A.N.: Here's the awaited start of Book 3 of my Different Upbringing Series.
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Enjoy the Chapter.
Different Upbringing (Book 3): Adjusting
Summary: 16 years ago, Son Arata was taken from her home and thrown into a dangerous and unfamiliar world. Now, thanks to Mirai Natsuki, Son Arata is coming back home. However, 2 months after the rescue, the return becomes bittersweet from the emergence of a new enemy. Son Arata isn't exactly the strongest among the Z-Fighters and this new enemy will change just that.
By: Givihe
Prologue
-Fight and Rescue-
-Somewhere in Space-
Oxygen was hard to come by as two figures fought off the army in front of them. The leader of the arm stood safely behind the army with a smirk on his face and his arms crossed over his chest. One order was known through the army: "kill the resistance". The resistance included the two figures: Arata and Katsu.
Arata, kidnapped at a young age, had been at the mercy of the leader for 16 years; since she was 2 years old. Although she fought and followed orders for this leader, her spirit never broke and she fought against them even at the cost of severe beatings. As time passed, her resistance grew softer, even more so after the birth of her daughter, Natsuki. Arata held a slender frame with long black hair that reaches her waist, which currently was in a ponytail. Her onyx eyes showed fury and passion.
Katsu, unlike Arata, was born into this life and knows nothing else. Pranks were often devised by him and he made it easy to blame someone other than himself. But once this caught up with him, he was sent and met, later protecting, Arata and Natsuki. Katsu held a solid frame with prominent muscles with black hair that was slightly messy and onyx eyes to match Arata's. Katsu's onyx eyes showed anger.
The army, which was now cut in half by Katsu's and Arata's efforts, managed to push the two back even further with a combined blast. Katsu and Arata hit the wall of the ship and both fell to the floor. Katsu struggled to his knees, breathing hard. Arata, on the other hand, stayed in the position she was in.
Arata? Katsu's voice echoed in Arata's mind as she breathed hard against the floor.
Katsu, how long can we keep this up? Arata replied. There are hundreds still standing and who knows if he has more allies coming this way. This is impossible.
You're giving up, already? Katsu questioned angrily as the army slowly made their way over.
Look at the situation through my eyes, Katsu. Think of how I view this situation, there's no possible way that we can survive this. Arata explained as she struggled to her knees while leading with her hands on the ground. We don't have any back up, Katsu. No one from my past knows where I am.
Katsu contemplated on what she said, sighing mentally in frustration. Before he could think of a reply, a loud and high-pitched scream echoed through the halls. Katsu's and Arata's head snapped up, their eyes widened in shock.
NO! Arata yelled mentally, causing Katsu to flinch in pain.
In the hand of the leader was a young girl, around the age of 4, with black hair and onyx eyes and a small tail stiff with fear. The leader held the girl by her spandex suit with an evil grin on his face.
This is the same scene I see in my dreams before I was kidnapped. Arata thought in panic.
"Let her go, Frig!" Katsu yelled. "She has no part in this."
"Mamma!" the girl yelled in fear.
Anger rose in Arata's mind. Her power level too raised, her aura flashing around her. The pain in her mind quickly disappeared as she rose from the position she was previously in. "You'll let her go this instant." Arata growled threateningly.
Frig chuckled. "Didn't even have to say anything to hit a nerve." He said. "My father was smart when he exterminated the Saiyans. That older Saiyan was only a foreseen of what would happen. Guess I should have taken care of you three earlier, but you were too much fun."
"Let her GO!" Arata yelled, her aura flashing bigger.
Arata, what are you doing? Katsu asked frantic as he too stood up with anger, allowing his aura to flash.
Have you not kept in your mind everything that I've told you of my past? Arata replied in a question. Frig knows how I came to his damn organization and he's using it against me. The way he's holding Natsuki is exactly how I was held in front of my father by Raditz. I'm not letting the past repeat itself.
Cutting off the bond, Arata by passed the army and hit Frig with her leg. Frig's grip on Natsuki ceased, causing her to fall to the ground beside her mother. Frig flew back a little as Arata stood in front of Natsuki protectively. Frig quickly got up, not affected by the hit, and simply whipped the blood from his lip.
"Natsuki. Run. Hide." Arata instructed through clenched teeth.
"But Mamma-" Natsuki complained.
Arata saw Frig coming her way at full speed. As quick as she could, Arata grabbed her daughter's spandex suit and threw her down another hall before trying, and failing, to block Frig's punch. "RUN NATSUKI!" Arata yelled as Frig and Arata began exchanging punches.
. . .
