems, with Bulma a close second.  Most of the others did all right, although she wouldn't put either Kuririn or Goku on the controls unless she was desperate, and none of the others were available.

Bulma felt that learning to use those weapons would be far more effective than learning anything about the ship itself.  It was far more likely that Freeza would simply want to destroy them rather than board them, so her efforts was more efficient directed that way.

She didn't bother to mention any of this to Vegeta, however.  If he was too stupid to figure it out, then she had no intention of pointing it out to him.

Vegeta spent several hours with her that morning teaching her more of the language, and by the time he had grown bored of the inactivity and restless with the urge to train, she had learned far more of Saiyago than even she had expected for one day.  Both of them agreed that unless she ran into something specific in the blueprints that she didn't understand - which was unlikely, as the language for engineers tended to be far more direct - she probably wouldn't need an more direct instruction in it.  He seemed almost reluctant to admit it, but she felt satisfied with her knowledge, and was eager to get on to the task of building the tanks.

Before Vegeta could leave to join the others in the various training rooms, however, his stomach growled noisily, making Bulma laugh.  She offered to fix him something in her lab, using the replicators there, but after a quick glance at the lack of space on the tables for the quantity of food he would prefer, Vegeta instead said he would go to the cafeteria and then - to Bulma's astonishment - invited her to go with him.  Too surprised to protest, she accepted, and the two of them entered the cafeteria together.

They hadn't been there long when the others arrived, the majority of them with torn and bloodied clothing, bruises and numerous contusions on their faces.  Bulma turned to Vegeta with a slightly raised brow.

"You see why I need to make that tank in a hurry?" she commented archly.  "If I don't, then I don't think any of you are going to be in any condition to fight by the time we arrive on the planet!"

Radditz grinned at her comment.  "Yes, but my little brother showed me those gravity controls you built into the training rooms.  A marvelous invention!  Now we can train at gravities even higher than our home planet, and get stronger at an even faster rate!"

Bulma rolled her eyes at his words.  "I didn't really want to put those in," she snapped at him.  "That was Roshi's suggestion.  Personally, I think the idea is ridiculous.  But if you people want to crush your bodies to jelly, be my guest.  I'll just hurry up with those regeneration tanks so I can put you back together whenever you're idiots enough to pound each other to oblivion!"

"You do that woman. You wouldnt want to scrape us off the bulkheads now would you?"  Vegeta remarked, as he finished off another plate of pasta, and started in on a turkey. "But our bodies can take more gravity than humans can, our home planet had 10 times tha gravity of Earth."

Yamcha's jaw dropped. "10 times? That explains why Nappa was so damn fast."

"Most of Freezer's warriors are fast." Vegeta replied. "Especially the ones that train in gravity enhanced atompshere. Roshi was smart to suggest it."

'Well what do you know, the old hentai thought up something useful. There's a first, eh Bulma." Yamcha said with a grin.

Goku looked up at Yamcha as he sat down at the table with several platters of food.  "Oh, I don't know, Yamcha.  Master Roshi always seemed to me like he knew what he was doing.  He knows a lot more about fighting than he likes to admit, too."  Goku gave them all a sweet smile, unaware how startled it made more than a few of them.

Bulma frowned at him, then shrugged.  "I don't know.  He said something about it making your bodies adjust more quickly.  I was going to give Yamcha and Kuririn a couple of those training rooms while waiting for the Saiyajin to arrive, but I never had the chance.  If you really think it'll help, be my guest.  I don't really care."

Bulma looked at the others, her brow furrowing.  She was more worried about their timetable than she wanted to admit to the others.  Her mind quickly sifted through all the things she had to work on before they landed on Namek, and as she mentally planned out her schedule, she became worried she wouldn't have time to finish everything.  ::I'm not going to have time to do anything else,:: she decided.  ::I really have to work on this full time.::

Eating more quickly than she normally did, Bulma excused herself and left for her lab again.  She didn't catch the concerned looks that several of her friends shot each other at her abstracted air.  They were used to that sort of thing from her father, but not from her, and they didn't know if it meant there was something wrong.

Goku and Yamcha both exchangee a shrug. Neither knew what had Bulma acting so bizarre, but they knew that if she thought it important enough than she would tell them about it. "So shall we get back to beating the crap out of each other?" Yamcha asked his oldest friend with a grin. "I owe a certain Nameck several bruises."

Goku grinned. "I think Piccolo wanted to break things this morning."

Yamcha laughed. "Namely me. I wonder what I did to annoy him so much. Oh well. Keeps me fit. Shall we get going? No time like the present."

Goku laughed and stood. "Why not? It will keep us out of trouble."

"Or get us into trouble if we break things."  Yamcha disagreed with a charming smile.

"Piccolo-sensei wouldn't hurt you," Gohan piped up suddenly.  "He likes you.  He wouldn't hurt someone he likes."

"I dont know squirt. He hits hard." Yamcha wriggled his eyebrows at the young boy causing him to giggle. "But I'll take your word for it."

"Well then dont allow him to hit you." Vegeta said dryly, drawing the two attention as he stood and headed for the door. "And we only have 3 weeks until Nameck, so I suggest you get started."

Yamcha sat, stunned for a moment. "3 weeks? Oh man. Come on guys, we have a lot of work to do."

The various warriors trooped to the training rooms after cleaning the cafeteria - they knew better than to leave it a mess, which would make Bulma yell at them - and began training, this time with the added factor of the more powerful Vegeta to prod them on.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~