It was dark and quiet. Something was definitely wrong.

"Kijah!"

She heard her own name, and turned quickly, her eyes focused and Kijah recognised the face. Yamako!

"What gives you the right to come into my quarters in the middle of the night? And where is my mate?" Kijah erupted.

Yamako grinned, knowing this was definately the Kijah she remembered. There was none other on the planet capable of her decibal range. "I am on maternal leave Kij, I figured since I haven't been issued a place, that I'd visit you. Or that sly little hybrid you've caught." she winked, and Kijah bristled.

"What'd you say to him, and where in the god's names is he?" Kijah yelled, her fluffed tail showing her utter rage. She had had a basically sleepless night, and all of her worries and pent up anger were pouring out just then.

"I think he went training." Yamako admitted, finally standing. She was still wary of Kijah's mindset, and hoped a change of subject would help. "Hey, what's this about you being the queen's guard?"

Kijah cracked her neck and walked to the closet, pulling out her heavier training armor. "Come on," she said, muffled as she changed into it. "I have to train as well, and you could likely use a little spar. I'll explain on the way." Kijah said. Apparently the subject change had worked.

Yamako raised a brow and looked surprised as Kijah grabbed her arm, and pulled her out the door.

What exactly had gone on all of this time?

"Damn it, Shin! I'm no enemy, why all the rage?" she asked accusingly. Slowly, she stood, clutching her armor as the burning slowed down. The attack had used was not usually one practiced in sparring.

Shinto landed, his eyes calming at the same rate as his ki. "Raleiko, I'm trying to train. I don't know what you want to call it, but I have a few ranks to uphold in this tournament, and I'll stop at nothing to achieve them." he scowled into the female's face. The female scowled right back, and reacted as any good Saiyan would.

He recoiled as she punched him square in the diaphram, knocking the wind out of him. "You want to train Shinto? Lets train." Raleiko scowled, tightening her fluffed tail around her waist. If this male was going to be her mate, he'd have to learn what to take seriously. It was time to put him to a test he probably did not even know he was taking.

She took a battle stance, and Shinto scowled and did the same. The two went at each other with much faster motions and equally harsh blasts. This time he had a bit more trouble defeating his partner than before.

How was he supposed to get better when his opponents were all so weak?

He lashed his tail free of his waist, and flicked his light gaze to the door. Chatsu smirked as the answer to his question entered the arena.

"Kijah. Lets go." he said simply. With a nod, she she phased out, leaving Yamako blinking cluelessly in the entryway.

He jumped when she appeared, but felt the punch to his lower back before he could get out of her way. Not fazed, he spun quickly to catch the following kick, and the two separated and faxed each other. She looked more awake than she should after a long night.

Chatsu smirked at his mate, who had a look of pure pleasure on her face as she fired a shot from her free hand, leaving an opening for a sweep kick that almost left him flat on his face. He recovered and phased out, coming in behind her and kicking, only to be met with a lateral spin kick; one she'd perfected in the past weeks.

Now this was what he called a challenge.

Her thoughts ran back to Kijah's changing out of her warmups before training. Yamako was not one to miss out on details, and she had caught that one. Maybe it was the armor. If it was, she would need to get her hands on some just as fast. There would only be so much time to train before the pregnancy would keep her on hold. A week or two out of training was enough to drive a Saiyan insane.

" Yamako?" a soft voice interrupted her thoughts. Only one Saiyan she knew carried such a voice.

She turned to face Liena, grinning. "Well look who it is!" she said, bowing in greeting. Liena had grown. Although she wasn't very tall, she had definately grown up.

Liena bowed in return. "What brings you back to the planet?" she asked, reaching up to place a hand over her arm.

Yamako’s gaze drifted to Liena’s arm, once again noticing and noting the small detail. "Well I am going to have a brat put in the gestation tanks here. That, and of course, the tournaments! My mate will be returning for them also."

Liena grinned "Looks like everyone has found a mate for themselves!" she rubbed her arm a bit, and then her hand jolted down quickly.

Yamako quirked her brows and realized why, as Kakarott entered behind Liena. Kakarott; she hadn't known him well, only that his power was questionable. It was said to be strong, but many had never been able to identify the reason. She silently wondered where that attractive brother of his had run off to...

He scowled to Liena. "We have to get something on that arm, and eat before training more. I've got that heavier armor ready. I made a few extra for Kij and Chatsu also. I'm sure they'll be asking for it soon."

Liena nodded, obviously angered about her arm, but glad to know that her power would only increase more. She had really developed a self control level when it came to putting up with heavy armor.

"In a bit. I want to watch Kij, and talk to Yamako for a bit." she said, leaving her arms at her sides.

Kakarott flicked a quick glance to Yamako, then around the arena, and nodded to Liena. He was all business, even as his hand ran carefully over her arm. The two exchanged a meaningful glance before he turned and walked out without another word.

Liena sneered wickedly and replaced her hand over her arm once again. "Sorry about him, he gets like this around tournament time." she grinned.

