For the umpteenth time, Krillin looked at his watch with bleary eyes that were constantly threatening to close. 4:53 AM. Just a few more minutes to go. He did a few half-hearted stretches with what little personal space he had, given that the long line of drowsy, irritable adults and their dozing children was starting to condense, everyone tensing up for the big rush once the doors opened.

Black Friday.

Sounded like a name for a disaster, perhaps to mark the day the death toll from the Black Plague had officially reached one third of Europe's population. Or the day the Saiyans had arrived to purge the planet. But no, this annual event was worse than any one-time catastrophe. Because it turned ordinary, more or less kind-hearted citizens on each other like rabid animals fighting over a scrap of meat. And his wife and daughter had left him to wade through the melee alone, and come back intact with every item on their long list of toys, clothing, and household appliances. He didn't know what was worse—the clawing and shoving that would last hours, or having to face the two females' wrath when he would return with inevitably less than what they had specified.

He perked up as the line started to jostle, prepping himself to jump forward with a boost of ki. But then he heard the chorus of angry shouts, a likely precursor to a brawl.

"Hey, you can't cut! We've been waiting here since yesterday night!" an irate woman yelled at someone Krillin couldn't see. He sighed at his chronic handicap and stood on tiptoes to see over the shoulder of the person in front of him.

"Yeah, you little fucker, get back in line before I have to throw you back there," sneered a tall, muscular man dressed in leather and covered in tattoos.

Krillin finally levitated up slightly to get a better view, knowing no one would notice since everyone's attention was on the brash fool who had cut in line.

He quickly ducked down again the second he saw who it was. Shit, this is gonna be bad! Should I step in before he kills someone? Argh…where the hell's Goku when you need him?!

There was the brief choking sound of someone being grabbed by the throat and strangled. Krillin massaged his temples, deciding to trust that the presence of the man's little blue-haired daughter beside him would prevent him from going psycho Saiyan on everyone.

"I don't do lines," Vegeta said venomously. "It's enough to be sent out here like an errand boy at 4 in the morning to buy a bunch of useless shitty toys and frilly female clothing."

He was interrupted by a shrill cry of protest from Bra that the toys and clothes she wanted weren't useless, and Daddy also shouldn't say swear words. Krillin choked as he tried to suppress his laughter.

"Shut up, brat. Once I'm finished with this insolent human I'm going to take you inside and spoil you senseless, so just wait one fucking minute."

The line shifted a foot backwards as Vegeta issued a final warning with the heavy thunk of a body hitting the ground. "Anyone else have a problem?" the Saiyan called into the crowd, which was now deathly silent. Krillin was suddenly thankful for his chronic handicap; he was short enough to remain fully hidden.

"Thought so," Vegeta sneered. "I'm taking my kid in for the next half hour. In the meantime, I advise all you sorry ass men out there to call your wives and file for divorce. This is a humiliation to anyone with a set of balls."

The crowd waited for a tense minute after the irritated Saiyan strode into the megastore with his daughter in tow. Then a few brave souls ventured forward to enter, and were promptly thrown back by some invisible force field blocking all the doors.

Krillin sighed. And he'd thought Marron was spoiled…