CHAPTER TWO:

Sasami opened up her eyes slowly as the morning light trickled unto her skin. Wincing slightly, she wondered why her neck was hurting so badly and why her bed was suddenly as hard as a rock. Sitting up with a start, she rubbed her eyes as she finally took in her surroundings. She was outside! She was alive!

Turning around sharply, she noticed that her sister was still fast asleep, and not wanting to disturb her, she slowly got off the blanket.

She also noticed that she was still in her nightgown and that the weather wasn’t exactly warm yet…

“Good morning, Princess Sasami.”

“Ah! Good morning Azaka and Kamadake.” She answered happily, as she raced over to hug the logs. “Where are we?”

“We are on the planet Tanrou, Princess Sasami.” Azaka answered lightly.

“Oh…what happened to the ship?” she asked puzzled as she stared at the smoke that still rose from the debris.

“It was destroyed, Princess Sasami. Ryu-oh was unable to withstand the pressure.”

“Oh man! Ayeka is going to be so sad when she wakes up.” Sasami said softly before her pretty face drew into a frown. “But…but…how did we get out?”

“A certain man saved your life, Princess.”

“A man?! You mean there is someone else here besides us?!” the little girl screamed excitedly, always ready to make new friends. “Where is he?”

“I believe he went over to other side of the lake.” Kamadake said.

Sasami smiled and without waiting for another word from the guardians she headed over to said place. She wanted to thank whoever their rescuer was. Hissing in her breath as the rough pebbles and debris hurt her delicate bare feet, she walked over to one of the many rocks that graced the banks of the clear waters.

Sucking in a breath sharply, she covered a hand over her eyes and mouth as she flushed at the picture that she was presented with.

“Oops! Sorry!” she said in embarrassment, as she spun around quickly. “I didn’t know that you were taking a bath.”

Vegeta stood in shock for several seconds, stupefied at the presence of the little girl that had walked in on him in the middle of his toilette. Not exactly sure on how to react, he shifted slightly in the water and mumbled out a gruff ‘That’s okay.’

“My name is Sasami.” She continued, her eyes taking in the sights around her. “What’s yours?”

Vegeta could not believe it. Didn’t she get a hint? “Listen here, little girl!” He snapped in irritation. “I am taking a bath here and I do not wish to be disturbed. Got it?!”

“Sorry for bothering you, mister.” Sasami said, her voice as cheerful as ever. “I just wanted to thank you for all your help that’s all.”

“Thank you accepted! Now beat it, kid!” Vegeta growled, staring balefully at the shock of blue hair that reminded him of that other onna from Chikyuu.

“Okay!” Sasami replied lightly, as she skipped back to the camp.

Vegeta watched her departure with a grimace. Great! Just what he needed. A hyperactive little kid. Scrubbing himself faster, he hoped her elder sister wouldn’t be that cheerful or he was going to go insane.

~*~*~*~*~

Ayeka woke up with a tremendous neck and headache. Groaning in pain, she sat up slowly as she took in her surroundings. The last thing she remembered was trying to stop herself from falling with Sasami….

~ Sasami?! ~

“Sasami!!” she screamed, which wasn’t a really good idea, because her head began to pound insistently. Placing hands on her temples, she sucked in her breath as she realized her state of undress.

“Eeek! What am I doing outside half-naked?”

“You were rescued from the ship by a stranger, Princess Ayeka.” Kamadake said, causing the princess to stare at him in puzzlement.

“A stranger? What planet is this? Are there others? Where is Sasami?” she asked in a rush, trying to stagger up to her feet.

“It was only one man. We have seen no others and Sasami went to look for him at the lake. She wanted to thank him.” Azaka replied quickly.

“Oh, my! What of Ryu-oh?!” she glanced about her, wondering where her ship had gone to.

“It was completely destroyed, Princess Ayeka. It sank to the bottom of the lake.”

