Acting "Civilized"

They had landed without much fanfare despite the vessel they arrived in. Apparently since the storms had abated some time ago it wasn’t uncommon for the wealthy to come visit the world of Konats from all across the universe, some coming to witness the culture, others to try the cuisine, some simply to try and plunder the tombs and old cities that littered the surface. Jagaimo hadn’t even bothered to give false names on their arrival and the clerk had seemed completely disinterested in them other than to raise an eyebrow and crane their neck at the massive Saiyan that disembarked with her. With papers in order they had simply left the port and travelled where they wished.

Jagaimo had taken inspiration from the local dress, falling back on her training from the academy to try and blend in when on a new world. The robes had been purchased swiftly from a vendor just outside the port, the man's wife showing her how to best adjust the material so it would flow over her form. The material was light and breathable, almost like a robe and cloak in one get up, with a shawl that swooped round over her mane of hair, leaving most of it exposed, before laying over the top of her head and settling down under chin. Like her companion she still wore her battle boots, the only outward sign that she had possibly served with the military.

“They survived a civil war, magical storms and isolation for decades, don’t be so quick to only judge strength by your own standards.”

She smiled up at him despite the words sounding like she was chastising him. She knew what he meant, she could feel them all around her. A single Saiyan Corp could likely take and hold an entire region of this world against powers like this, although she doubted the Konats Premier would stand for an invasion. She’d heard little about the leader but knew, if only by rumour, that they were on par with many of the strongest fighters she’d encountered so far…and that she had some very strong friends. But they weren’t here to invade or cause problems. She glanced over to the giant beside her and shook her head, pulling a small scarf from one of the many folds of her robe.

“Stop messing with it, you're going to rub your wrist raw. Here.”

She moved her hand, fingers sliding the scarf between his wrist and the strange material of the band, looping it round so it created a softer barrier between his skin and the metal. It had surprised her when he’d reached for the band himself and snapped it into place, knowing from past conversations his thoughts on those who hid their true power from others. That he chose to do this to himself said a lot about what might have been going on in his head and between them.

Her only trip to Konats had been a brief encounter in the arena for a tournament that had lasted all of one match before she’d bundled herself back into her pod and headed home but that had been on the other side of the world from what she was made to understand. This city was something else, an amalgamation of the sleek Tuffle style designs mixed with the strange and decorative flair that Earthlings seemed to favour. Had the Konatians visited both worlds some time in the past? It would make sense that the influences had come from somewhere.

Jagaimo was about to say something about the vastness of the forest and how strange it was to see so much green in one place when Lottus spoke and she found herself shaking her head slowly beneath the shawl, a smile still on her lips as they walked,

“We’d just repeat the mistakes of the past, sure we’d have a new home but for how long? How long before they band together and rebel? How long before they come up with a weapon we can’t counter? We thought the Tuffles would be an easy conquest yet they stopped us in our tracks…we made them fear us so much they became willing to poison their own world just to be rid of us. It might be the Saiyan way, but it doesn’t make it the right way. I’d rather we were respected than feared.”

She cocked her head to one side as she looked at him, and then slide her arm through his, hugging herself to his side, chuckling as she spoke,

“But it's nice to hear you're thinking about ‘our’ people instead of just yourself for a change.”

"Eight thousand huh? Seems pretty puny for such a big guy..."

She poked him in the ribs with a finger from her free hand as she kept her other one wrapped around his arm at his side, smiling up at him before looking around at the sights along where they walked, people barely paying them a second glance, a few looks at the massive Saiyan but nothing more. Without his power shining a light on every action it looked as though even a lone Saiyan like Lottus could move around unnoticed...well mostly unnoticed. Many people still gave the huge warrior a wide berth despite the unassuming manner they had both adopted.

“Two years ago I couldn't have imagined ever being as strong as i am now, or having the friends i have now…it's just insane…from the very lowest to…well…all this now. And you.”

