The Saiyajin Pet

Chapter 1: Contract for an Exotic

Vegeta gawked and choked in shock, unable to find words to make sense of the scene before him. His natural cynicism and indignation quickly resurfaced though, in a more muted way.

"What– I– What the hell is this? This is a... man– isn't it? Some sort of trick... What is he supposed to be?"

Enjoying Vegeta's discomfort, Count D walked leisurely over to stand beside the animal, and offered it his hand. The beast nuzzled his palm in a gesture of greeting.

"This," he said plainly, "is a Saiyajin. His name is Kakarot. Until recently he lived in the jungle, in the cloud forests of South America. There is only a handful of his kind left in the world, and of this particular breed, he is the very last. They are majestic, powerful creatures with savage instincts, yet are highly intelligent, patient, and resourceful. You may come closer to inspect him, sir, he will not harm you."

Vegeta suddenly realized that he'd been keeping his distance and subsequently strode up to within ten feet of the beast. Scowling, he shook off his initial discomfort from the saiyajin's penetrating stare.

"This is crazy, I've never heard of anything like him, no one has! There's never even been any monster sightings by backwoods inbreds or old legends of something like him, I–"

Vegeta's brow furrowed as he remembered the wonders Hollywood could do with makeup and latex. "How do I know that isn't some elaborate costume– and that this isn't some prank for an asinine TV show– putting one over on the rich twit?!" he shot at the manager, wonder giving way to fury in record time.

"I assure you, sir, there is no trick," he said, feeling slightly insulted. "My shop is the most respected in Chinatown, as is my reputation. Come and examine him up close, please, to allay your concerns. Here."

Vegeta was surprised to see the saiyajin calmly extend an arm for inspection. He approached warily, and realized as he stood before him just how large the creature really was. The sensation was similar to observing tigers on television, and then appreciating their true size at a chance to see them up close. Vegeta peered closely at his smirking face and yellow eyes, inspected his arm and hand where bare skin met fur, then pinched up a fold of furred skin on his forearm and tugged hard, reminiscent of a child tugging on a department store Santa's beard. The saiyajin gave no indication of pain except for a slight narrowing of his eyes.

Vegeta straightened slowly, overwhelmed. "Shit. He... he does seem real. That's– that's un-fucking-believable. But–"

Vegeta froze as he suddenly realized the saiyajin's tail was coiled around his neck. The creature drew him closer, up to his face, until their noses were millimeters apart. Then he began delicately sniffing the whole of his face, hair, neck and shoulders. Vegeta could feel the moist heat of his breath, smell the exotic musk of his pelt and skin. He quickly came to his senses, however, breaking out of his wide-eyed stupor and jerking away from Kakarot in a huff. The saiyajin sat back, his eyes and smile much more gentle and welcoming now. He finally broke his stare to throw a look at the count, grabbing his hand briefly in the process. The shopkeeper tittered in amusement.

"You inspected him, so that was his turn to inspect you, it's only fair! You are quite fortunate sir; the saiyajin seems quite taken with you. I would not be able to sell him to you otherwise."

Vegeta puffed with his usual arrogance. "Of course he likes me. An animal like this respects power. But just how can you tell what he thinks of me?"

"A simple matter sir. The saiyajin himself told me as much."

"Wha? You– you're saying he can speak?"

"Not vocally as you or I do sir, but through a kind of mind-voice. All you need do is take his hand, and you will be able to converse with him. Please, try it."