Katsu growled at the army and pushed his ki away from him, causing the army to hit against the wall or against one another. He saw Frig and Arata engaged in battle and Natsuki frozen in fear at a ki blast directed towards her. Katsu rushed in front of her and blocked the blast before turning towards Natsuki, the girl he saw as a daughter.
"Do as your mother says." Katsu ordered. "At least go hide, so you won't get hurt." Tears trailed down Natsuki's cheeks and nodded. "Go, now!"
. . .
Natsuki turned and high tailed it from the scene as fast as her legs would carry her. She could hear the sound effects of the fight and worried about her mother, often looking back to see if her mother was alive or not.
What am I supposed to do? Natsuki asked herself after she had turned the corner. An idea popped into Natsuki's head. Maybe if I get the note Mamma wrote, we can get into one of the pod things and escape.
Deciding the plan was a good one, she ran towards the room that housed Arata, Katsu, and herself. Being as small as she was and how empty the halls were, she made great time and entered the room. Natsuki looked frantically around the room before finding an old wrinkled paper on the bed. Quickly grabbing it, Natsuki rushed out of the room in a blind run only to knock into something hard as rock, causing her to fall on her bottom with a small cry in surprise.
Nervously looking up, Natsuki saw two men in front of her. One was shorter than the other with spikey hair and an emotionless expression on his face. The other was taller and had a more welcoming, yet curious, expression on his face.
Scared, Natsuki hopped onto her feet and into a defensive stance that Arata had shown her. "W-Who are you?" she stuttered with her small fists in front of her. "I-If you try to h-hurt me, I-I'll hit you back."
The shorter one scoffed while the taller one smiled softly. "It's alright, kiddo. We aren't here to hurt you." The taller one said.
"This is a waste of the little time we have, brat." The shorter one said.
The taller one rolled his eyes slightly. "Calm down Vegeta."
Natsuki dropped her defense at the sound of the name. "Your name is Vegeta?" Natsuki questioned.
The shorter one nodded. "What of it?" he growled.
"That means you know my Mamma." Natsuki said excitedly. "You can help her!"
Vegeta huffed in annoyance while the taller one knelt down to Natsuki's level. "That's exactly what we're here for." He said. "Can you show us where your mother is?"
Natsuki smiled in excitement and nodded, immediately running ahead. The two strangers followed her as she made her way expertly towards the sound of the fight. Being smaller than the other two, she got there a little quicker. Quick enough to see Arata and Katsu bloodied up but still dodging hits and blast from not only Frig but his army as well.
The two strangers stopped behind Natsuki, hard expressions on their faces. Natsuki noted the taller one's frame stiffened when Arata was thrown at the wall and she slid down, barely missing a blast. The taller one stood in front of Natsuki and pushed her back a little.
"Stand back." He said. "We'll take it from here."
Vegeta nodded. "You take the army. I'll deal with Frieza's bastard son." He said.
"Be careful, they're strong." Natsuki informed.
Vegeta huffed, ignoring the girl, while the taller one smiled back at her. "We'll keep that in mind, Natsuki." He said. "Just stand back, alright?" Natsuki nodded, watching the two strangers.
. . .
Arata looked up from her position on the ground the best she could with blood coming down into her vision. Pain shot up her spine each time she tried to move and did her best to ignore it. How long can we last? Arata asked herself for the millionth time that day.
In front of her, Frig kicked Katsu to the side, into the army. Turning back towards Arata, a smirk etched onto his face. Frig didn't even say a word as he made his way towards Arata and picked her up before slamming her against the wall. "So this is how you end? Pathetic." Frig growled in disgust.
Think of Natsuki! She needs to get away from here at all costs! Arata thought to herself as she brought up her knee into Frig's gut, releasing his grip on her. Arata fell to the ground, not able to get back up. Looking up, Arata's eyes widened at the sight of a familiar figure holding Frig by his own neck, just like Arata had been held moments ago. It had been years since she had seen that figure, too many years to count. Doing the best she could, Arata strained her Saiyan hearing to hear the conversation going on.
"Pathetic?" the familiar figure said. "You think that was Pathetic, it wasn't. That girl has fought as hard as she could, just as I had taught her." The figure tightened his grip on Frig's neck. "This-you-are pathetic; cowering once in the opposite side of the fight. Even Frieza wasn't that low."
A smile etched onto Arata's face. Vegeta. She thought before blacking out. Arata's body fell the rest of the way down to the ground, as little as it was, with Arata's eyes closed. Her breathing slowed from the frantic pace it was at and held a below normal pace.
. . .
