Strange New World, That Has Such Creatures In It

Sunny Days Chapter 10

A new wind was coming from the mountains, cooler with the first hints of winter's frost. Vegeta lay back in the grass, supposedly keeping an eye on the children but really watching the clouds go by. Jalen was five today, and he'd rather let the brat run around with the other children than spend the whole day inside studying. He'd accepted long ago that Kigeta had a wicked sense of humor and had only put those history books there to torment the princes.

On his right, Trunks had fallen asleep curled up in a patch of what might have passed for clover back on Earth. His purple hair spread over the tiny violet flowers as he slept, and his tail tip flicked once in awhile over his stomach. Vegeta studied him for a moment. He was only a few months into his pregnancy now, but even so he'd been ordered to stay on Vegetasei. The instant transmissions across the galaxy had to wait until he gave birth, but Trunks hadn't seemed to mind so much. It gave him time to study and plan out the new Saiyan spaceport. And sleep. The exotic prince slept more now than Vegeta and Gohan had during their pregnancies combined.

There was a scream from the field, and Vegeta rose up on his elbows to see what was wrong. He laughed despite himself. Raditz, having been roped into babysitting, was covered in five year olds, two of them glowing gold already. As the royal bodyguard fell over under their weight, Vegeta glanced to his left at Piccolo, meditating a foot off the ground, his cape unfurled behind him.

At first his meditations had been seen as odd by the other Saiyans, but after Gohan had explained what it was, Piccolo had been inundated with Saiyans wanting to learn how it was done. While one part of the populace either watched the brats, drilled with Bardock, or trained with the ones who had turned super, dozens of others could be found behind Piccolo, mimicking his posture and trying not to fall over as they hovered over the ground. Vegeta chuckled, remembering the first time Piccolo had turned around and found a handful of Saiyans mirroring him. At first he'd acted put upon, but then he'd walked among them, correcting their positions and generally teaching them the way he'd taught Gohan. What had really surprised everyone was how Turles had turned super in the middle of meditating. Then his classes had tripled in size.

"What are you laughing about, short shit?" Piccolo said, not bothering to open his eyes.

"Remembering the look on your face when half your class suddenly went gold." The thought made Vegeta laugh a little harder.

"Like a bunch of popcorn," Piccolo said. "Makes sense, though, if they're working through memories of hell while they meditate."

"Mm."

Piccolo let out a sigh and settled on the grass, watching the newest generation play and squash Raditz. His own child ran around with them, Jalen's constant companion. His hair was spiky like Gohan's and he had all the facial features of a Saiyan, but his hair was a dark moss green, his skin was a light jade and his ears were slightly pointed. At first he thought the boy would be ostracized, but the worst that had happened was that his brat couldn't get away with anything. He'd raid the orchards or skip his lessons with the heir, but he just couldn't blend with the other children. All the victim had to say was "he's green" and they knew who was the culprit.

"I think Pike and Jalen are trying to sneak off again," he said.

Vegeta frowned and followed Piccolo's look. Sure enough, the two princes were making their way off the field, heading towards the swamps. With a shake of his head, Vegeta raised his hand and shot a tiny blast into the dirt at Jalen's feet. The boy froze and glanced at his teza, who motioned back with the rest of the children. With a growl Vegeta could almost hear, Jalen and Pike both stomped back and took out their frustration on Raditz.

"Pike's such a bad influence," Vegeta sighed.

"My brat's not the one with your attitude."

"It's not Pike's fault. He's just not ripe yet."