Jagaimo gave a warm smile and pulled the shawl around her head, adjusting a little and smoothing out the lines of her robe, doing a pretty good job of looking like so many other tourists to the world trying to blend in and be like the locals. The clothes were surprisingly comfortable and so different to the standard garb of the average Saiyan back home, a look Lottus at her side was doing a fine job of showing off.

“And I'm sure you have but that doesn’t mean everything always needs to be you toughing it out like some stoic soldier. Some comfort won’t kill you. Just look at Zuqetta after all. She practically pampers herself and she’s still one of the toughest fighters around bar a handful i can think of. Not everything has to be torture all the time.”

Jagaimo chuckled when she looked at the big man stumbling over the words of his reply before his hand settled over hers for a moment, her eyes on his when he looked down.

“You know you're cute when you don’t know what to say right?”

The flush in his face made her back out a laugh before she quickly covered her mouth, mirth dancing in her brown eyes.

“Sorry, I'm sorry…it's just…if people saw you like this now…you might lose that reputation about being feared real quick! Who knew you could even blush like that?!”

She watched him catch himself and quickly shift the direction of conversation off of himself, using her state of well being as a shield to deflect everything back to her while they strolled the streets of this strange city.

“You have to ask? Even before all this you know I can always eat! Anything you recommend? And no, not to worry…it's not twins…”

She slipped her hand down his arm and entwined her fingers with his, her face perfectly straight as she smiled up at him swinging his arm with hers.

“It's quintuplets.”

Jagaimo laughed loud at the expression on the mans face when she teased him about becoming the father of a whole brood, smiling when he did the same and thumped himself mirthfully in the stomach. Eyes had turned to them but no one approached or done much more than roll their eyes at the boisterous noise from the Saiyan's. Stereotypical Monke's no doubt crossed a few minds but seemed to dare say as much. Jagaimo squeezed the mans hand as it swung beside them, walking with no where particular in mind through the streets of Nasibu city.

"You should laugh more and scowl less you know. You get these cute dimples right...here...when your really happy."

She lifted up onto her toes, arm outstretched just to reach his face and poke him in the cheek, and then just barely being able to get a hand to the man's face. Kai's no wonder he was always so easy to pick out as a target on the battlefield. Even outside of the Saiyan's she doubted there were many fighters of his calibre that could match the man physically. When he spoke about names and what mattered she squeezed his hand hard, pulling the big Saiyan to a stop and the floated slowly off the ground until her eyes met his, fingers slipping out of his touch. She traced her index finger across his jaw as she floated there in the middle of the street looking at him, shaking her head, even though she presented him with a warm smile.

"What label can they tar you with now? How about the only one that matters anymore. How about a Father?"

She lifted up just a little more, hands either side of his face and placed a light kiss onto his forehead, smiling widely before she lowered herself back to the ground and pulled his hand to hers once more, pulling his broad hand to rest on her belly...right...there. Thump. Thump...There was a mischievous smile on her lips as the baby kicked and she looked up at the man beside her.

"You know, I think she's going to be stronger than her father some day...he is the most feared man in the galaxy after all now isn't he?"

Jagaimo continued to tease him a little as she felt her daughter kick a few more times before settling, slowly releasing his hand while he looked around and then sniffed the air. She couldn't help but shake her head. Saiyan's all seemed to be able sniff out food no matter where they were but Lottus seemed to be able to find anything...and anyone he'd apparently met before just by their scent alone. She toyed with this herself on the ship as they'd travelled here but had never been able to fool it despite being able to approach him silently, she still had yet to take him by surprise. Perfume's, engine oils...nothing worked...she'd even pumped the whole air handling system of the ship full of some scented oil and covered herself in the same fragrance...still no joy. It was quite remarkable, but she'd told him one day she'd figure out a way to beat it.

