Seeing the expression Vegeta was making, with that grim smile, for lack of a better term, and full of expectation, made Weiss rethink what she was about to do, and with good reason.
This man was already powerful to impossible levels, having a source of power that was as unknown as himself, something troubling that raised endless questions about his identity.
Someone who, despite being an adult, would get carried away by provocations and respond in the same way, indicating that he was immature or overly arrogant; proud even, as well as being prone to holding a grudge as demonstrated by scaring Yang, and inconsequential in ignoring all those around him, even if it was to teach a lesson about respect.
And at this moment, Weiss was about to make this dangerous person even more dangerous.
No matter how much she thought about it, more and more it seemed like a very bad decision.
However, she couldn't help but disregard any and all doubts that insisted on haunting her mind.
The fact was that if Vegeta wanted to, he would have his Aura unlocked anyway, with or without her.
He had made that clear himself.
Refusing to help him, while it might put her conscience at ease to know that she didn't help a possible threat get even stronger, she wouldn't benefit from it either, selfish as it was to think that way.
That is, if he kept his word. Weiss took a deep breath and made her decision after another second of consideration. There is only one way to find out.
She would have to trust him.
Trust that not only would Vegeta keep his promise, but also that he would not misuse this power.
Taking into consideration that he wasn't wanted, nor was there any mention of anyone remotely similar being able to do what he could do, it said that most of her fears were unfounded.
That or Vegeta really was from another world.
Right, as if that were possible, she scoffed to herself; this kind of imagination belonged to someone like Ruby. I think I spend too much time with her...
While Weiss prided herself on having some positive effect on this first friend of hers, the opposite also seemed to be true...unfortunately.
That aside and with the decision being made with no turning back, her hand rested on the strong, warm, and defined chest of this man, just a part of the perfection of this body that was perhaps truly otherworldly, for her to feel a chill for reasons she'd rather not think about and focus on the task at hand; one that was even more complicated than Weiss would like to admit.
Connecting her soul with his.
The first time she would do something like this, a ritual said to be...extremely personal, intimate even, that should only be done between family members or those who shared a deep connection.
It didn't take long for her to understand why.
What Weiss felt was something that could stir her in a way that was even worse than being exposed to those golden flames from before, fueled by the oppressive feeling of a vengeful rage.
The reason was that Vegeta... even at this moment, when he was showing an expectation for the power to be obtained, he was mourning, almost suffering from it.
There was such grief in his soul that Weiss felt as if she was the one to have lost the most important person in her life, reflecting these unexpected feelings by having a tear run down her face as she struggled to complete the ritual without being further overwhelmed.
An almost impossible task, where she wanted to give up but found herself continuing as she learned more and more about the reason behind these emotions.
As for Vegeta, he was oblivious to this involuntary intrusion, being too busy focusing on the only thing that really mattered: obtaining a third source of power.
To ensure that this would happen without fail, Vegeta had his eyes closed as he lowered his defenses to levels he was not comfortable with, yet necessary for this girl to do whatever she needed to do.
Thus, his focus was completely on this foreign power entering his body in a way that displeased him.
After all, this little ritual resembled, even if only vaguely, the one needed to give life to a Super Saiyan God.
Depending on external factors was something of the weak and always would be in his eyes, for that reason, Vegeta worked hard to learn how to create God Ki by himself, and hated fusions or any form of absorption.
However, after a few seconds, Vegeta could sense that this wasn't the case at all, where this insignificant power was not being "given" to him.
No, the princess, with this fragment of her soul whose pride present was more than familiar and resembled something pure like crystal clear water, being somehow comforting despite being intrusive, was trying to awaken that same kind of power within him.
In that case, the only thing left to bother him in all this was this unique feeling that was hard to explain, almost as if...a connection was being created with this girl.
Before Vegeta could understand this better, however, something else happened.
As he followed the crystal clear stream that the power of this princess' soul represented, a place so far away that he didn't even know it existed inside him and seemed to transcend the limits of flesh and mind, opened up to him.
Inside, there was nothing but a restless presence; one that awoke suddenly upon coming into contact with the princess' soul fragment, reacting like an ancient beast that had been imprisoned and forgotten for eons.
Not anymore.
A roar echoed in the darkness, and Vegeta was almost startled as he felt this thing break free.
His eyes opened abruptly and glowed a celestial blue, powered by this familiar power, almost exploding out of his control before covering him from head to toe with a blood-red Aura.
With this abrupt change, Weiss felt real fear as she believed she had seen too much during the ritual and angered Vegeta for her intrusion.
The reason for this was the sudden disappearance of any and all emotions that resembled the sadness of a mourner, being replaced by violence like that of a wild animal, one that was capable of pushing more than just her Aura back with a wave of unrestricted fury.
