Eulogy
By Neo17
The crowd was large. Not huge, but big enough. They were all gathered at this cemetery for a common purpose: To say goodbye to a hero, for Son Gokou was dead. Many wept at the lack of a coffin, for no box held Earth's mightiest champion. His body was destroyed. He had sacrificed himself to save the others from Cell. For that they were ever grateful, but so many believed that he could have, and should have tried to come back when he had the opportunity, among them his son, Gohan, and newly pregnant wife, ChiChi. Everyone sat down as the ceremony began. Several people merely continued crying, but one face held its tears. The face was that of the Saiyajin Prince Vegita, now the last purebred of his race. He went up to the front and opened his mouth to speak. Everyone quieted immediately. "What could he have to say?" was the general consensus. But Vegita had something to say about the fallen warrior, and everyone knew he would not be silenced.
He began, "Recently Kakkarotto died. The causes of his death were not natural, and anything or anyone that says he died naturally or through his own faults, insult his memory. He died protecting us all. Everyone in the world benefits from his sacrifice. He died to save even thieves and murderers, outlaws and cowards, even…myself. The enemy who would have killed him at a moments notice. He died to protect me, and for this I am ever thankful."
"When I came to the earth, I was out exclusively for my own ruthless self-interests. And just as the final blow was nearly struck for the earth's defense, Kakkarotto showed up to save his son and best friend. We fought, and though I was his enemy, and had tried to destroy his entire planet, he spared me when I was defenseless. This angered me, for I knew not the motive behind his actions. Was he trying to dishonor me by letting me live? I didn't know. It never once occurred to me that, though he was a Saiyajin, he did not wish to kill. I felt defenseless and weak. Now I look back and realize that he had beaten me, and I didn't want to admit it to myself. He was always one step ahead of me."
"When he arrived on Namek, his powers far surpassed mine. In the end, I was killed by Freeza, who in turn was killed by Kakkarotto. He had beaten me again. Not only that, it was he who became the legendary Super Saiyajin. I didn't understand. I had royal blood, and he was a low class warrior. How could he achieve the fruit of our race and not I? This further angered me, for now I knew naught of how Kakkarotto obtained his powers, or even their extent. Then later, when he came back to Earth, yet again, he was much stronger than I. Where did it end? When would I finally become stronger than he? It was like an endless duel. He blocked and parried everything I had with something new and greater. Then, as we trained to fight the androids, I didn't see him for three years, but I felt him get stronger. He was ahead again. Frustrated I trained harder, and finally through my anger and hatred of Kakkarotto, I achieved Super Saiyajin."
"After that, it was easy. The mere mention of his name boiled my blood. But I knew I still was behind. I trained as hard as I could, and I was pleased. I was catching up. Then Kakkarotto was afflicted with his heart disease, and my heart sank. How could I contend for power and pride with someone who couldn't even stand up? So I fought the androids, defeating two, but against a third, now betrothed to Kuririn, I was useless. I got angrier, trained harder, and surpassed what I believed to be Kakkarotto's maximum. Then he was healed, and I was proved wrong again. While training to fight Cell, we both advanced dramatically. I still didn't understand Kakkarotto any better than before. All I knew was that he got stronger than me, and I didn't like that."
"As he fought Cell, I began to realize something. His strength came from within. Inside his body there was love, hope, and peace. He did not become stronger than me to battle for pride or power like I had thought. On the contrary, he cared nothing about pride. He simply wanted peace, and would to anything to obtain it. In a sense, he beat Cell when he sacrificed himself. He beat Cell in the same way that he beat me. He won by not allowing us to have what we wanted."
"Kakkarotto was my friend. He is gone now, but that spirit will live on. It will be in the heart of everyone who fights to rid the universe of evil."
Suddenly Vegita walked over to empty gravesite, merely a tombstone bearing his name as a token of remembrance and respect. He placed down a flower. A single white rose now adorned the small plot of land. It was placed standing up, the way Gokou had done for the people of Earth.
Vegita spoke up again,"I concede to the better man. The endless duel is over. You've won, Kakka,… Gokou. You've won."