Well, it's been about four months since my last update. I apologize. I hope this chapter will make up for the lateness of this update. And thanks to Bulma and Vegeta Fan, pitkat, SuperMysticWarrior, Twin Tails Speed, DBZ maineak and Krillin Fan for reviewing. Also, I apologize if reading this is a repeat for some. I had uploaded it earlier this week, but I accidentally deleted it. Then, when I tried to upload it, I had issues for the last four days with the server. Sorry!

Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or Iron Chef America.

The First Round of Competition

Vegeta stood in front of his bathroom mirror, looking at his reflection anxiously. Although the last month had been a living, breathing hell, the day of reckoning had finally arrived. Today would be the day that would tell if his and Kakarot's cooking lessons had paid off. And if the day ended in defeat, he was never going to fall for one of Kakarot's lame brained ideas again. He was a Saiyan Prince, and it was almost embarrassing how often he fell for his third class rival's strange ideas.

Clenching his teeth tightly, he tried to relax. He was not going to look like a fool. Both he and Kakarot had worked too hard to have the day end in complete humiliation. They had improved substantially, both in teamwork and the ability to cook recipes from memory. They had an arsenal of meal plans that could work with almost any ingredient, the brilliant yet simple idea courtesy of his strange mother-in-law. And above all, they could actually create food that tasted good. Their presentation skills needed work and they still hadn't mastered the one-hour time limit, but they were still within the realm of being able to compete against one of the Iron Chefs. He just had to believe in both his and Kakarot's abilities. He had to because if he didn't, that would be their downfall.

"Vegeta, are you going to come out of there or do I have to drag you out? I have to use the bathroom too! If you don't hurry up, I'm going to end up peeing in my pants."

Rolling his eyes, Vegeta snapped out of his reverie. Opening the bathroom door, he almost fell over as Bulma raced past him, pushing him to the side.

"Oh God, Oh God!"

Making a disgusted face at his strange mate, Vegeta watched with humor as she danced around in front of the toilet, trying to unzip and pull down her pants. It took all of his self-restraint not to start laughing at how ridiculous she looked. Shaking his head, he turned back to the sink and the mirror above it. Pulling out his shaving cream, he put a small amount in his hand and then started to apply it to his face. Trying to ignore the sounds of satisfaction coming from Bulma as she finally relieved herself, he started his morning shaving ritual.

"Oi, Vegeta. What the heck are you still doing in the bathroom? I'm taking a piss for God's sake. A little privacy would be appreciated. Ugh!"

Angling his face towards his prostrate mate, Vegeta smirked at her outraged expression.

"It's not like I haven't seen you naked before Woman. So why be so embarrassed? You females are so…so strange with your thoughts of propriety. Besides, if you had to relieve yourself that badly, there are plenty of other restrooms throughout Capsule Corporation. You didn't have to use this one."

He turned back to his shaving, hearing her defeated sigh. His arguments had made perfect sense and besides, what was the point of acting outraged over his seeing her in such a vulnerable position? They were, for all intents and purposes, married in the human sense and had been for a long time.

Hearing the sound of the toilet flushing, he moved to the side to allow Bulma room to wash her hands. Rinsing his razor in the running water she was using, he concentrated on getting rid of his five o'clock shadow without cutting himself. Shaving was such a pain in the ass, but it was either that or look like some scruffy vagabond. He did have to keep up appearances. He was a Prince after all.

"So Vegeta, do you think you and Goku are ready for your big day today?"

Glancing over at where Bulma was standing in the bathroom door, Vegeta let out a short sigh.

"We're as ready as we will ever be for the short amount of time given to us to prepare for this battle."

"You don't sound very sure of yourself. That's not like the Vegeta I know."

Growling slightly, Vegeta sat his razor down and then splashed water across his face to remove any excess shaving cream.