She raised an eyebrow as she looked up at him,

"Fighting pits huh? Why am I not surprised...that does sound good mind...is that the same place they held that grand tournament a few years back? Although that was less underground and more an open arena..."

She paused for a moment as her mind caught up with what Lottus was saying, her mouth opening and closing a few times as comprehension hit her. She knew that woman. Back in the palace, when Lottus had been badly hurt, she'd been assigned to look after him and make sure he didn't run riot through the place once he woke up and healed enough to get around.

"I met her once...she gave me the impression she would have done anything for you, there was a look in her eye that went past admiration...like those cult worshippers that started appearing after you transformed for the first time into that other form."

She set her jaw as her mouth closed again, listening as Lottus told her more about what he had been through than he had ever shared before, and reasoning out why he did what he did. Jagaimo could understand what he had been thinking, it was often the way with strong warriors, they hated anything that could be used against them, that would take a battle out of their hands to manipulated into a contest that wasn't solely about strength and skill. She didn't have to agree with it, but she could understand it. He could have saved her, dismissed her back to Plant, refused to travel with her. But in the end Lottus had done what he had decided was the best course of action. She could understand it, but she didn't have to like it. And she couldn't stop herself from saying as much. Her hand slipped from his and hung at her side.

"She deserved better than a slow death that's true, but she also deserved better than any kind of death if there was a chance for her. If you had this man dead to rights, beaten to a violent as you say he was, you didn't need to end her. You could have brought her home. Friends and allies are not a weakness, they do not make you any less able than you are now, they all deserve a chance at life, a chance to be saved..."

Jagaimo held up a hand and took a deep breath in, steadying her breathing and then giving another small smile, this one looking a little more forced than before.

"We'll remember her appropriately when we return home, for everything she did for you. You will damn well remember her."

She pushed it from her mind, she knew they would always have conversations like this, but she wasn't going to let something like this ruin things between them, not today, not now. He had a past she knew held demons, but he had a future that didn't need to be those things. He always did what he thought was best but like many, his thoughts about what was best didn't always match what others might think and often came across as just selfish. He was already different, she could tell but there was always that beast hidden there inside that she doubted would ever stop looking out for itself. But with friends to call on maybe it wouldn't make him act so often before he actually thought it through.

The small woman pulled him by the hand when she grabbed it again, dragging hi in the direction he inclined his head, moving through the bustling crowds, most of who moved out of their way when they realised what was casting a shadow over them. Pretty soon she could smell the meat as well that her companion had hinted would lie in this direction and he wasn't wrong. It certainly was meat, although she couldn't identify it, the smells that filled the street around the restaurant were mouth watering. Her appetites had changed over the months but the amount of food she consumed had only risen and risen as she got closer to the last days. Smells that had bothered her in the first few weeks now did nothing but make her stomach rumble, and the herbal remedies the Tuffle Jujube had recommended to her had certainly helped back then.

It was strange to have Lottus help her into her seat the way Nobles often did with their wives and she had to stifle a giggle when he squeezed himself into one of the chairs himself, clearly not built for a frame like his. Her hand moved over the surface of the table, carefully at first as if it might fracture under her fingertips but she soon found whatever method they had used in its construction imparted a reasonable amount of strength. At least enough to bear her weight when she pushed down on it with her elbows to rest her chin in her hands.

"You don't need to apologise to me for being what you are. But be dammed sure I'll let you know things you DO need to apologise for when they happen..."

She smiled sweetly through her fingers and then pulled the menu off the table, reclining as best she could in the chair, letting the breeze blow around them under the awnings.

"Now what looks good I wonder..."

She tapped her chin idly, lifting her eyes from the menu and looking into the black orbs that stared at her from across the crystal surface. The Saiyan woman gave a grunt, tossing the menu back onto the table and shifted her weight in the seat. Picking through her thoughts for a place to begin...and when she couldn't think of anywhere other than the beginning to start she started there.

