[00] Hotel

[Vad]

Crack!

A cheap dollar store alarm clock smashed against the door leading into a small hotel bedroom. The door swung open and the locking mechanism fell to the floor twisted and broken. A lone female grasped the blankets on the only bed in the room and ripped them off.

"I told you twenty minutes ago. It's time to get up!" Said the redheaded woman in a stern voice. She was obviously annoyed.

Sunlight was peering through the holes in the damaged shades that had been pulled over the windows the previous evening. For a suite the hotel room Vad and his wife were staying in was complete garbage. The full-blood sat up beneath the remaining sheets on the king sized bed. Lifting his arms above his head he yawned and cracked his upper back.

Trixie stared intently at her husband's naked form. In the middle of sex one didn't have the time to examine bodily imperfections, but her husband was covered in them. Intricate patterns of scar tissue covered almost every inch of his skin. Some were more readily visible than others, and some were just faint lines in the skin. The mistress found herself wondering what each injury was from; she felt herself long to know the story behind some of the older ones. Trixie had only been told a handful of stories from what Vad could remember of his doings before she met her. Even to Vad, his childhood was so foggy he didn't bother to remember; she hadn't dared to ask either. It was a very touchy subject.

"Stop staring, babe." He said flatly. "Now tell me again why I need to join this tournament."

Mistress Zulenka smirked. Moving over to the shoddy sofa in a corner of the bedroom near the window she picked up a pair of clothes. Tossing them to her husband she covered his head with assorted clothing items.

"Because I think an extended combat tour without me involved would do your mental psyche some real good."

"Sex does that as well." He rebutted rather quickly.

Trixie closed her eyes and smiled clearly annoyed with her husband's logic, but she couldn't deny the amount of fun they had together. As if to avoid making a comment on her husbands statement, she adjusted her pants and gathered the blankets from the bed into her arms.

"Just get dressed for me. I want to see my sexy man in those new clothes." She cooed.

Vad laughed and rolled out of bed grabbing the pair of boxers on his way to the floor.

"Oh, by the way. A gift from your mother to us both. They finally got delivered." Beatrix added.

As Zulenka was slipping into the pair of grey boxers his wife tossed him a ring. Upon contact with his skin black writing lit up across the light silver band only to begin seeping thick black energy that would dissipate shortly after exiting. Grinning he slid it onto his right ring finger and it bound itself in place.

It was their true wedding rings. His was forged from the blood and energy of his beautiful wife and hers was forged from the same material only hers was made from his blood and energy. Eyeing Trixie's ring Vad saw that it was black with red text and that it was also seeping the same energy only the color was maroon.

Twisting the ring on his finger he read the inscription aloud.

"Forever in love. Forever in combat. Forever in Passion." He paused for a moment in awe.

Looking at Trixie, he smiled. She winked and continued to push the bed coverings into a corner. Zipping the fly up on his black combat pants, Vad slid the form fitting t-shirt over his torso and stretched his shoulders. As he walked to pick up the small white case resting on the opposite bedside table metal boots began to seep and form around his feet. The metal hardened and formed knee high plate boots.

"So where are you going to be while I'm fighting in Dante's Abyss?" The Saiyan asked while placing his scouter contact lens in his right eye. It switched on and began running a systems check.

Grabbing hold of her bra, Trixie shifted it to the right.

"I'll never understand why women wear these damn things, let alone wear them in combat. There's a reason they make skin tight jump suits." She said in frustration while looking at her chest.

Vad cleared his throat.

"I heard you, babe. On my way to Frost I made some female friends. They offered to show me around their home planet if I ever happened to be in the neighborhood. While you're fighting and enjoying yourself, I'll be enjoying myself as well." She explained.

Vad nodded and gave her the thumbs up. It was time to go.

***

Having exchanged temporary goodbyes and shared a kiss the married couple separated. Emerging from the teleport area on Planet Dante, Vad smirked and removed a pack of cigarettes from his pants Trixie had given him. Forming a dot of liquid metal on his thumb he heated it enough to light the tobacco product while taking a deep drag off of it.

A sign for a hotel caught Vad's eye. What really caught his interest was the prospect of a bar and something to drink; possibly something stiff. Letting the cigarette hang from his mouth slightly the Saiyan made his way onto a bus that was labeled to take participants to said hotel.


~~~~~

Vad walked through the sliding doors into the hotel lobby, his cigarette in his mouth. Smoking really was a bad habit for a soldier; his wife was rubbing off on him after all. Like an assassin would the Saiyan quickly surveyed the people around him. Nothing caught his attention. Not that he really cared at the moment. He was thirsty, tired, and in need of something to eat. The longest stint without food the warrior had ever managed was nearly three weeks. Flicking his cigarette into a nearby potted plant the Saiyan exhaled the smoke from his lungs and moved toward the bar, his metal boots clanking against the tile floor.