Eternal Pride

A loud thud echoed, and the entire house shook a second time, the result of Vegeta's fist against the bathroom wall as cold water came down on him in an attempt to calm his anger and shame.

It wasn't working if the shaking of his body and redness of his face indicated that much.

Dammit... he then chose to take a deep breath as he retrieved his hand that strangely was unable to leave even a mark on this wall, only as it had been with the door he had slammed hard enough to turn a mountain into a pile of rubble, raising questions about what this house was made of, but he preferred to focus on what outraged him. It happened again.

The memory of a similar situation was there, as clear as the day that shone under this planet's sun, that also couldn't be more familiar.

A weak girl who seemed to have no fear of death provoked him in an indecent way.

I'm one of the most powerful beings in the universe. Of course, they didn't know that, Vegeta acknowledged. However, they know that I'm more powerful than they are; that I could kill them if I so desired. He had made this clear in his first meeting with them in the cafeteria. Yet that girl dared to do that to me!

Bioelectricity circulated his body as his eyes glowed purple for no more than a moment, and drops of water vanished from existence upon contact with his skin.

Vegeta was angry, almost livid!

Every fiber of his being wanted to walk out that door and make that girl shiver in fear upon seeing what he was really capable of!

Better yet, destroy this planet that could bring up so many painful memories!

At the same time, however...

His violent and chaotic aura vanished along with his negative emotions as he remembered the smile of that little girl who had presented him with a childish drawing, the result of her innocent admiration for a monster like him.

It reminded him of the bravery shown by his son, who was able to smile like that and admire him as the strongest being in existence when he was nowhere near that level.

There was also the confident, calm, and emotional anger of that princess that reminded him of his wounded pride; in her refined form and quest for power to become all that her blood had destined her to be and more.

Then there was the sassy blonde whose pretentious attitude had managed to make him nervous for more than one reason.

That teasing of hers was reminiscent of something Bulma did to him more often than he would like to admit.

Even worse, it was something that happened when she barely knew him!

There was some wariness about his power and blood-soaked past as a conqueror under Freeza, but her boldness was stronger, and Vegeta, unfortunately, was raised amidst massacres and with few, if any, females with characteristics that could resemble those of a Saiyan around him.

In short, he was weak against these kinds of vulgar provocations, and that was something he could never overcome as long as he lived.

Things might be different in some aspects, but in general, in the short time he had been on this planet, everything seemed to be the same as when he was on Earth with his family, and that took the best out of him because he didn't know what to do; how to deal with this.

Happy memories and situations that made him even smile happened after months on this day, easing the burden on his turbulent heart. However, it was memories that brought with them sadness that were undeniably there to leave him in this current state of conflict and anger.

This world was one in which no one knew him, about his actions, past, or current situation. At the same time, it was one that reminded him of home, of that which was lost, and of the clown to be killed.

What to do then?

"Whis, why did you choose this world?" Vegeta sighed and looked up among the drops of water that reminded him of the rain that always helped him to reflect when he needed it the most, almost as if he were speaking directly to that enigmatic angel. "Would this be a test to overcome my affliction or..." his eyes closed as he remembered the last words both his mentor and Bulma's father had for him, "to try to get me to move on?"

It was a possibility, but at the same time, it sounded like paranoia.

Whis was the most powerful being in the universe, but could he really influence actions and events like that?

Had Vegeta met with those specific girls by some kind of machination of his meddlesome mentor?

He wouldn't go that far...would he? The doubt was there to haunt him, and Vegeta didn't know what to think of it. Whis has no reason to care that much about me.

He might be his mentor, but that was it, nothing more.

Vegeta wasn't sure, but he believed that even Beerus didn't mean much to that angel, especially when even the death of his brother, Merus, didn't seem to matter.

Except for Bulma.

The friendship that those two shared was beyond Vegeta, especially since he had no friends...

Inevitably, that clown with a stupid grin would pop up in his thoughts to try to contradict him.

No matter how much he wanted to deny it, Kakarot was the closest thing to a friend Vegeta had ever had in his life, and maybe that was exactly why he was in this state.

Remotely letting himself open up to anyone again was unthinkable for fear of going through something similar again.

