Disclaimer: Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball GT, Dragon Ball Super, and their respective franchises are the property of Funimation, Toei Animation, Fuji TV and Akira Toriyama.
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Dragon Ball Saga, Part 2: Culture Shock
Kame House
Planet Earth
Age 737
Vegeta groaned audibly as he walked through the front door of Kame House. "You have got to be kidding me," he muttered. "This is it?"
Roshi, following him inside, looked mildly offended. "Would you mind not insulting my house?" he asked. "It may not look like much, but it's got everything you might need."
Vegeta glanced back at him coolly. "Somehow, I doubt that." He glanced around again and sighed. "Okay, fine. Is there a bedroom I can use? And a shower?"
"Ah, yeah, there's a spare bedroom upstairs," Roshi replied. "And the shower's in the bathroom, through there." He pointed to a door on his left.
Vegeta nodded. "Very well, then." Turning, he walked briskly across the room and disappeared into the bathroom, closing the door behind him.
Roshi stared at the closed door for a moment, his eyes wide in surprise. Seriously, who is this kid?!
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It took several minutes for Vegeta to figure out how to work Roshi's shower, but once he'd gotten the hang of it, he spent a considerable amount of time washing off the assorted grime that had accumulated on his body during his long voyage to Earth.
Okay, I need a plan, the young Saiyan thought to himself as water dripped off of his spiky black hair. I should be able to pick up the signal from Kakarot's pod and track him down. But before I do… I need to know more about this planet, since I might be living here for a long time. And I'm betting that this guy can tell me everything I need to know.
Vegeta nodded in satisfaction. Okay, it's decided. I'll stay here for a while and learn as much as I can, while using the pod's instruments to find the spot where Kakarot landed. Then I'll go find him.
The young prince's eyes narrowed as he glanced around the shower. Something's missing here…
"Hey, Earthling! Where's the cleansing powder?"
"Sorry, I don't know what that is!" Roshi called from the other room. "All I have is soap!"
"What the hell is soap?"
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Once he had gotten out of the shower, Vegeta dried himself off with a towel that Roshi had provided. He put on clothes that had been laid out for him – an oversized white T-shirt and tan beach shorts – and made his way out to the front room.
Roshi, who had been laying out a meal, greeted him in a friendly way. "Ah, good, the clothes fit. I hoped they would; I don't have much lying around that would fit you."
Vegeta shrugged. "Where did you put my armor?" he asked.
"I was going to wash it," Roshi replied, pointing to a laundry basket near the closet. Vegeta's blue bodysuit and white armor was visible in the basket, stacked on top of some of Roshi's shirts.
"Fine." Turning, Vegeta hopped easily into a seat next to the table. "Do you have any food here?"
"As a matter of fact, I just caught some fish this morning," Roshi replied. "Would you like some?"
"Obviously."
Once Roshi had prepared some freshly cooked fish, he set a large plate down in front of Vegeta. The boy stared incredulously at the food, then looked back up at Roshi. His eyebrows furrowed. "That's it?"
Roshi was taken aback; he hadn't expected a boy this young to eat much. "Well, yes," he replied. "There's more, if you'd like some, but I figured you wouldn't need any more than this."
Vegeta scowled. "You have got to be kidding me," he snapped. "I could eat more than this as a snack!"
Roshi frowned. "Really?" he inquired, skeptical.
"Oh, forget it." Grumbling under his breath, Vegeta promptly tore into the fish in front of him, not bothering to use a fork or knife. The child's appetite was extraordinary; he gobbled down food as if he hadn't eaten in a year. Within a minute, he had cleaned his plate, and then looked back up at Roshi, a smear of grease on his face. "More," he demanded.
For several seconds, Roshi stared, dumbstruck, at Vegeta. "How the heck did you do that?" he asked incredulously. "I couldn't eat that much food anywhere near that fast!"
Vegeta shrugged. "Then our species must have different metabolisms; that much food is just a snack for me. And, considering that I've been in stasis for most of the past six months, I've worked up quite an appetite." He frowned. "How much food do you have here, by the way?"