"I'm a child of the Academy just like you, raised in the military machine...practically born into it. You know my gift? Well when I was born no one did. I was born without any power to register to my name so my parents deemed me unfit to inherit theirs and left me in the tubes to be collected by the orphan collectors. A few days before they arrived my gift faded and they were able to detect my birth power but as you know with our class system, by then it was to late. Low Class and nothing else. But I never got much stronger, barely at a reading of 500 battle power by my mid teens. Nothing changed through the war, I fought, I survived, I killed but as everyone else grew I never got any stronger."

She smiled at the waitress that came over, admiring the gold coloured jewellery that covered and hung from her pointed ears almost to the point of staring as she ordered some drinks, some simple water and a tea she'd heard about, ordering for them both before continuing.

"I was taken from service, inducted into the Scout Corps...do you know how embarrassing it is to scout planets and be told to only ever watch and never engage? To call in others whenever you find a target or a world that fills the criteria of the mission? Everyone always looked down on me through those years and I won plenty of black eyes and broken bones trying to stand up for myself. And then something changed...I met some people, people had surpassed everything they had ever been told they could be. I saw Mint fight Taori in a bar...and he was terrifying. I hid behind a wall and watched...I couldn't move forward no matter how hard I tried, but I couldn't run either, something wouldn't let me go. It was a promise to never be that girl again and another meeting in the wastelands that started my growth to where I am now."

When the drinks came she poured the steaming blue liquid from the crystal teapot into two cups that looked like they'd shatter if you sneezed on them, breathing in the scent that rose from the cup and then taking a sip with her eyes closed. She didn't have the words for the taste, but it was good, sending a warmth through her body and helping muscles relax as if massaged by magic. Jagaimo opened her eyes slowly, the tension seemingly eased from her shoulders as she settled back into the chair.

"The Brawl Hole...that came later...the old man that ran the place used to look out for me, he was harsh by fair. quick with his advice and his curses all in the same breath. He got a knife in the gut for cheering out loud when I destroyed the throne in the Palace the first time. A knife in the guts because he expressed his own opinions and thought what I was doing was right. Turns out it was all a joke..."

She laughed for a moment and wiped the corner of her eye with a knuckle, drying the skin on the fabric of her outfit.

"I cleaned the place up, couldn't let it go to waste, couldn't forget him and the rest who died because I made stupid decisions. And Zuqetta...she's a complicated one...we're complicated...but I once promised to carry the weight of the Kingdom on my shoulders for her if she asked me to. I trust her that much with our peoples future...it wasn't always like that but I do now. The Palace Guard...well I think that was just her trying to be funny..."

Jagaimo wiped her eyes again with both hands, looking at Lottus and laughing before wiping them on her robe and picking up the menu again, scanning over it with a deep breath that made her chest shudder, eyes somewhat redder than they had been before. A grin split her face despite the watery eyes and she shook a finger at the giant man across the table from her.

"Be very careful what you say about me next Mister, because we both know who won our last match up..."

Jagaimo gave him a quick wink despite everything. She couldn't help it...she just liked to tease him so much...

"You know full well what I mean, don't try and twist this around to your advantage somehow."

She sipped the tea again, savouring the strange taste and trying but failing to pick out any familiar ingredients. Zukuro would have known instantly what was being brewed here but as for her she could tell it was something, possibly floral, possibly medicinal...but beyond that what was boiled in the water was out of her breadth of knowledge. Her gaze flicked back to the giant Saiyan stuffed into a small chair opposite her.

"And we know I won last time as well so don't pretend like you scored some kind of victory."

Jagaimo let a hand rest on her belly as she leant back in the seat, reclining against the backrest and letting her eyes wander, watching the world go by in a few rare moments of silence as they both sat in the small cafe.