In that case, none of this must have been planned, he concluded, deciding to put his paranoia and internal conflict aside, and just face the situation like the Saiyan warrior he was, with no more excuses. So nothing more fitting than to have some revenge. An almost vicious smile, more common than one could imagine, was there to bring some psychotic fantasies to life, but Vegeta would just make that blonde beg for his favor. Yes, if she wants to learn under my tutelage, she will have to prove herself worthy.

She would have to prove that she was similar to his late wife in more than just personality, as well as in determination and dedication.

Otherwise, she would never know what it was like to wield true power.

-----

Outside, there was an uneasy silence in the air that was not only worse than the indignation visible on Weiss's face.

The girl was angry and with reason.

Not only was Vegeta taking a long time to return, but just now they could swear they saw the house shaking to the point that they felt it on the ground!

Normally, something like that would be disregarded as a seismic tremor or something dangerous like that, but twice in a row after making that prince mad? It couldn't be a coincidence.

Especially when Vale didn't have things like natural disasters.

Vegeta was angry and was even more powerful than one could imagine, leaving Weiss too anxious to stand still.

Even more, her anger couldn't be contained when facing the cause of this situation.

"I swear on everything, Yang, if he sends us away, I'm going to drown you in that lake!" Weiss needed to let her indignation be known for more than her physical reaction, warning this stupid blonde who didn't seem to give a damn about what she did. Just when a unique chance like no other appeared for me!

She had even spoken up for this perverted girl so that she could also receive training after having proven herself undeserving because of her uncontrolled rage!

Unfortunately, that was only one defect of many.

Of course, Weiss wouldn't be a hypocrite to forget that if it weren't for Yang and her sinful willingness to go to that cafeteria after boys, girls, or whatever her preferences were, possibly all, this opportunity wouldn't even exist, but that didn't give her the right to ruin everything!

"Hmph, I want to see you try," was Yang's response to this little princess's threat. While she knew she had messed up, that didn't mean she cared enough to apologize. "Besides, Vegeta must be taking a hot bath right now, relieving some stress, if you know what I mean?"

Her look was more than suggestive, and it only fueled the indignation Weiss felt!

"I don't and I don't want to!" a lie reflected in the redness of her face, Weiss knew, but that wasn't the point. "And that wouldn't be happening if you weren't so...so sinful!"

A modest way to call Yang a bitch, and the girl in question didn't know whether to be grateful for that consideration or offended by it.

"Whatever," she preferred not to get into a discussion, especially with Blake and her little sister glaring at her. Right, Ruby will also be affected by this.

She had sort of forgotten about that, and Blake was in the same boat as her, so it didn't really matter.

"I think you need to make a drawing for him, too!" Ruby didn't understand what they were talking about, only that Vegeta was not happy about her sister's suggestion. It seems that boys or men don't like to bathe with girls. Maybe that was why her father had warned them not to do anything like that in the first place. "That way, he won't be mad at you anymore!"

Probably.

It wasn't an exact science, but it worked several times with her father when she was done with all the sweets in the house, and Vegeta didn't seem like a bad man.

He was pretty strong, enough to make the whole property shake twice; he could scream loudly like a Ursa, sort of like Weiss when she was angry, which must be a princess/prince thing, but just as it was with her partner, Vegeta wasn't bad; Ruby could tell.

"An apology should be more than enough," Blake needed to give a more realistic and direct solution to this problem that she had completely disregarded just now because she was immersed in her adult writing. "After all, we are in his house, asking him to spend his time teaching us...or part of us, for the moment, and that may no longer be the case now that the hospitality offered has been disregarded by your harassment, Yang."

A situation that was extremely beneficial to her, Blake would admit, but never out loud.

Her dignity and appearance as the silent member of the team, mysterious and serious, were already on the line, so it was better not to give any reason to make that impression worse.

The truth, however, was that even Ruby had seen through this facade of hers.

After all, Blake was doing a pretty bad job of hiding this more...complicated side of her.

"Even you, Blake?!" Suddenly, Yang found herself cornered with these accusations and without a single ally by her side. "I thought you enjoyed that joke!"