For a moment, not only Weiss, but every single girl in the room, believed that Vegeta was about to transform again, and they froze because of it.
Except for Ruby.
"Weiss!" She was quick to become a swirl of petals and hold her best friend before she hit a wall on the other side of the room and hurt herself, feeling some relief that she had helped in time, but only until she noticed the tears on her face, raising her concern even higher. "Wh-what happened?!"
She had never seen Weiss cry before!
Not only her, but such a reaction was enough for the rest of the team to wake up as they realized that Vegeta was going to keep his promise from before and wasn't going to repeat the dose, stopping right after releasing that violent Aura.
"Are you hurt?" Blake, although still worried, not to say scared, about what happened just now, was quick to jump over the couch and join these two teammates in trying to help. Considering what happened earlier, I'm surprised that the result wasn't much worse.
What really bothered her, however, was seeing this prince focusing completely on his "new" powerful Aura and not showing the slightest interest in what happened to Weiss.
He might be hot enough to make her fantasize in her dreams, but he was definitely too cold to be worthy of that privilege.
Yang was no different, being pulled out of her state of silent contemplation as she watched Weiss unlock Vegeta's Aura and the result of that manifesting.
There was fear for this damned man nearly bringing the house down on her and her little sister's heads as he unleashed this new part of his endless power, and then concern for the girl she had more than one disagreement recently.
Despite their differences, Yang didn't wish Weiss harm; not when this girl had put her life on the line to protect Ruby earlier and courage to impose conditions on Vegeta for the sake of Blake and her.
On this day, reluctantly, she would admit that Weiss was an even better leader than her little sister.
Still, Yang would find herself hesitating as she stopped in her tracks after getting up because she saw that her help wasn't needed and decided to stay out of it to focus on the real problem:
Prince Vegeta the Fourth.
"I-I'm fine, thank you for worrying," Weiss did her best to remain composed as she dried her tears and reassured her friends, where even Yang was showing concern for her, even if very little compared to her gaze focused on the prince. I think we need to talk later. To get things right once and for all. As for Vegeta... Weiss had her heart clenching in her chest as she looked at the reason she was like this and tried to understand how this man could pretend not to be suffering from a terrible loss at this very moment. Not only that...there is also hatred tied to a feeling of betrayal.
It seemed that Vegeta had lost one or more important people in his life because of someone he deeply trusted, like a friend or brother.
In direct comparison, it was almost as if...Ruby had been responsible for Winter's death.
Something unthinkable and...unforgivable.
Even though Ruby was her best friend, almost a little sister she never had, if something like that happened, Weiss didn't know if she could find forgiveness in her heart, no matter who it was.
That way, she understood what Vegeta was feeling; this hatred that seemed to give his soul the form of a beast and managed to suppress the grief within him, motivating him to dive head-on into seeking more power.
All for revenge.
Vegeta was training to get revenge on a person who betrayed him and made him lose a part of himself.
Even though he is so strong, he still has to train under severe conditions and obtain one more source of power... Weiss didn't know who this betrayer was, only that he or she was a complete monster in terms of power. Someone who should also be known if he or she were that strong.
Slowly, that ridiculous theory that Vegeta wasn't from this world was ceasing to be so absurd.
As for Vegeta, he ignored the commotion these girls were making by focusing on his hands in confusion.
Is this...Oozaru's power? was the first thing that came to his mind, but it wasn't that; he could tell after calming down a bit. It's too weak to be that kind of power.
While there was interest in the form that Broly used, which he and the clown decided to call "Wrath State", a more than adequate name considering it was literally Oozaru's power in human form, what he just got was far from that.
Despite the stark difference in power, where Wrath State was a minor transformation that could make someone at least ten times stronger, what he was feeling manifested like a barrier over his body, definitely resembled something like that; untamed, wild, and fearless, just like...
The proud soul of a Saiyan, Vegeta opened his eyes wide as he came to that conclusion and smiled as if he had just regained something lost, a precious part of himself. All thanks to Whis. As strange and enigmatic as that mentor of his could be, he knew what he was doing and deserved a greater vote of confidence coming from him. Not only him, I suppose.
Regardless of this Aura being laughably weak, almost useless to really help in his current goal, for the moment, it was a motivational start, and this snow princess, Weiss Schnee, deserved his gratitude for it.
One of the few people in the universe who did.
Unfortunately, it seemed he had a bad start with her. Not only for scaring her earlier by punishing that disrespectful blonde, but for the reaction she was having now as she looked at him with her sad blue eyes, slightly reddened by a silent cry.
Why?
Did he hurt her just now? Or had he scared her again?