Gohan watched as Frig landed against the opposite wall from Arata and Vegeta came into play. Vegeta grabbed Frig by the neck, just as he had done to Arata, and slammed him against the ship wall. That's taken care of. He thought to himself. Turning serious, Gohan powered up as he faced what was left of Frig's army. Got to say I'm impressed. Dad would be too.
Looking ahead of him, Gohan saw a figure clear the army away from him. That must be Katsu. Gohan thought to himself.
"Watch out!" Gohan yelled to Katsu, who looked startled at the voice. Gohan watched as Katsu carefully nodded and jumped away from the army and landing behind him.
Getting into stance, Gohan placed his hands together in a vertical position. "Ka-Me-Ha-Me-HA!" Gohan shouted, the blue ball of energy, not as high as it usually would have been, but strong enough to kill the entire army.
After the blast cleared out, Gohan powered down and turned to Katsu, who looked about ready to collapse. His expression showed relief but also caution. Gohan smiled at him. "You fought well." Gohan complemented.
Katsu nodded. "Who are you anyway?" he asked.
Gohan scratched the back of his head in the similar Son fashion. "Not sure if you'll believe me, but I'm Gohan, Arata's brother." He explained.
Katsu nodded again. "You'll have to prove it to me later." He said just as Frig's body was sent flying between them.
Both Gohan and Katsu watched Frig's body fall to the ground before a ki blast rushed towards him, mangling the body even further. Gohan turned around to see Vegeta standing there with a smirk on his face. Rolling his eyes, Gohan turned his head back towards Katsu.
"That's Vegeta." Gohan informed. Katsu nodded to both of them, keeping silent.
"Where's my Mamma?" Natsuki spoke up while pulling at Gohan's ripped pant leg.
The three men stiffened at Natsuki's question, immediately looking around. "Over there." Vegeta informed. Gohan and Katsu rushed over to Arata's unconscious form while Vegeta walked slowly, holding Natsuki from making b-line for her mother.
. . .
Arata's mind was foggy. Confusing the voices with real or imagination caused Arata to wonder if she was dead or alive. The pain, for sure, was a strong factor that she was alive and that pain was pushing her further in the darkness.
Don't give up so fast, Arata. A scarcely familiar voice crept into her mind. Now isn't your time. Other voices were joining with the one in her head, confusing her further.
"Arata. Arata." An unfamiliar voice called her out of the darkness. "Arata, you need to open your eyes."
"Brat, we're wasting time." A slightly familiar voice joined in. "We should get her to the ship, she can heal there."
A sigh also joined in; a sigh that she had heard many times. "We need her eyes to open, at least for Natsuki." Katsu's familiar voice chimed in.
"Why?" the slightly familiar voice asked. "To make her happy?"
Katsu growled. "No, you idiot." He said. "Arata is the only thing Natsuki has and if you want her yelling at you, asking if Arata is alright the whole flight back to Earth; then be my guest."
A small groan escaped Arata's throat, going unnoticed by Katsu and the slightly familiar voice. The feel of a hand on her shoulder, caused Arata to groan in pain again. "Arata? Can you open your eyes?" the unfamiliar voice's attempt snapped Katsu and the slightly familiar voice to stop their arguing.
Although she found it painful, Arata forced her eyelids to lift slightly. In front of her were three figures, one of which she identified immediately. The figure to her far left was short with spikey hair on top of his head with blue spandex and white gloves and boots. The figure that stood in front of her, she recognized as Katsu. The last figure, to her far right, confused her. Arata recognized him while at the same time she didn't. The last figure has short spikey hair with a purple gi that showed his chest slightly.
Memories flashed before Arata's eyes; Memories she had seen throughout her lifetime. In an instant, the memories clicked, allowing Arata to guess who the person to the right was. "G-Gohan?" Arata stuttered.
Gohan's eyes rushed with relief and a smile etched onto his face. As gently as he could, Gohan wrapped his arms around his sister. "You're finally safe, Arata." He said before pulling away, but left his hands on her shoulders gently. "I want to apologize for all those years ago."
Arata groaned mentally. "Gohan, stop being an idiot." She groaned out. "We were only 2."
Before Gohan could reply, a small cry was heard. "Mamma!" Natsuki yelled, crashing into her mother's arms, causing Arata to grunt in pain. Natsuki's tears started soaking what little fabric was still on her body.
Arata, as best as she could, placed a hand on her daughter's back. "Natsuki, I love you and I'm here, but now isn't a good time to hug me, alright?" she said with her eyes closed.
Katsu chuckled and picked Natsuki up and placed her in front of Arata. "You know better, Natsuki." He said. "Your mother is in no condition for any sort of movement."