This girl was smiling and almost giggling as she wrote on that Scroll of hers, a content that Yang very much wanted to know more about even if she needed to invade her friend's privacy later on; one that even declared her intention in wanting to participate in the race to see who could seduce Vegeta first!

"I don't know what you're talking about," Blake feigned innocence, promising that she would remember to bring flowers to the funeral of this clueless friend of hers. Don't worry, Yang. Your sacrifice won't be in vain!

In her honor, Blake would have Yang as a character in her book; a very bold one who tried to bite off more than she could chew...or swallow?

Without realizing it, she had yet another questionable inspiration and was writing again by disregarding the look Yang had as she stared at her.

"All right, you won!" Yang would be sure to make each of them regret this betrayal later. Except for Ruby. Her little sister had done or said nothing to deserve to have her hot bath sabotaged. "Nice friends you are...except Weiss, she's always been like that."

Someone who only thought about herself.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Weiss narrowed her eyes, almost rooting for an answer that would finally result in the fight she so desperately wanted to have. Then I'm going to make you regret it.

That and this would be the last fight she would have before she hopefully started training with Vegeta and learning about Ki.

That way, she would either finally get the victory she so desperately wanted or lose one last time before growing stronger to focus on surpassing Pyrrha and winning the Vytal Festival.

Either way, she would take out her anger and frustration on this girl for possibly ruining the opportunity of a lifetime.

That and be offended by her next words.

"It means you haven't changed at all." Yang, as always, was open to the challenge; the chance to put this girl in her place once and for all. "Even after all this time, you're still as arrogant as you were on the first day!"

Before, she had no problem with this attitude, even when this girl wanted to take her inferiority complex out on her little sister who became the leader, because Ruby had to learn to deal with this kind of thing on her own since Yang wouldn't be there to help her forever, but recently, Weiss was simply becoming unbearable.

Of course, Yang understood some of it, since she herself was a bit grumpy about what happened on that train and her defeat at the hands of that multicolored girl, but Weiss seemed to be every day on that day of the month ever since.

Even now, she was making a storm in a glass of water and giving Yang reason to feel anger towards her.

"It's not arrogance that I have, but pride in not wanting to lose anymore; those are two very different things." Weiss wasn't shaken by what was said, knowing that she had indeed changed for the better since entering Beacon, and smiled as she added, "But I suppose your brain is too small to understand that."

One last provocation was necessary to start this conflict, and Blake and Ruby knew what was coming.

"Okay, now you're dead!" Yang had had enough and was on fire, no longer caring about motives and logic, choosing to let her Ember Celica speak for her from then on! "Let's see you smile without a single tooth in your mouth! "

"Hmph, all I hear is barking," Weiss replied accordingly, having her Semblance flickering with a Glyph under her feet and Myrtenaster in hand. "Let's see you use that dirty tongue after I freeze it inside your mouth!"

The two were one step away from letting everything in their hearts out in the most direct and crude way possible, where Ruby and Blake were already moving to stop this from happening, when the door to the house finally opened to reveal the one they had been waiting for.

They all stopped in their tracks and didn't dare to move as silence returned to the compound as they understood what was happening.

As if offending Vegeta with that thoughtless provocation was not enough, Yang and Weiss almost started a fight in his home!

Maybe that was why the feeling of guilt had suddenly escalated inside them, but not as much as the air had grown thicker and heavier with the presence of this man.

Vegeta emerged without saying a word, dressed in a different set of clothes in his favorite blue, these being more appropriate for combat and which hugged his form in a way that didn't restrict his movements, just the way he liked it. His white combat boots were the only thing that made any noise as he stepped onto the grass with his deliberately slow steps, where not even the wind dared to blow, and every animal for more than a kilometer could be seen running away as if it were the prelude to a storm.

In reality, it was worse, way worse.

Unconsciously, three of the four girls took a step back from the intimidating, closed expression of this prince and the suffocating pressure that seemed to increase with every second, being even more than their erratic heartbeat.

From afar, one could see that Vegeta wasn't happy and was determined to show it in the worst way.

Then it happened.

Something that went beyond comprehension and that each of them would never forget as long as they lived.