"What do you know about it Woman? I've never…I've never participated in such a contest before. How should I know if we are ready or not? I think we stand a chance, but I have no idea how skilled our competition will be. Considering that neither Kakarot or myself had ever made use of a kitchen before we started training for this competition, that could be very bad for us."

Leaning up against the sink with his arms folded, Vegeta waited as Bulma moved in towards him and put her arms around his waist. Looking into his dark eyes, she kissed him and then let go. Taking the hand towel from the bar it was hanging on, she playfully slapped him in the thigh before winking at him provocatively.

"You'll do great today, I know you will! You've worked too hard and been frustrated too many times in the last month not to. Besides, if looks are put into account, you'll win against your competition hands down. I bet there won't be too many other competing chefs that have a six pack and a cute butt!"

Blushing in embarrassment from her frank assessment of his assets, Vegeta felt a small stirring of pride that she was so sure of his and Kakarot's success today. Filing the feeling away in the back of his brain, he put his toiletries away and then moved to finally leave the bathroom.

Leaving the room with Bulma at his heels, he made his way to the closet he shared with her. Ignoring the mess emanating from her side, deciding it wasn't worth starting an argument over, he grabbed his issue blue spandex, white boots and white gloves.

"Vegeta, you aren't seriously considering wearing that today, are you? You're going to look like some kind of freak. Nobody, I repeat nobody, wears spandex. You're the only one I know who loves the stuff."

Letting out a gruff sigh, Vegeta went over to the bed they shared and started pulling on his bodysuit. What was wrong with liking to wear the stuff? It showed off his impressive muscles and it didn't get caught on anything because there was no excess material. It was also easy to maneuver in and he'd been wearing it for the majority of his life. Besides, knowing Kakarot, the idiot was going to show up wearing his trademark orange gi. Why change appearances for a stupid contest?

"Vegeta! No one is going to take you seriously wearing an outfit that makes you look like you just came from a body building competition! Here, wear this instead."

Glancing up from pulling his boots on, he looked at what Bulma was holding in her hands as she looked at him in exasperation.

"Woman, I'm not wearing that. Those silly button down shirts and slacks are fine for when we go out, but I refuse to dress like some pansy-ass. This is a battle, therefore, I'm going to wear what I wear when I fight tough opponents."

Rolling her eyes, Bulma tossed the clothes she was holding onto the bed and then sat down next to him.

"You are the most pig-headed person I know. People are going to look at you funny, I hope you know. And you can't blast them just because they don't respect you the way you think they should. Just remember that Vegeta before you try to punch somebody's lights out when they make some off color comment about your strange outfit."

"I realize that Bulma. I do know how to control my temper around weaklings."

Pulling on his gloves, Vegeta ignored Bulma's snort of disbelief over his statement. Standing up, he started heading towards the downstairs. Both he and Kakarot needed to be downtown at the studios where they were going to be holding the competition trials within an hour to register. Then, for all he knew, it would be a game of waiting before they would have the chance to test their newfound cooking knowledge.

Stepping off the landing, he adjusted his gloves and then made his way to the Gravity Room. Mental preparation before a battle was as important as physical training, and currently, he needed to calm his mind down or else he wouldn't be able to function at the competition.

Punching in his security code, he entered his private sanctuary and then closed the door behind him. Turning on the lights, he was pleased to see that the floors had been properly cleaned and the whole room had been dusted, courtesy of Trunks and his punishment. Vegeta was going to be sorry when the next month ended because that was when Trunks' punishment would be over. It was nice to be able to supervise his belligerent offspring as he performed menial tasks, and besides that, Trunks had been on his very best behavior. Knowing his son, as soon as his punishment was up, he'd be back to doing the same old tricks.

Shaking his head slightly, Vegeta settled himself on the floor, crossing his legs and arms as he concentrated on channeling his mental anxiety into his meditation. Focusing his mind on an image of a blank wall, he listened to his heartbeat and regulated his breathing, taking in deep, strong breaths. In seconds, he could sense his anxiety melting away, feeling foolish that he was nervous to begin with. It was nice just sitting in there; not being interrupted by the constant barrage of noise and activity that the main household continually had going on.