She nodded, keeping her thoughts to herself. They both leaned against the wall and watched Chatsu and Kijah adding bruises to each other. So it was heavy armor... how on Vegetasei would that help raise power levels? Yamako thought quickly, barely noticing the fights and spars around them.

The guard behind the screen trembled, and then looked down. "Message from Off-worlder Radditz sir."

Vegeta sneered. Great. Another pointless, babbling message from his old elite guard. "Well put him on already, and tell the moron to make it short." The king sat back and remembered the earth trip.

Mindless of its wonders, he had chosen to take two of his guards, Nappa and Radditz, off to some idle job on the planet. Once there, he began dealing with the odd feelings he was having for Bulma, and didn't need his idiotic guards telling him what 'treason to the throne' was. So, he had sent them on a thoughtless mission somewhere in a neighboring galaxy. It had been one of the best decisions he had ever made, in his opinion. Vegeta didn't recall asking for them to report, nor did he even recall the far off place he'd sent them to scout out. Now he was forced to put up with Radditz's babbling every few seasons. With that, the mass of hair himself appeared on screen.

Vegeta folded his arms "Well, well, are we sick Radditz? Your precious skin looks a bit pale in that light."

Radditz smirked. "I'm fine sire. In fact, this place isn't turning out so hard to conquer as we thought."

Vegeta inclined his head nonchalantly. "Wonderful."

The guards raised a brow "There are rumors of an heir, sire..."

Vegeta's gaze fixed directly on Radditz in return. It was a challenging look, and the guard seemingly recoiled. "I do not discuss the palace news over galaxial broadcast, warrior. You know that." Vegeta said, his eyes accusing.

Radditz gritted his teeth, and an obvious sheen of sweat broke out across his forehead. "Of course sire, forgive me. I'll need to go, that moron Nappa needs my help in controls."

Vegeta sneered and cut off contact. He did not like being dismissed, whether it be formally or not. Radditz was not acting like himself. Not only that, but Nappa would never take to being called a moron. In fact, there had been no sign of the bald-headed brute since Radditz had started reporting.

Something was up. He didn't know what just yet, but there was something going on.

Vegeta stood and entered the main royal suite. Taking a seat by the bed, he kept an eye on Bulma the entire time she insisted on 'working' so diligently. The short transmission had the fur on his tail prickling, much in the same way his instincts were. His waking mind was set on protecting his mate and son.

Saiyan instincts forced waryness on his part. Those simple minded fools had never gotten to him in such a way. He would have to keep a closer eye on what information was allowed to be spread among the palace from that time on.

"Keep your cool, Saiyan. We will arrive soon." the sly accented voice came from the shadows. "You do not want to end up like your bald headed friend over there." A gloved hand pointed to Nappa's limp body, impaled through the heart.

Radditz sneered, and moved his gaze back to the female-looking one. He had the deep voice of a male, but jewelry, and dressy green hair made him seem all and too female The feminine creature called Zarbon smirked. "Now then, next time be sure to find out about this heir. The master suddenly wants every bit of information on your monkey-tailed race."

"Yeah! Wonder why, you all seem weak to me." the fat, pink... thing stepped into view also. His annoying voice crowded Radditz's ears, and he sneered uncontrollably. Their derogatory comments had once angered him beyond range, but he had quickly learned that any retaliation only earned him more embarrassment. The freaks were strong. So he had been forced to keep whatever pride he could, all while obeying their every whim.

"Lets go hairy, we gotta get you all wrapped up for the big arrival!" the fat one said, grabbing his arm.It was unnerving, allowing the slobbering, stinking being to pull him around like a doll. Still, one glance at Nappa’s stiff body reminded him of the consequences of acting otherwise.

Even after months of captivity, he still wondered who this ‘master’ they spoke of was, and how much more odd looking these creatures could get.

That question immediately switched, to why she insisted on working on a barbaric, bloodthirsty tournament that she likely wouldn't want to see anyway.

"Would you stop worrying and go to sleep? You are plaguing my thoughts." an annoyed voice came from the corner.

She smirked, knowing how much her spinning thoughts irked him, and loving being able to irk him whenever she could. "I'm sorry. I'm just so glad I finally finished that work. The tournament is set, and I can sleep… for now. He seems to be settling down."

Vegeta snorted "Thank the gods. You do not know how damn annoying it is to have constant light in your quarters for three days straight."

Bulma held in a laugh. She decided not to argue that pregnancy was marginally more ‘annoying’. He could be such a whiner. Another feeling took her thoughts away, and she winced. "Hungry again!" she whined back to him.

Vegeta rolled his eyes and folded his arms. Forcing his instincts down and vowing not to bow to her wishes. "Vikar, the Queen needs to feed again" he said simply, knowing the sweating guard would be anxious to prove himself worthy.

Bulma turned on her side as her eyes lolled shut.

Vegeta let his own sigh of relief, waited a few minutes, and then stood. After a few minutes of assurance, he stealthily clicked off the begotten lights, slid into bed, and curled around his mate not making a sound. His deep scowl faded to a lighter one as the two drifted off together for the first time in weeks.