As soon as he started walking towards them, it seemed as if the whole world had changed to match his mood.

In the skies, dark clouds appeared to block out the evening sun of a beautiful summer day when no rain was forecast for the next few days, much less anything resembling a storm.

In the next second, with one more step by this unknown prince, literal electricity created blue arcs of light across the ground before everything began to shake.

Their eyes widened at this, and each of them felt goosebumps rising as every fiber of their beings refused the mere notion that this was all real, believing it to be nothing more than an illusion!

Then everything went from bad to worse when hitherto non-existent winds came out of nowhere to almost knock them off balance as the trees on the property hung down and the lake churned more and more like a raging sea.

"W-what's happening?!" Weiss had to cover her eyes because of the force of the wind and dust, questioning what should be impossible. Is he really causing all this?!

The mere thought was ridiculous!

There was no way that a human being or a faunus could have such power, capable of affecting the weather itself!

As if to contradict her beliefs and limited knowledge, Vegeta took another step, and the tremor increased to the point where it was difficult to stand, with cracks like spider webs being created under his feet as the sparks of electricity became stronger, literally coming out of his body.

"Wh-what the hell?!" Yang was trembling as she stared directly in the eyes of that prince, who suddenly looked like a god of vengeance! This... is all of this happening just because of a joke?!

There was no other possible reason, and the mere notion of it was as insane as this growing catastrophe!

"Y-Yang, I think you'd better apologize!" Blake was also trembling with fear, almost unable to think logically and rationally in the face of so much power; struggling to stand upright and stop despair from taking over because of her instincts as a faunus. How is he doing all this?!

She knew ki was powerful, having seen Yang lose without being able to do anything before Vegeta flew off covered in an Aura so powerful it looked like flames, but this much?!

As if to answer her, Vegeta's eyes glowed sea-green and his hair became even spikier than before, now shimmering like gold, and a shockwave arose, accompanied by a roar to finally knock them off their feet as golden flames that represented power embedded in blue lightning exploded forward!

The resulting flash of light blinded them and almost made their hearts stop beating until they gradually recovered their vision to see something that could only be described as divine.

And a nightmare.

Vegeta stood there, covered in lightning flames, displaying his imposing form while his defined muscle mass glowed with the power of a divine warrior.

Weiss looked at this with conflict, admiring the power that exuded from this man's body like endless waves, and inevitably feeling small in comparison, as if she were nothing.

Was she even worthy of being in his presence, let alone coveting his training and attention? The answer only served to sink her heart even deeper into the darkness that her inferiority complex had created.

Blake had never seen or felt anything like this in her life; such a feeling of oppression capable of making all her instincts scream danger as her body refused to move when merely being conscious seemed to be the limit, and understanding that she had been naive in her declaration from before.

Trying to seduce this man and courting death was no different, something reflected in the reality before her.

Yang, on the other hand, wished she had been able to take Blake's advice and apologize. Better yet, to give Weiss reason for being angry with her for getting carried away in teasing this God whose power seemed to have no limits, and now she feared for her life, being unable to move as sweat dripped from her face and the air seemed to have vanished leaving nothing for her to breathe.

However, there was something she feared even more than her own death.

The death of her little sister, who was sometimes oblivious to fear and failed to read the situation when she needed it most.

"Ohmygodohmygodohmygod!" Ruby recovered from the initial shock, the momentary fear of watching the weather go crazy, to result in the coolest thing she had ever seen in her life! "Did you just, like, transform?!" She nearly turned into petals as she hopped around this prince, covered in golden flames and electricity, barely able to contain her excitement and completely disregarding the kind of dumbfounded looks she was receiving from the target of her childlike admiration. "Can I learn to do that too?!"

Ruby could almost picture herself there, blonde and on fire, just like her sister, but much cooler!

On the other side, Vegeta wasn't expecting such a reaction when he decided to let some of his frustration out and at the same time test these girls.

Where there should have been fear after he performed a deliberately slow and uncontrolled Super Saiyan transformation to affect his surroundings, there was even more admiration than before in those silver eyes.

This enthusiastic reaction and question were reminiscent of the one Trunks had when he first saw his transformation.

