It'll Be Me!

Trunks kept his eyes trained on the Angel. His hand instinctively reached to the hilt of his sword sheathed on his back, but he dare not draw it. He had spent nine long years training with Whis, and he knew that the weapon would be useless against him. When he first sparred against the mystical being, he used his blade and nearly risked it being broken again. Whis seemed to smile at the fact that he continued to fight against his instincts to immediately use his weapon, as the Angel always told him that there may be times where he would not be able to use it, or times where other means of fighting would be more advantageous.

After nine years of training with Whis, he still kept the same carefree, open stance. He stood as if he had no care in the cosmos, absolutely nothing to worry about. Trunks had observed this was not without good reason, however. In those nine years, Trunks was unable to even come close to landing a single blow on the Angel no matter how much he progressed. As useless as his sword was, it was almost just as fruitless to use his fists. But he always tried, just as he did now.

Trunks rushed in, fist pulled back and ready to swing. Whis struck with a chop, and cleaved through a shadow. It was an Afterimage. His head reflexively turned. The hybrid was about to launch an attack from behind, just as he usually would. Whis raised his hand caught the man's fist in his grasp. He shoved Trunks into the dirt and looked at him with a rather heavy disappointment. "Now, now, you always start off with that against me. Haven't you lear-"

Trunks' hand swiftly rose and fired an energy wave. "Well, that's new," said Whis as he stepped out of the way. He watched as the blast took out a portion of the castle that formerly belonged to Lord Beerus. A quiet sigh escaped his mouth as he recalled a few memories of the deceased God, all while stopping an incoming attack with a chop to the man's neck. "I do wonder who will be the next Destroyer of this universe."

"It'll be me!" cried the boy as he swung with a roundhouse kick. What should have collided with the Angel's side sliced through the air. The force of his strike sent a shockwave rippling across the nearby body of water. He soon had the chance to taste the water. It was fresh, but not what he wanted. Whis had maneuvered underneath the kick and flicked Trunks in the back of the head, sending him flying into the pond.

"We'll see about that," commented Whis as he continued to gaze out at the castle. He turned back to see Trunks pulling himself back to shore. His purple hair drooped over his face like a bearded collie, and he could hear the man's staggered breaths of exhaustion. "I think that's enough for today."

Trunks climbed out of the water and wrung his hair out. He could see his dejected reflection gazing back up at him in the pond. "I feel like I haven't made much progress."

"Nonsense, you've come quite far during your training here," Whis commented. "You may not rival Lord Beerus in power, but few do. He was quite powerful, even for a Destroyer."

"Was he ever able to hit you?"

Whis chuckled loudly, as if the question were a joke. "Oh my, not even close. Though, he wasn't nearly as serious with his training as you were. He may have been in the beginning, but after a few hundred years, all he seemed to want to do was sleep and eat."

"Sounds like he got cocky," surmised Trunks. "My father told me to never stop training, no matter how safe I felt or how long peace on Earth lasted, because there'll always be someone stronger. At first, I thought he was just concerned about power and growing the strongest, which may have been his goal, but I can see he meant it very differently for me. If I hadn't kept up with my training, I wouldn't have been able to prevent Majin Buu's resurrection. I just wish I could've protected the Supreme Kai."

"Now that would have been quite the battle," speculated Whis as he looked at the young man. "Though, at the time, I think you have come up just a little short in terms of power. But now, you could easily defeat him."

Trunks gave it some thought as he reflected upon himself and his progress. What Whis said earlier was true, he had made substantial leaps and bounds in his training, and had grown stronger than he ever thought possible. He thought back to how powerful Perfect Cell and Super Saiyan 2 Teen Gohan were, and chuckled at the fact that he could probably take them both at the same time with relative ease now. But after remembering his father's folly with Cell, he remembered that he shouldn't place too much confidence in his strength, and keep his arrogance in check. At any rate, it was entirely possible that what Whis said now was true as well. He could have taken Majin Buu with little trouble, but without knowing how strong the monster actually was, it was hard for him to feel confident in that. "Well, if you think that highly of me, then I suppose that's saying something."

"It's rather refreshing to train someone that has as much commitment and conviction as you do," observed the Angel. "The other candidate from your universe all but turned their nose up at my offer to train him."

"What?!" Trunks gasped. "There's someone else in the universe that wants the job of Destroyer? Who?!"

Whis looked down at the man and tsked. "Now, now, I can't go around revealing the names of other candidates. We offer those who want to try out a certain amount of anonymity, unless they themselves wish to make it known that they are a candidate. But even if they did, it would be their information to reveal. Not mine."

"Well, what can you tell me about them?"

Whis took a moment to ponder. Finally, he revealed, "They're quite powerful. I can't say how they would match up against you, but I would keep up your training. You shouldn't be just worrying about them, though. There will be more than just you two at the Destroyers Championship. Beings from other universes will be competing as well."

"That makes no sense," Trunks stated. "How can people from other universes compete for the title of Destroyer in a universe they're not even a part of? How can you preside over a universe you know nothing about, let alone have never even been in before?"

Whis chuckled once again at the man's questions. He thought it a rather mortal thing for him to ask, but then again, the man was but a mortal. A young one at that. "Well, can you say for certain that you know your universe better than most? Tell me, in which galaxy did Planet Vegeta reside in?"

"That's my father's homeworld, right? Uh… Let me think…"

"What about the path of Comet Camori, or the origins of the Big Gete Star?" he asked, and watched as Trunks could only stare back at him, baffled and silent. "Lord Beerus wasn't from this universe either, yet he learned. … Somewhat."

Trunks let out a long sigh as he pondered the thought of someone else who wasn't from his universe lording over it with nearly absolute power. "I'll just keep training and make sure I win."

"I'm sure the other candidates share your conviction," Whis commented. "The championship is next week. Is there anything in particular you'd like to work on in that time?"

"Actually, could I go home?" Trunks asked. "I think I'd like to spend some time with my mom, and just be home for a bit."

"Of course," answered Whis. "Gather your things and we'll be on our way."

Trunks quickly returned to the castle and gathered his things from the room he chose to stay in. It was a few corridors away from the large, open room that Lord Beerus would sleep in, but he would always have to pass through it before entering his room. He could sometimes feel the essence of the deity still in the room, like a small pressure that was always watching over him. Once he entered his room, he cleaned his clothes out of his drawer, packed them up, and made his way back to Whis.

Whis eyed the young boy's bag. "Oh, you're taking everything? You'll only be gone a week."

Trunks hoisted his bag over his shoulder and answered, "Well, who knows if I'll win this? This could be the last time I'm ever here."

"If it is, then it's been a pleasure, Trunks," Whis informed him with a small smile. Trunks thanked him as he placed his hand on the Angel's back. He whisked the man away into the cosmos, hurdling through the stars at high speeds. Trunks looked back at the domain growing smaller and smaller in the distance, hoping he would return. That, however, would remain to be foreseen next week.

For now, he would go see his mother. He figured she would be worried sick.


AN: Hello, everyone! Thank you for checking out the story. Just to clear something up because I figure it'll be a question, yes, this is the same Trunks from the canon timeline. I'm doing a rewrite of his adventures that were previously established in Dragon Ball Super. This will also, at some point, crossover with my other current story, Divergent Paths. But that won't happen until much later. So, sit back and enjoy the tale of Future Trunks, and welcome to the story!

If you're looking for information on OC Submissions, since they are open, you'll find everything you need to know, as well as the OC form, on my profile.