“Oh, no! My beautiful ship…” Ayeka whispered weakly, her bottom lip quivering as she tried to hold back her tears.

“Ayeka! Ayeka!” Sasami squealed in delight as she raced towards her older sister. Noticing the look of pain on Ayeka’s face, she stopped and said quietly. “I am sorry about Ryu-oh…but I saw the man that rescued us!” she added cheerfully.

“Who is this man, anyways?” Ayeka asked sharply. “How many times have I told you never to go and talk to strangers, Sasami? He might be a…a…dangerous criminal for all we know.”

“But…”

“But nothing, Sasami! You should know better really!” she snapped angrily, the combination of her headache and her lost spaceship, causing her to lose her temper.

A rumbling deep voice interrupted her tirade, as it spoke out sarcastically, “Really, Sasami…you really should know better.”

Both princesses spun around sharply and stared in pleasant surprise (Sasami) and stunned silence (Ayeka) as the half-naked prince stalked towards them. Clad in only the bottom half of his body suit, which did little to hide the power in his strong muscled thighs, Ayeka could only gape in astonishment at the perfection that walked towards her. Muscles rippled in the strong torso as Vegeta stepped up to them, his handsome features etched with a mocking smirk as he stopped and eyed the two girls in front of him. Nodding at Sasami curtly, he allowed his eyes to roam thoroughly and slowly down the older girls’ body, noticing the deepening flush on her face.

She looked even more stunning awake. Large rose-colored eyes stared at him as the dried blood on her cheeks and forehead seemed to give her a look of quiet danger. The wind picked up again and whipped across her light clothing, causing her body to become more defined and exposed. She shivered at that moment, not just from the cold, but from the darkening intense look on the stranger’s face. Nobody had ever looked at her that way before and she found it to be a bit disconcerting. And to be perfectly honest, no man she had ever seen looked like Vegeta. All the men on Jurai tended to be tall and wiry; while the stranger before her seemed to ooze with a self-confidence and aura that threatened to take her breath away, which she didn’t like at all.

Finally finding her voice, she spoke up coldly, “How dare you…you…that is rude!” She finished hastily, as she wrapped her arms across her chest in a defensive position.

“Oh really, Princess?” Vegeta said softly, his eyes never leaving the ones before him. “I find it hard to believe that you wore that item of clothing just to make yourself comfortable in bed alone now, did you?”

Ayeka gasped at the suggestion and gritting her teeth, she replied, “My sleeping habits are of no concern of yours and if you were a proper gentleman, you would have at least covered me up!”

“Who said I was a proper gentleman?” Vegeta asked coldly, his smirk widening as he sensed the female’s discomfort.

“I should have guessed.” Ayeka retorted. “Of course you aren’t! I would expect such low class behavior from someone like you! You are…”

“But Ayeka…” Sasami said quietly, raising pleading eyes to her sister. She had been watching the exchange in growing curiosity. “Ayeka…he saved us from the ship.”

“So what?! Does he expect me to thank him now, after…after…staring at me like I was a piece of…of…”

“Cheap trash?” Vegeta finished tightly, as he began to put on his sleeveless top. “Forgive me for not being interested in where this conversation is going to, my dear Princess, but I have some training to do. If you are hungry there is some leftover meat from yesterday or you could eat the fruits around, or better yet, catch a fish yourself. ”

“Can I come and watch?” Sasami asked, running after the disappearing Saiyan.

“No, you are not going to watch anything, Sasami!!” Ayeka yelled, getting angrier by the minute.

“But, Ayeka…”

“I think you ought to listen to your sister, little girl.” Vegeta said, giving a small smile at the petulant frown on Sasami’s face and leaning towards her, he whispered softly to her. “We wouldn’t want to scare her away with my energy blasts. She might collapse and die at the sound.”

Sasami giggled and stopped as Ayeka’s growl reached her eyes. Vegeta straightened up again and giving a mock bow to the scowling princess, he burst into a bright glow of energy and flew off into the morning sky. Leaving a cloud of dust and two coughing princesses behind.