Vegeta didn't understand; he only knew that seeing her like this didn't please him at all, perhaps because it reminded him of his worst moments, and this couldn't go on.
Fortunately, he knew exactly what to do.
Time to fulfill his side of the bargain.
"Let's go outside," Vegeta said suddenly as he walked toward the door. "I don't want to break anything else in here."
A lie, where nothing had been broken in the first place, and they all knew it.
"What?!" Yang was the one to make her indignation known, being sure that it also reflected the thoughts of her team. "After what just happened, that's all you have to say?!"
A poor choice of words.
It wasn't the first, but it could be the last.
Vegeta stopped in his tracks as soon as he opened the door and looked directly at her over his shoulder, making Yang regret opening her mouth to say anything as she felt cold creep up her back.
The more recent memory of golden flames fueled by the rage she had awakened was there to remind her of what could happen, and this time, she didn't have what it took to keep her ground.
Contrary to the pessimistic expectations created, however, instead of exploding as he had done before and scaring the hell out of Yang, perhaps even something worse, Vegeta looked in the direction of Weiss and the other girls before deciding to approach them.
Each step he took amidst the sudden silence seemed to resonate along with the beating of their hearts, taken by anxiety and doubt about what Vegeta would do, only to be surprised by unexpected words of consideration.
"Did you get hurt?" he asked just for the sake of asking, already wondering what the answer would be, and it took a few seconds to get a nod of denial filled with confusion from the princess. "Then why were you crying?"
A doubt that everyone there shared.
"That..." Weiss hesitated, not having the heart to speak the truth about what she discovered, even more so in front of the other girls. "I-it's nothing."
A lie that even Vegeta could see through easily.
"In that case, why aren't you standing?" Although curious about the reason behind her state of mind, Vegeta wasn't the sentimental, much less understanding type, and didn't usually beat around the bush, even with his own emotions. "Or maybe you don't want the power I promised anymore?"
At this, even Ruby reacted by tightening her fingers around Weiss' arm.
After all, it was the chance of a lifetime.
The chance to bring all her fantasies and dreams to life, and Ruby didn't want to lose that.
No one in their right mind would.
Weiss was no different and knew exactly what Vegeta was doing, hating the fact that it was working.
Considering how inconstant his emotions were, he could go back on his words at any time.
In that case, there was no room to weaken with a sense of guilt.
"No," Weiss stood up without needing any help and hardened her resolve. "I want what is rightfully mine!"
The power she had to risk herself with her team to get!
Vegeta couldn't help but smile as he saw yet another semblance of himself in this girl.
"Then stop whining and let's get this over with." He still had many things to do, especially regarding this new power. I need to understand this Aura better, its uses, limits, and how it will react in combination with my Ki and God Ki.
Only then could he begin to train properly and teach these girls effectively.
However, that was something to deal with later.
Right now, he needed to focus on the problem at hand.
Without further ado, the girls came to a mutual understanding, Yang being the most reluctant to accept what sounded more like an order than anything, and followed Vegeta into the courtyard where he would begin teaching them about Ki.
At least he would do that for Ruby and Weiss.
As for Blake and Yang, they would stay around while they tried to learn everything they could to later practice with Weiss and Ruby.
Formulating these plans to bypass Vegeta's rejection definitely cheered them up.
One way or another, Yang and Blake would get their hands on that power, too!
"Now," Vegeta began, "You two," he pointed to the little girl and the princess, "sit side by side facing me, cross your legs, and put your hands together in a basic meditation position."
Weiss and Ruby looked at each other for a second, both of them not really in the mood to do this because of their skirts, or the possibility of having to meditate, in Ruby's case. However, because they were wearing their combat uniforms and wanted very much to learn about Ki, they didn't make their dissatisfactions known and obeyed so as not to end up aggravating this short-tempered teacher.
Yang wasn't happy about this but found herself following the example of a brazen Blake who didn't hesitate to sit on the grass in this shameful manner, given the clothes they were wearing, leaving almost nothing to the imagination.
After this day, Yang was sure that she would never wear such tight shorts again.
In fact, there were many things Yang would refrain from doing in order to avoid irritating another powerful and dangerous man like this prince.
Even if there was hardly anyone else in Remnant remotely similar, she didn't want to risk it.
Her days of teasing and seducing men to play with them were over.
The end of an era that her father would surely be grateful for.
If there was any comfort in all this, besides them still having the nerve to brazenly try to steal the method to access Ki right under Vegeta's nose, it was knowing that this was all just as embarrassing for him as it was for them.
Considering his reaction to their teasing earlier, they weren't wrong.
Only, they hoped he wouldn't go into golden revenge mode and explode again.