Natsuki nodded and looked down. "Sorry." She mumbled.
Arata wanted to slap him. "Go easy on her, Katsu." She said. "I may not be in the best condition, but she is still young."
A gruff clearing of the throat caught Arata's attention. She turned her head to the spikey haired Saiyan. "You fought well brat." Vegeta said.
Arata smiled the best she could. "So did you Veggie." She said.
There was silence before Gohan stood up as well. "What do you say we get out of this dump and go home?" he offered.
Arata's eyes widened slightly at the word "home", causing her to sigh. "Home. I haven't been home in almost 16 years." She mumbled as Gohan moved picked her up in his arms. "What are you doing?"
"Arata, you can barely keep your eyes open. What do you think he's doing?" Katsu said sternly while Arata rolled her eyes in a reply.
Gohan smiled as they started walking with Natsuki by Gohan's side. "Don't worry about returning home." He said. "Just for a warning, Mom will be ecstatic."
A sad smile appeared on Arata's face as she settled into Katsu's arms. "You can converse later." Vegeta said from the head of the small group. "Rest, girl. You'll need it. It'll be about a two week trip back to Earth. You should be roughly close to being fully healed by then."
Go ahead and fall asleep. I'll be here when you wake up. Katsu said through their bond.
Promise? Arata asked, closing her eyes
Promise. Katsu stated.
Arata paused in her thoughts. I love you, Katsu.
I love you too, Arata.
. . .
The ship had already taken off and Katsu was sitting on the edge of the bed, just as he had promised to Arata, as Gohan treated his injuries. Katsu was already beginning to respect Gohan while Vegeta just irritated him.
"Hey Gohan." Katsu spoke up as Gohan wrapped gauze around his arm.
"Yeah?" Gohan asked, tapping the gauze in place.
Katsu adjusted his arm. "How did you find us?" he asked. "Even if you were to track us, Frig changed location every week."
Gohan smiled. "It's a long story." He said.
Katsu smiled in return. "I believe we have the time." He said.
. . .
Vegeta sighed as he tried to get comfy in the damn chair. Sighing, he placed the call back to Earth before that woman had a chance to yell at him about it. The call was picked up within a few rings of the call.
"Hello?" Came the familiar voice of his mate.
"Woman." Vegeta said in reply.
"Vegeta!" Bulma called in excitement. "Is it really you?"
Vegeta rolled his eyes. "Yes, woman, it's me." He said. "Who else would call from a damn spaceship?"
"Well, Mr. Grumpy, aren't we a bit touchy today." Bulma joked.
Vegeta groaned. "Woman." He groaned.
Bulma laughed, which stopped shortly after. "Wait a minute. If you calling me, does that mean you-" she said but was cut off by Vegeta.
"-saved Kakarot's daughter?" Vegeta finished with a smirk on his face. "Yes."
Bulma sighed in relief. "How is she? And Katsu and Natsuki?" she asked.
Vegeta sighed. "The girl is pretty badly hurt, but she showed-is showing-signs of healing already. She should be mostly healed by the time we get back. Just tell that harpy of Kakarot's that she can't overly obsess over her when she steps out. She'll still be injured, but she'll be able to walk." He explained. "She's resting."
Bulma sighed another sigh of relief. "And the other two?"
"The male, Katsu, is injured but is able to walk and converse." Vegeta said. "The brat of Arata's is fine. A few scraps, but that's expected."
"Thank-you, Vegeta." Bulma said. "You have no idea what it means to everyone."
"I didn't do it for those weaklings." Vegeta growled.
"Then who did you do it for?" Bulma asked curiously.
Vegeta sighed. "Woman, I trained her when she was 3 years old." He said. "If I would have though it through, she wouldn't have been in that situation in the first place."
Bulma sighed. "The past is the past, Vegeta." She said. "Don't hold onto it. I'm sure she doesn't hold it against you. Arata only knew you for a year."
Vegeta huffed. "Whatever woman." He said. "See you in two weeks."
"See you in two weeks, Veggie." Bulma said before cutting off.
A.N.: Let me know what you think of this chapter.
Likes? Dislikes? General Opinion? Anything that really interested you?
Do any of you have any ideas on how to make the Buu Saga a bit different from the canon? I mean, I don't want to write the same thing with just an added character, or in this case, characters. So, any suggestions on how to make the Buu Saga different would be helpful! Either put your suggestion in a review or PM me! Thanks in advance!
Next Chapter: Arata returns home. Katsu gets an unpleasant surprise. Natsuki meets the rest of her family for the first time. And a new character is introduced.
Stay tuned!
Hope everyone had a Happy Holidays!