“Wow!” Sasami said, looking after the disappearing speck in the sky. “He can fly!”

“Good riddance to bad rubbish!” Ayeka snorted as she furiously dusted away the mess created from the sand on her nightwear. A low rumble emitted from her stomach and her demeanor was not lightened in the slightest. She was hungry and she would bet that Sasami was too. After all, the last meal they had had was over a day ago.

“I am hungry, Ayeka.” Sasami said quietly, walking back and sitting on the floor. “And cold.”

“Don’t worry, Sasami.” Ayeka said tightly. “ I will get us something to eat.”

“He said that there was some meat that he left from yesterday…”

“Sasami…I do not intend to eat any meal that has been leftover from yesterday. Especially not well-cooked meat.”

“But what are we going to eat?”

“I will go and find some fruits for us. That should fill us until we…” Ayeka came to a blank. Until what? Until they were rescued? By whom? Her ship was gone and there was no way of communication to any other outside party. They were stuck on this planet with…with…that…

“Idiot!” She muttered out harshly.

“Huh?” Sasami asked, blinking in confusion at her sister.

“Nothing.” Ayeka said. Spinning around she faced her two guardians. “Azaka, is there any way we can get off of this planet?”

“Actually there is a way, Princess Ayeka.”

“Oh really!” She answered excitedly. “How?!”

“We could follow the stranger in his own spaceship which is over there in the distance.”

Ayeka’s face fell at the suggestion. She couldn’t possibly ride the same contraption with the uncouth character.

“Any other ideas?” she asked morosely.

“We could always stay on this planet and die here.” Kamadake replied.

“Fine!” Ayeka growled out. “A fat load of good you two are.”

Turning back to her sister, she continued. “Stay here, Sasami. I will go over and search for something for us. Okay?” And stepping away from the relative safety of the small campsite, she began making her way towards the surrounding woodland area.

~*~*~*~*~*~

“ARGGGHHHH!!!” The prince yelled out loudly, as he fired another round of ki blasts towards the unsuspecting mountainsides with more force than necessary. He wished he were back in his gravity room; at least he would be free from this new distraction.

Cursing out loudly, he went into a series of Kata routines, feeling his body release all the pent up tension that he had been holding. Sweat trickled off his skin in tiny rivulets as he continued furiously for hours. He tried to tell himself that the only reason he was staying away this long was not to avoid hanging around the two girls. The little one seemed okay, but the elder one was…

“ARGH!!” He screamed again, as he let out a blinding energy beam that took away another mountain. Floating back to the ground, he collapsed in a heap, sucking in precious gasps of air into his exhausted lungs. A quick image of the scantily clad princess flashed through his mind and he had to stifle the groan that threatened to spill out of his mouth. Clamping his legs together to stop his growing arousal, he tried to focus his thoughts on something else.

Like, how the hell was he supposed to get out of the planet now without the knowledge of the two girls and those damn logs? His intent had been to leave for earth today and now…

~ That’s it! ~

His eyes widened, as everything suddenly seemed to click in. Tree ships, logs for guardians…that could only mean that they were from that wealthy planet, Jurai. Vegeta sniggered to himself. His home planet had always tried to make a move on them, but to no avail. The Jurians were a stubborn people and pretty powerful too. Although he had never had direct contact with the planet or people before, he had, of course, heard about the Royal Family. He could still remember tales about the legendary Crown Prince Yosho, who had led the Jurian army to several victories against their own warriors.

~ So I have the Crown princesses within my grasp. ~ Vegeta thought, chuckling lightly at the irony. ~ What a twist of Fate. ~

“Well, my dear little princesses.” He said aloud, getting up to his feet and dusting himself off. “It seems like you and I are going to be heading off to a whole new planet.”

And unable to stop the wicked grin that came onto his face, he took off into the air for his camp.