Even worse was seeing the way Blake was acting as if being in this awkward position was exciting enough to make her pant!
God damn it, Blake! Yang couldn't help but curse this friend of hers for making her even more self-conscious than she already was. I swear I'll burn those dirty books of yours later!
There will be no more Ninjas of Love!
She probably wasn't the only one thinking like that, considering the way Weiss was looking at them, having a cold look on her flushed face that could kill someone, and worst of all was seeing Ruby following suit.
This little princess was not a good influence on her little sister.
Unfortunately, Weiss was the least of their worries where Vegeta stood with his absurdly defined arms crossed over his muscular chest while focusing on them, but keeping his eyes above the level of their necks, much to Blake's disappointment who was surpassing herself in her level of perversion after having that dirty dream, but not without showing some discomfort.
It seemed that even this powerful prince couldn't completely ignore the temptation that lay before him, and Yang's destroyed self-esteem slowly returned to her along with a lustful sense of revenge.
"What do you two think you're doing?" Vegeta knew exactly what they were trying to do, but asked anyway. It seems I was too soft before.
Otherwise, these two wouldn't be so bold as to try to go against him in such an obvious way or to continue teasing him with their young, attractive bodies...
Vegeta almost sank his fingers into his arms, wanting to punch his face for getting carried away and falling into this honey trap!
In the end, it seemed that his body had rejuvenated in more ways than he would like to admit; his hormones being a big part of it.
"N-nothing, just taking a little rest while we wait for the training to finish," Blake managed to say after seeing that Vegeta wasn't going to explode at them like before, which in some very strange way disappointed her; however, seeing him clearly frustrated made up for it, being just like in her dream. "Right, Yang?"
Yang swallowed dryly in nervousness, expecting only the worst coming from this, and for a few seconds she was silent until she realized that the prince really wasn't going to do anything!
What happened to the raging madman from before?!
Somehow, Yang could only link this change or tolerance with Weiss.
Having his Aura unlocked and seeing her cry definitely had an impact on him... and it bothered her for some reason.
"Right...'" Yang took her time but eventually agreed with this perverted partner of hers, one who was clearly not afraid of death or loved this kind of tension. Let's just play along for now.
Everything for Ruby, because in reality, she wanted to be anywhere but here.
"I see." Vegeta took a deep breath to calm down, for more than one reason, and decided to change his plans a bit. Let me see what you are going to do about this, then.
Originally, he had intended to teach the princess and the little girl how to access this power on their own, being the minimum to be worthy of his attention. Now, however, after understanding that his restrictions would be ignored and teachings possibly passed on to these other two behind his back, he changed his mind.
Vegeta would use a more direct and dangerous method to bring out the Ki of these two; something that couldn't be replicated for years without dangerous consequences.
"Close your eyes," he instructed after positioning himself behind these two and placing his hands on their heads. "Do not resist and focus on my power."
Weiss and Ruby had not expected this, one more than the other, feeling goosebumps at having Vegeta's hand caressing their hair.
Another reason for their surprise was the method that resembled the one normally used to unlock other people's Aura.
In that case, why did they need to sit in a meditation position in the first place?
Doubts for later. Weiss wouldn't be stubborn about this, especially when Ruby, of all people, had already gone ahead and done as Vegeta asked. Now, what's next?
With her eyes closed, she could only imagine the possibilities and be nervous about it.
If this were a ritual similar to the one she performed before, another connection between them could form, and who knows what else would happen!
Weiss' heart wasn't ready to go through all that again! Especially if her emotions were the ones to be read like an open book this time!
Contrary to her fears, for the moment, Vegeta had other problems at hand.
His Ki wasn't manifesting the way he wanted it to.
To be more precise, the Aura he just unblocked was desperately trying to suppress his Ki, almost as if there was a fear of letting his Vital Energy leave his body.
Soul protects life.
What a curious power.
Now I know why Ki doesn't seem to exist in this world. Vegeta didn't need much more to come to a conclusion. The power that these humans and faunus rely so heavily on to survive is exactly what limits their potential.
Weiss and Ruby would never be able to unlock their Ki on their own, no matter if Vegeta was there to guide them or not.
Their Aura simply wouldn't let them, and this couldn't go on like that.
Hmph! Vegeta made the power of his proud soul return to where it came from, suppressing it to stop getting in the way. I don't have time to deal with this now. There was a task at hand that needed to be done: to break the chains of this race! Forced Spirit Fission!
Using as little power as possible, which is why his Aura was able to get in the way earlier, Vegeta woke up every drop of life energy inside these two girls and forced it all out!
As a result, there was the red and silver of a spring burning alongside the blue and white of a frozen winter.