"I'm a lot of things Lottus but i try not to be a liar. You asked for the truth about me and my past so I told you, there's nothing there to hide, no dark shame. I'll always tell you if you ask. My birth is recorded in the logs of Sadala but my parents are scrubbed from the records, i couldn't find them that way even if i wanted to. They can both rot in the Hells for all I care, I've nothing to prove to either of them, not now not ever. And while you might not care about the Kingdom and its fate, many of your friends do and your cousin is tied intimately to its path. You won't be able to avoid caring about something forever you know."

She was looking into his eyes now, holding his gaze when he chuckled with regards to her parents and the thought of if they could see her now. She hadn't thought about them in so long now. When she was younger sure she'd considered trying to find them once the war was done but as the years had passed they became less and less important to her. They hadn't wanted her in the first place that much was obvious so why should she give thought to them and what could have been. Lottus was right, if they could see her now then perhaps things would be different, maybe they could be a family again...but it would be too little too late. She had gotten to where she was now through her own strength and merits, she didn't need them to tell her she was good enough or that she'd made something of herself, she could see that herself. And besides...she had a new family to look after

Jagaimo nodded as Lottus's words brought her out of her own little daydream, the glaze of the past in her eyes slipping away, replaced by her usual sharp focus.

"I met her once...when you first changed...i don't think i'd ever fought someone so strong on my own. She almost killed me...Strange isn't it, how the ones that are discarded are the ones pushing the Kingdom and our people into the future? I never found out what happened to her after that battle...after the..."

She spoke the words carefully, knowing what they meant to the giant across the table from her.

"After the Destron...she just vanished..."

She shook her head as her voice drifted off. She didn't need to relive it, they all knew what had happened that day, it was well documented now and many of the rumours had been confirmed. Cato had attacked him with Destron in an effort to slow him down, but all it had done was piss the big guy off and leave the other Saiyan warrior with some horrible injuries that never seemed to heal just right. But his next words drew out a laugh from her lips before she could continue her train of thought down that path,

"HAH, I might have knocked you out with a lucky shot but I had no hand in killing you, I don't think I'd have even been strong enough to take you down if you'd seen me coming. To think you thought it was me for a while...how did that make you feel? After everything to be killed by a nobody, not Nasu, not Taori, not Amara...to think it was just me?"

She smiled as she finished sipping the tea from her cup, giving another soft chuckle when Lottus spoke about Hell and being dead, a subject that fascinated her but something that she didn't feel in the mood to try and delve into right now. With so many other things going on, dying wasn't at the top of her list of things to experience, especially not before her daughter joined the land of the living. Instead thoughts turned to their child and about the strength of the baby yet to be born. Born into a world and society that wouldn't be trying to place a value on them dependent on power alone, but a society the new Queen, Lottus's cousin, Zuqetta was trying to build anew. They sat in silence again, Lottus looking somewhat awkward in the small chair, but more than that looking uncomfortable somehow whenever he looked at her for to long and it was only after the waitress had come along and dropped off several plates of steaming food that he finally garnered the courage once more to speak up. His initial words caused the woman's eyebrow to raise in question, wondering where he was leading with his words.

Ah...well she hadn't been expecting that of all things. She'd heard of the things he was talking about, that the King and his consort had been husband and wife, married was the word the Earthlings used, bonded or bound another she'd heard used before in some of her travels. She could help but smile at him, this man that could face armies and yet cower and squirm when he needed to use more than his fists to explain himself. She knew he was a smart man even if he rarely showed it to others outside of the battlefield and this had clearly been something that was on his mind for a while now.

"Lottus Wastewanderer...Rexslayer...Worldbreaker...you could have any name you wanted and it wouldn't matter to me...you are Lottus and you will always be Lottus. Husband, father, grandfather...they are the names I want to hear you called, everything else is of little importance. But you are a creature of habit and I wouldn't change you for any power in the universe, so I will ask a promise of you instead, a promise to her."

Jagaimo slid a hand across the table, leaning awkwardly forwards to take hold of one of his hands and hold it tight,

"You will promise to protect her no matter what, above all others including me, to defend her from any that would do her harm so that she can live without the wars that took so many of those we knew away from us. You will protect her above all your thoughts of revenge. That will be your promise to her..."