A few minutes passed before Vegeta suddenly sensed the presence of another person within a few meters of where he was sitting. Cracking open one eyelid, he glanced over in front of him and saw none other than Kakarot, who was sporting a stupid grin and scratching the back of his head.

"Kakarot, do you have lice or some other ungodly disease?"

"Uh, no Vegeta. Why do you ask?"

"Because every time I see you, you're scratching your head like some stupid animal infected with a skin parasite."

"A parasite?"

Seeing the perplexed look on his partner's face, Vegeta rolled his eyes and then quickly stood up from his seated position.

"Forget it. When did you get here? And why didn't you have the courtesy to knock before teleporting yourself in here? What if had been doing something…something private?"

"Well, I got here a few minutes ago. Bulma told me you were out here meditating, so I just used my instant transmission and here I am. Besides, I knew you weren't doing anything private in here Vegeta. Bulma was in the kitchen making breakfast for Trunks."

With that, Goku gave Vegeta a knowing smirk, of which Vegeta chose to ignore. He wasn't going to lower himself by becoming embarrassed over what he did in private with his mate in front of the baka.

"Kakarot, get your mind out of the gutter. Now, we still have some time to go over our strategy before we have to show up to the trial competition site. I suggest we make the most out of this opportunity because I guarantee, we won't have the ability to freely converse about our battle plans in front of our competition."

Seeing Kakarot shake his head in agreement, Vegeta started to circle around his partner, one arm folded across his chest and his other hand tapping his chin thoughtfully.

"All right Kakarot. Are you absolutely certain of all the recipes that we are supposed to have memorized?"

"Yeah Vegeta. I've been studying them real close. Don't worry about me, I'm not going to forget a thing."

Raising an eyebrow at his partner, Vegeta let out a dubious chuckle before continuing on.

"And you know your duties as a sous-chef?"

"Yeah Vegeta. You can count on me."

"And you have backup plan number two at your disposal?"

"Hey Vegeta, about backup plan number two, I'm not so sure…"

Stopping in front of Goku, Vegeta clenched his teeth together and then grabbed his orange gi in one of his fists, bringing the bigger Saiyan in so that they were almost face to face.

"You're not sure about what? It's a backup plan, which means if everything else fails, we use it." Letting go of Goku, Vegeta watched as the younger man backed up slowly, eyeing him nervously in the process.

Putting his hands up in front of him, Goku let out a weak chuckle.

"H-hey, I'm sure we won't have to use it. I just don't feel comfortable about it, that's all. But if worse comes to worse, I'll go along with it, even if I don't really like the idea."

"Good. At least we are now in agreement. Remember Kakarot back to when I decided to help you out in this little venture that I'm the one in charge."

With all of that settled, Vegeta decided it was probably best for them to leave the Gravity Room and go back to the rest of the house where everybody else was going through their usual morning rituals.

Walking inside, Vegeta ignored Goku's presence behind him as he sensed out his mate and his loony mother-in-law, who were luckily in the same location. Heading down the hallway towards the living room, he walked through the doorway and spotted the two of them sitting on the couch watching some retarded early morning talk show.

"Ugh, don't the two of you have something better you could be doing besides watching this trash on television? Who cares what the latest fashions are or who's sleeping with whom? It's disgusting how you debase yourself by feeding into what the media is giving out."

Crossing his arms, he let out a huff as the two strange females in his family just looked at one another and laughed.

"Oh Vegeta, you really don't know what your missing out on. But you're so stuffy, it would take a marathon of talk shows to get you to see the value of watching them." Bulma replied to her rather cross husband.

"I will never see the value of watching them foolish Woman. They eat away at what limited brain powers you possess. Just look at Kakarot if you want an example."

Goku, for once, did not miss Vegeta's meaning and gave the older Saiyan a dirty look.

