Don't Think I'll Fall for That!

Vegeta silently counted the time, his teeth clenched as his body trembled even more violently.

"Actually, the reason I let you take a break just now," Soro suddenly said in a flat tone, "was that Nappa might be dead."

"Hmph." Vegeta snorted, the corner of his mouth twitching. "That piece of trash can die for all I care! I don't need useless Saiyans!"

He wasn't particularly surprised.

Nappa had already been badly injured. If they left him alone, there was a good chance he wouldn't survive anyway.

So what if he was dead now?

The main problem was dealing with this guy named Soro!

"Aw, man." Soro sighed softly, with a hint of feigned concern in his voice. "I'm almost out of energy. It looks like I can't use the Flash Technique anymore. This is really bad."

"Hmph." Vegeta raised his chin even higher. "Cut out your little tricks. You think I'll fall for them? I'm not opening my eyes!"

He kept his eyes tightly shut, his eyelids trembling slightly from the strain.

"Don't think I'll fall for that!"

"You're really not going to open your eyes?" Soro asked with a smile, tilting his head as he studied Vegeta's expression.

Vegeta simply ignored him.

He folded his arms and stood where he was, eyes closed.

You can't do anything to me anyway. Your measly power can't even get through my defenses.

Otherwise, you would've attacked me already!

And once you attack me, all I have to do is catch you...

And you're dead!

Vegeta felt immensely pleased with himself, a smile even curling at the corner of his mouth.

Though his eyes hurt like hell, and tears were still streaming out.

"Smack!"

Just as Vegeta was congratulating himself, Soro stepped forward and slapped him hard across the face.

Palm met cheek with a sharp crack.

The blow snapped Vegeta's head to one side.

For a moment, he was stunned. His pupils contracted.

Then fury surged through him, veins bulging on his forehead.

"You... You're asking to die!"

Vegeta roared and swung a punch at Soro.

His fist tore through the air, trailing a wave of force.

Soro had already dodged. He swayed lightly and vanished from where he stood.

Vegeta's punch hit nothing but air.

"Smack!"

Soro slapped him again, this time across the other cheek.

The sound was even louder than before.

Vegeta's head snapped to the other side, two red marks appearing on his cheeks.

"Ahhhhh!"

Furious, Vegeta let out one roar after another.

He lashed out at the air with fists and kicks, his limbs leaving a series of afterimages.

"Didn't you say you weren't going to open your eyes?" Soro's relaxed voice came from behind Vegeta, off to one side.

"Whoosh!"

Vegeta spun around in a flashy turn, rotating 180 degrees.

An energy blast shot from his hand, a glowing orb firing from his palm.

It streaked toward where Soro was, leaving a bright trail behind it.

Soro reached out with his fingers spread and caught the energy blast, his fingers closing around the edge of the glowing orb.

Then he gave it a gentle squeeze.

"Pop!"

The energy blast exploded in Soro's hand, flames spitting out between his fingers.

"Ah..." Soro cried out, his voice tinged with exaggerated surprise.

Then he floated in the air as if nothing had happened, looking utterly calm.

His palm was completely unharmed—not even a scratch.

"Heh heh heh." Vegeta grinned triumphantly. "How'd you like that?"

He tilted his head, still keeping his eyes closed.

"Got you, didn't I? A low-class warrior is always a low-class warrior! Even with my eyes covered, you think I can't do anything to you?"

"So," Soro asked with interest, folding his arms, "can you open your eyes now?"

Vegeta: "..."

Vegeta fell silent, the corner of his mouth twitching.

The more Soro said that, the less Vegeta dared to open his eyes.

Those flashes of white light had already left him traumatized.

His eyelids felt glued shut. He couldn't pry them open no matter how hard he tried.

"Hmph." Vegeta raised his chin slightly and changed the subject. "You were definitely hurt just now. Otherwise, you wouldn't have cried out!"

"Hurt?" Soro smiled and glanced down at his shoes. "Not at all. My shoelace just came undone."

He bent over and made a show of tugging at his shoelace.

"Don't... Don't give me that!" Vegeta said, deeply suspicious.

"Come on, open your eyes!" Soro smiled even more brightly, his tone carrying a hint of provocation.

Vegeta drew in a breath, his chest swelling.

He clenched both fists, his knuckles cracking.

Then he brought his hands up to his face and used his fingers to pry his eyelids apart, little by little, until a narrow slit appeared.

But as soon as Vegeta's eyes opened just a crack, Soro slapped his hand aside.

His hand was knocked away, leaving his eyes completely exposed.

Then Vegeta's eyes came into intimate contact with the white light once more.

The light flooded straight into his pupils.

"Ah..."

Vegeta let out a pained wail and toppled backward.

Once again, the world before him turned a blinding white. He couldn't see a thing.

"Dammit!" Vegeta roared in fury, his voice going hoarse.

The problem was, even though he'd managed to open his eyes a little, he still couldn't tell where Soro was.

And that brief flash of white had sent his vision right back to where it started.

At this point, Vegeta was already thinking about leaving this planet.

He gritted his teeth, his brow furrowed.

But if he used the remote to summon his spaceship now...

Soro would probably kick the spaceship flying.

Wait!

He's not as fast as I am!

Why don't I run far away, then sneak back and deal with him?

Vegeta mulled it over, a cold smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

Meanwhile, Son Goku was riding the Flying Nimbus, speeding toward the area.

The Flying Nimbus left a golden trail across the sky.

From far away, Son Goku spotted an intensely bright white light that stood out in the area.

It was like a sun that had fallen to the ground, its radiance turning the surrounding sky pale.

"What's that bright light?" Son Goku scratched his head, finding it a little hard to look at.

He squinted, trying to make it out.

But after only a few seconds of looking at it, he couldn't keep his eyes open.

Tears welled up and ran down his cheeks.

"Is that the Solar Flare?" Son Goku muttered, baffled. "How can there be such a weird Solar Flare?"

He raised a hand to wipe away his tears and blinked.

Then Son Goku glanced down at the Sunglasses in his hand and suddenly felt that Korin was so thoughtful.