She smiled into his eyes,

"Truth. I will speak it to you and I will never lie to you. Loyalty. I will stand with you, against all others who would harm you if need be, as long as she is safe. Love. Nothing is stronger than my love for her, and nothing, not even death will stop me from finding you should you bring her harm even once. That is my love for her and that is my promise to you. My vow if you will. Is that enough for you?"

She gripped his hand tightly, then slowly released it, letting her fingers slide over the surface of the crystal table, just a short distance from his own hand.

"Would you still have me call you Husband?"

Jagaimo rested a hand on the giant Saiyan's head as he pressed a forehead to her swollen stomach, looking down at him kneeling there...so tall that if he stopped stooping over he'd likely be as tall as she was sat down. It was a strange action to see from him, a man who could make whole armies shake and cities evacuate at the mere mention of his approach, pledge to protect someone either of them had yet to meet, brought to his knees by an unborn child and the promise of a different future in store for him.

"A bold promise, but I know you Lottus, you're not one given to lies or false boasts. So I accept your promise and will hold you to it, as you will hold me to mine. She will not grow up as we did. I will love you as you are, and she will live knowing she is loved too."

When he finally did stop stooping and rose up fully, even on one knee he was able to place his hands on the side of her face, his forehead touching hers as she inclined her head to meet him. His hands covered the entire sides of her skull and she held back a shudder at the thought of the power contained in this man and what he could do with those hands alone.

“Then I think these promises are enough for me. It is an Earthling tradition I like. Like Easter and the hunting of the egg laying, sharp toothed monster.”

She moved her head before he pulled away, hands over his for just a moment to kiss him, a smile left on her lips as he pulled away, the smile turning to an ill hidden smirk as the giant Saiyan stuffed himself back into the chair that had clearly been designed with smaller occupants in mind.

“I won’t ask you to support the Kingdom, I know you can’t and I know why, but I will fight for it if i have to, for her, for Zuqetta…I can’t walk away, not without giving your cousin a chance to make a difference to Saiyan’s everywhere.”

She grinned at his comments, returning the lopsided smirk he sent her way,

“You mean like the stowaway? These young ones…”

She laughed. When had she stopped being one of the young ones?!

“They idolize you and what you stand for, for good or ill, your unbridled power and the fact you did what no one has done in generations. You teach them you know. at the Academy…we don’t have many living legends hanging around you know.”

Her eyes danced, hand smoothing out the front of her outfit with a long smile, before she nodded as the food was laid out before them. Her other hand moved, pulling a bowl of something steaming over in front of her, letting the scent of it fill her nostrils with a deep breath. Everything smelt so good, and whatever nausea had plagued her in the past seemed to have abated thanks to time and the herbs Jujube had described to her.

“Well then…Husband…we should eat.”

"The business runs itself, Kinoko could keep that place going blindfolded from another planet. I'm just there to help out these days and help settle any real disputes that might flare up. Most people know not to cause trouble. Kinoko's old but hells if she doesn't know something about everyone and how to use it. I could just up and leave and she'd just send me my cut every month. Shrewd and loyal that one...still won't tell me what she did during the war though, I know she was there but she never talks about what her role was on the field...even now her records are sealed...even to me in my other role."

Jagaimo smiled, relaxing into the chair and just watching the giant across from her eating, inspecting each plate before he shovelled it into his mouth without much second guessing. It was easy to see what he liked and didn't by the little movements of his mouth and the adjusting of his eyes. She found the more time she spent with him the more she could understand what was going on with him...at least on the surface. He didn't open up about much but he had shared more than she'd expected since they're first meeting and her decision to tell him about their daughter now felt even more like it had been the right one.