"Come on Vegeta. I don't watch that stuff. I'm out doing work around the house for Chi-Chi or training." With that said, he pushed his way around Vegeta and flopped down on the couch next to Bulma, who was looking at his orange and blue outfit dubiously.

"Gee Goku, you're wearing that to compete in? You're as bad as Vegeta! Nobody is going to take the two of you seriously dressed like martial arts fighters."

"Well, the judges aren't going to care what we are wearing, are they Vegeta? And besides, this is what I always wear when I fight powerful opponents. And I bet Vegeta feels the same way. I just would feel strange wearing anything else."

Feeling validated about his early argument with Bulma over the same topic, Vegeta shook his head in accord. For once, he appreciated Kakarot's agreement, getting him off the hook from more nagging from his overly talkative and loudmouthed mate.

"Well, I don't care what they wear Bulma-chan. They're both so handsome and strong, they could wear a paper bag and make it look good."

Vegeta almost gagged from the frank assessment his mother-in-law directed towards both himself and Kakarot. She hadn't been quite so obvious with her lust for him since she started training the two of them, but apparently, she'd been doing her best to hide her sick perversion. No doubt it was because she had figured out that he wouldn't have tolerated training with her had she acted like a silly chit with an obsessive crush. Deciding that this conversation was foolish in the extreme as well as embarrassing, Vegeta decided to change course.

"Enough of this inane babble! Kakarot and I are wearing our regular fighting uniforms for this competition. End of discussion. And speaking of competition, shouldn't we be leaving Kakarot?"

"Oh yeah Vegeta. I almost forgot about the time! We'll be a little early, but it's better to be early then late." Smiling, Goku stood up and then felt himself being physically yanked around the sofa by a very impatient Vegeta.

"Blah, blah, blah! Just shut up idiot and use your instant transmission to take us there!"

He was about to pull Goku into the hallway when Bulma rounded on the two of them, blocking their only exit out of the room.

"Hey Vegeta, hold on a second! You still have plenty of time before you have to leave and besides, it's just plain rude to leave like that without saying good-bye to me or thanks to my mom for taking the time to train you and Goku on how to cook."

Letting go of Goku's arm, Vegeta frowned at his mate and her mother, who had come up behind Bulma and was waiting expectantly for something.

"Fine. Good-bye Woman. And you nutcase, your…assistance was tolerable."

"Ugh Vegeta! You are so rude sometimes." Turning around to her mother, she saw the look of amusement across her features.

"Mom, you aren't going to let him treat you like that are you?"

"Oh Bulma, it's just Vegeta's way of showing me he had a good time. Isn't that right Vegeta?"

Glancing heavenward, Vegeta shook his head quickly, hoping both Bulma and her crazy mother would miss his agreement. It was humiliating to have to humble himself in front of two of the weakest people he had ever met. But he did suppose he owed some sort of thanks to the two of them because without their brainpower and help, both he and Kakarot would have been up the creek without a paddle.

Smiling happily at Vegeta's rather pathetic show of appreciation, Mrs. Briefs pulled out two small packages. Handing one to Vegeta and one to Goku, she waited as the two stared at her in confusion.

"What is this for?" Both Vegeta and Goku asked congruently.

"Well open it. It's not some sort of trap you two." Bulma added in exasperation, watching as the two Saiyans stared at her mother's offering blankly.

Slowly, both Vegeta and Goku opened their packages. Pulling the lids off the boxes, they each pulled out matching white coats that chefs wear when they are cooking. Vegeta's was embroidered with his name and Goku's had his on it as well.

Blushing slightly, the duo didn't really know what to say. They weren't expecting any sort of present from Mrs. Briefs and, well, such a thoughtful gift from her almost seemed impossible to behold.

"They're jackets the two of you can wear when you compete. That way, you won't have to wear an apron and you'll look professional. I had so much fun working with you two, I'm sad to see it end so…so I hope you like them."