Roshi raised an eyebrow. "Based on how quickly you ate that; not enough."
"Great," Vegeta muttered, scowling.
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After they'd finished eating, Vegeta made his way back out to the beach, where he clambered inside the crashed space pod and began working on the internal machinery. A string of muttering, metallic clangs, and muffled curses began echoing from within the craft.
Roshi sat down cross-legged on the sand near the crater, listening to the boy as he continued working. The old martial artist was trying to explore something that he'd sensed from Vegeta earlier; for a moment, when the so-called prince had become irritated at the lack of food earlier, his ki had spiked abruptly, rising higher than anything Roshi had ever sensed. He had no idea whether it had been some kind of error in his ki-sensing ability, or if the kid really was somehow that powerful, but he needed to find out.
"How's it going?" he inquired.
"Fine," Vegeta replied brusquely.
"Do you need any help?"
There was a momentary silence, and then Vegeta poked his head out through the open hatch. "Do you have any experience with alien spacecraft?" he asked, raising one eyebrow.
Roshi considered that for a moment. "Ah… no, I don't."
Vegeta nodded. "I thought not. In that case, no; I don't need any help." He withdrew inside the pod and went back to work, mumbling to himself again as he checked various components of the ship.
A few minutes passed by, during which the occasional cursing that was mingled with Vegeta's muttering became more and more frequent.
"Are you okay in there?" Roshi spoke up again.
Once again, Vegeta poked his head out through the hatch, wiping a grease stain off his forehead with the back of one hand. "Fine," he answered.
Roshi looked at him quizzically. "If you don't mind my asking, what is it you're doing in there?"
Vegeta sighed, clambering out of the craft and making his way up the side of the crater in the sand. "I'm trying to fix this." He held up the device that he'd been wearing on his head when he'd exited his ship; the lens was cracked, and the device itself appeared to have shorted out. "My scouter broke when I crashed; I was trying to find any components in my ship's communications system that I could use to repair it. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find anything." He sighed, sitting down dejectedly on the sand. "If I can't get the damn thing to work, then I'll never be able to find Kakarot."
"Uh… sorry, who's Kakarot?"
Vegeta glanced over at Roshi. "Kakarot is a Saiyan, like me. He's the only other Saiyan on this planet, actually; he should have gotten here at around the same time that I did, but obviously he landed in another part of the planet."
"And you can use that thing to find him?" Roshi asked curiously.
"If I can fix it, then yes, I can use it to home in on the signal from his pod." Vegeta thought for a moment. "And I'd better do it soon, because I'm going to have to live on this planet for a considerable amount of time, and if he tries to carry out his mission, that's going to make things very difficult for me."
"Mission?" Roshi frowned. "What mission?"
Vegeta sighed. "Oh, for God's sake… all right, I'm only going to tell you this once, so pay attention. Saiyans – that's the species that Kakarot and I both belong to – are a race of powerful warriors. We work for an organization known as the Planet Trade Organization, which is ruled by a being known as Frieza. Our missions are to exterminate the populations of planets, so that they can be sold on the market to potential buyers. That's why Kakarot was sent here; his mission is to grow up on this planet, and then to destroy its inhabitants once he's old enough."
Roshi stared at him, wide-eyed and aghast. "What?" he gasped.
"You heard me." Vegeta smirked. "Fortunately for you, I need this planet intact, since I doubt I'll be leaving anytime soon. But that's why I need to find Kakarot, so I can call him off before he can begin his mission to wipe out all life on this planet."
Roshi gulped. "Ah. I see. So, is this Kakarot person as powerful as you, then?"
Vegeta scoffed. "Hardly. I'm an elite Saiyan, heir to the throne of our race. Kakarot is a low-class warrior, greatly inferior in power and status; not to mention, he's only an infant. His power is nothing compared to mine at the moment." Then he frowned, noting something odd. "Wait… how did you know how powerful I am? You don't have a scouter or another device like one, and I haven't done anything that would require me to use my real strength, so how could you tell?"
"I could sense it," Roshi explained. "When you got angry, your ki spiked higher than anything I've ever sensed before."
"Ki?" