"What he does ain't up to me. And Shu and I can't spend time with every single person, we're only two kids." Krom wasn't wrong though, Takeshi acknowledged bitterly, they'd certainly had time to pay him a visit. When not traveling on a mission they spent the majority of their time goofing off or training, both of which could easily be set aside to spend time with someone. Would Kiton even want their company though? He'd been so long without any and it wasn't as though they were close - not that they ever had an opportunity to even get close - but Takeshi couldn't see the guy wanting them to visit. Then again being alone all the time could be really lousy and it probably didn't much matter who came by after a while. Just like how Viral had been. Hearing Krom talk about the Beastman pissed Takeshi off - as if he had any idea or right to speak like that, but he bit his tongue and pressed on with training. Oh he'd use his emotions to fuel action alright: a swift boot to Krom's ass was action wasn't it? If Shu weren't present there'd be a slew of cusses and slurs thrown the Elite's way. There was one little thing to get off his chest though. "Maybe you should shut up too old man, don't want to bother Shu, making him think we're ignoring people," smiling as he spoke, Takeshi scoffed before facing forward and continuing to run, "And worry about yourself pops, it's not like you've got lots of room to talk here. Hush and be a good little teacher."

----------

What was he supposed to say? For all of his education and his pedigree Vegeta was left feeling as hapless as a freshman student on their first day of university. Where did he go from here? Aito offering no words of wisdom meant he was on his own and, frankly speaking, he was lost. For a man who prided himself on his combat ability wouldn't lauding his endurance be seen as a good thing? Vegeta struggled for an answer until Viral made a poignant remark: he was being watched like some wild, unruly animal. When he'd been at risk for sudden transformations that perhaps had been warranted but he'd improved since then - considerably so, so why then was he scrutinized the same way? They didn't think him incompetent or incapable and yet they almost didn't seem to trust him. Did he fear vindication or that Viral might seek revenge? No, that had never occurred to him once. So why then? 

"It's... Been for your own good..." Vegeta had since stopped in his tracks and now looked to the floor, his features contorted into a mask of confusion. Even his own words sounded false to him. For his own good? That was the best he could come up with? Why couldn't he just make this right? Everything else was always so simple but Viral... He'd never been able to get Viral right. Why? Why couldn't he figure out someone he'd known all his life? He was Aito's son, grandson of Trunks, great-grandson of Bulma, he had the lineage of geniuses and yet he was as thick as Takeshi when it came to Viral. How could nothing he has tried work? Looking at the Beastman confused a trembling smile found its way on his face as he let out an uneasy laugh, his mind coming to perhaps the least accurate conclusion of a lifetime.

"It's you... That's the problem, it has to be!" It was a sensible conclusion in whatever plane of thought Vegeta's addled mind had found itself in. He couldn't have failed, he'd [i]never[/i] failed, not when his father died, not when they had reunited, he'd even managed to keep Viral under control all those years. No, the fault couldn't be him, it had to be the Beastman. "I've done everything I should have, everything that I could think of... It's not me, it's you. Something's wrong with you and... And..." Just what was he saying? Was he trying to absolve himself of his very clear neglect and wrongdoings by pining it on someone else? On the victim no less? Laughing again as he felt tears in his eyes he rubbed at them with the heels of his hands, looking up at Viral in defeat. "I did all I could, don't you get it? I... I can't do anymore, I don't know what to do anymore. I can't help you."

"I think that's enough of that! I've never really enjoyed tense moments like this," Aito interrupted with an clasp of his hands. Vegeta had tried to speak his mind but it hadn't quite been as... Succinct, as the doctor as hoped. Perhaps he could help out. "Viral? You truly believe yourself to be without purpose? You were created to protect, right? But we're no longer on Earth, so how are you to protect that?" It was a rhetorical question and Aito had no intention of letting the Beastman answer. "It's a shame there aren't so... Oh, phantasmal beasts invading our dimension that only your solar energy could easily dispatch. I speak of course in hyperbole, and of you. You do still have a purpose, you're arguably one of the greatest allies we have in this impending battle of ours. And I believe it is time you are treated as such, not as a patient that cannot be trusted on their own. Don't you agree?"