"The guards were just as corrupt as everything else that's one with wealth alone. Upset more than one family when I shuffled the entire roster and made everyone try out for their roles again. They're not the strongest...but they're smart, strategic and above all they're loyal. They serve because they believe in what Zuqetta is doing and the survival of the Kingdom matters to them, not because she's helped them gain power and wealth. Most are no better off than they were before but they will see change slowly. And they will be better trained. To many holes in the palace security with the old guard, easy to buy off. This new guard, MY guard know the consequences of what will happen to them should it become known that they took even one zeni to step away from their post. They're not perfect but they damn well will be as close as I can get them. Zuqetta wants advancement on skill and talent, well so do I. Power means nothing if you can't apply it properly. And so its not just strength that makes up the guard now."

She finished the drink in front of her, eyes moving over the plates while she sat upright, moving a few pieces to the plate set out in front of her, tasting a few here and there,

"Zuqetta doesn't need us, the guard...not really, but she knows what it means to people to see them and she makes them feel important, like they can make a difference. She knows just what buttons to push to instil that lasting loyalty and enforce that trust. I mean...just look at us!"

She smiled, although there was no real joy behind this one as Lottus laughed loud and almost joked about the kind of power he'd unleashed on Hatchi back then. His power had almost destroyed the city and could have very well have wrecked the planet had he not been kept in check by Nasu and the others that fought against him. The first in a generation...but not the last. More and more Saiyan's were achieving those greater heights...Zuqetta, Zuci, Vocado, Gira...powerful friends...powerful enemies.

"What was it like? To be pushed so far that you unlocked something Saiyan's have been talking about for generations? What was it like to hold so much power in your hand that the whole planet quaked whenever you and Nasu exchanged blows?"

She'd been there of course, in the background fighting the small battles and watching from a distance as his light bathed the entire region from the sky, like  glowing sun hanging above the city. The outpouring of power had stopped her dead in her tracks as a terror had ripped through her heart in that moment. So much strength under the control of someone like Lottus...it had been a challenge just to get her feet moving again. Thankfully his rage had been focused on the only other being that could go toe to toe with him in that instances...but what if he hadn't been there?

Jagaimo had considered the transformation herself many times, even going so far s to try and force the change in training, pushing herself to the edge of exhaustion but nothing had happened. She still seemed unable to tap into whatever it was that separated her and the other Super Saiyan's. Part of her knew deep down that her own fear might be holding her back, how could you embrace power if you were afraid of it...afraid of what you might do with it if you lost control, if no one could talk you down...if you weren't strong enough to stop it overwhelming you...

"Were you ever afraid of what you could become?"

Her fork pushed some kind of vegetable around the plate slowly, sliding it through the rich sauce that had accompanied it, before she lifted it to her lips and bit into it, tasting the flesh of whatever it was...sweet and earthy at the same time. The rest vanished, giving him time to speak, her mind trapping every word and every look on his face in her mind so she could think back on them later when she needed to.

A laugh escaped her,

"I don't think they'd flock to you for academic achievements my friend, nor for your ability to fix an attack pod."

She put the for down, resting her chin on her hands and looking him in the eyes across the table,

"Lottus, you are what they want to be. You are what the next generation is going to try and emulate...not the destroyer, but the Super Saiyan...they don't want to learn how to control their Oozaru forms...have you not looked around lately? We have less and less of our cadets taking the form...they learn to suppress it, something Vocado taught me, to contain that Oozaru power within their own frame. Its a shadow of what you could teach them but it means things are different. Our soldiers, our warriors...they don't want to be mindless killing machines...they want control of their power, control of their own destinies. They want what you have...you could help the instructors...help teach them to suppress the rage the Oozaru brings out in them and direct it...and in time maybe teach them how they can push to achieve what you did...alone."

She picked up a small spoon and sliced through a piece of delicate looking cake topped with berries and swirling cream before popping it into her mouth with a sigh...it was very good.

"You really should consider it. And it would keep you close...to her...and me..."