"Awww, they're great Mrs. B! Aren't they Vegeta?" Goku shouted out happily as he put his on over his orange gi. Opening his arms, he enveloped Mrs. Briefs in a big hug and then backed off a bit when he looked over and saw that Vegeta was about to cuff him in the head.

"They're adequate. Now stop goofing around and let's get out of here."

"Right Vegeta." Turning around back to his partner, Goku touched him on the shoulder and put his index and middle fingers to his forehead. Getting a lock on the competition building, he smiled and waved at both Bulma and Mrs. Briefs before the two of them winked out of existence.

Letting out a sigh of relief that both of them were off without a hitch, Bulma went back and sat on the couch.

"Well Mom, I hope they do okay otherwise I don't think we'll ever hear the end of it from Vegeta."

"I think they'll do wonderful. Have a little faith in them dear, and everything will work out fine."

Meanwhile…

Goku and Vegeta appeared out of thin air at the competition site. Thankfully, for once, Goku's landing location happened to be an empty room. Otherwise, Vegeta and he would have had to deal with startled and confused onlookers who would have made the day that much more unbearable.

Leaving the empty room, the two Saiyans found their way to the registration desk and were surprised to see that there was no line. Coming up to the woman behind the desk, Vegeta spoke up his concerns.

"Female, why are their no other people in line for this competition? We haven't missed the registration deadline have we?"

Cracking her knuckles in disgust over the short, muscular male's blatant disrespect by calling her 'female,' the receptionist shook her head no.

Seeing that Vegeta's approach wasn't going to get them very far, Goku decided to take over.

"Thanks miss. Um, if you wouldn't mind telling us, what do we need to do to register?"

"Well, are you two sure you're here for the right competition? This is a cooking contest, not some sort of karate or judo exhibition."

"Um yeah, we're here for the Iron Chef competition. We would like to sign up for it, if that's possible."

Looking at the two weirdoes standing in front of her, the receptionist shook her long hair, snapped the gum she was chewing and then handed the two of them the proper forms they needed to fill out.

"Just fill these out and sign and date the bottom. Then when you're through, the competition is being held through those two doors."

In a few minutes, both Goku and Vegeta were finished with their paperwork. Handing it over to the girl, she wished them both good luck as they headed to the door. Judging by their appearance, they were going to need all the help they could get.

Walking towards the doorway, neither Vegeta nor Goku knew if they should be elated by the lack of competition or nervous over the fact that they were finally going to be testing out their newfound abilities. However, upon opening the door, their thoughts of having no competition where completely blown out the window.

There were literally hundreds of people packed into the small room, each one waiting for the chance to prove that they could be on Iron Chef America. Swallowing nervously, Both Saiyans found a seat and then stared at the overabundance of people.

"Wh-who knew we would have this much competition Vegeta?" Goku asked nervously.

Nodding his head in agreement, Vegeta licked his suddenly dry lips. He had a feeling that this was going to be a very long day. Not only was he going to have to beat out all of these people with skills he still was unsure of, he was going to have to spend an entire day in close contact with strangers. And he hated being enclosed in large groups of people.

Glancing over at Kakarot, Vegeta nudged his knee to get his attention. Leaning over, he whispered into the baka's ear.

"Kakarot, I think this would be a good opportunity to use our second backup plan."

Shaking his head in up and down, Goku voiced his opinion.

"Y-yeah Vegeta. I think you might be right."

Well, sorry for the long delay again. I've been trying to finish my other stories and I'm a graduate student, so this just ended up being put on the back burner for a while. Also, if you guys would like to help me out, can you think of what a good secret ingredient would be for the real competition, if Goku and Vegeta make it to the finals? And any recipe ideas would be helpful too!

Okay, I really don't get it. Is this story really so bad that nobody is reading it or leaving reviews, except for the above mentioned people? If the interest in this story continues to flag, then I'll probably stop writing it altogether, at least until I finish writing my other stories. Let me know if it's worth it to you for me to keep with it. Thanks!