This parallel made Vegeta have mixed emotions, but that strangely resulted in him liking this girl a little and created a real motive to train her, to see her reach higher levels, even if she could never transform like him.

Unfortunately, that would have to come later.

His test and little revenge were still in progress.

Focusing on the girl who had cowered under his gaze, one of them, for the one dressed in black could no longer even breathe properly, being absurdly affected by his power, he showed a smile full of malice as he raised his hand toward this young Ruby.

His abrupt gesture was more than suggestive when bioelectricity circulated through his body and a sphere of ki glowed in his hand, to the fascination and excitement of Ruby, who still didn't understand what was happening.

The result?

Surging before him was the unexpected cooperation between a pair of white and yellow who just a moment ago seemed to be enemies, both of them pushing the naive girl out of his reach while shielding themselves with everything they still had of determination to oppose him and the threat he posed against the younger girl.

Surprisingly, even the other girl, who held no more than a thread of her conscience, was moving toward him when it was obvious that she wanted to go in the opposite direction, as far away as possible.

This was a display of loyalty almost unknown to Vegeta, and suddenly his opinion of these girls was beginning to improve.

"D-don't touch her!" Yang was trembling, so much so that she could barely stand up. "M-my sister is not to blame for what I did!"

If anything happened to Ruby, she would never forgive herself, so she would take any punishment; she would accept any fate as long as her little sister could get out alive!

"E-exactly!" Weiss never thought she would find herself agreeing with Yang; working together with her in a time of crisis, but that didn't change the fact that her condition was just as bad as the one responsible for all of this, so all that was left was to dialogue with Vegeta; to beg him to be reasonable. "S-so please stop and we will just go away and not bother you anymore!"

In the meantime, Blake joined them, weakly standing next to her team while holding on to the rest of her strength to be able to look this prince in the eye, helping as she could in this plea for their lives.

In response, Vegeta just stared at them, not saying a word, and fear began to overwhelm their adrenaline, reinforcing the thought that they needed to get out of there as soon as possible, or they would be dead!

Unexpectedly, just as they were about to succumb to fear and take a desperate measure, a sudden laugh broke the silence and distress present.

The prince had just laughed, and Yang, Weiss, and Blake feared the worst with the implications of that.

It didn't take long for words to follow that laugh closely and a shred of hope to emerge from it.

"Looks like you aren't all talk," Vegeta would admit this much as he undid his transformation, much to the disappointment of Ruby, who was still unable to understand how close she had been to death, theoretically speaking, and let his surroundings return to normal. "You all passed."

He still would not train those two, Yang and Blake, if he remembered their names correctly, as they still needed to give a decent answer to his question about their motivations for wanting more power. However, he would put everything else aside and keep his word to give them a chance later.

It took a few seconds for realization to hit these girls, and when it finally did, Blake collapsed, being picked up by Ruby, who was the only one able to move freely while Weiss and Yang fell sitting on the ground, both feeling like crying.

Hmm, I feel like I missed something here. Ruby was beginning to think that she had misjudged the situation. Was Vegeta really that scary to them?

In her eyes, while yes, she felt fear, it was only because of the weather change and nothing else, being too excited by the transformation to care about anything else.

After all, she could feel his Aura, and there wasn't even a hint of evil in it, so why should she be afraid?

Disregarding her team leader, Weiss had a thing or two to say!

"W-wait...this was all just a test?!" She couldn't believe it, almost wanting to yell at him for doing something so absurd for such a futile reason as that! I just don't do it for fear of him getting angry again...

Something to avoid, no matter what!

The answer he had was one that was directed at Yang and capable of making the girl reflect on her actions to levels never before imagined.

"Yes, a test and a lesson about respect," Vegeta used different words to talk about his little revenge as he looked at the short-tempered blonde girl. "A lesson in understanding that unless you have the necessary power or freedom resulting from a long-standing relationship, doing what you did can have a catastrophic result, not only for you, but also for those around you."

A truth that Yang didn't have the strength to rebut and only accepted as she stood there while fighting her anger, tears, and fear.

That day, she learned a lesson that she would never forget and that would change her forever.

And certainly, she wasn't the only one.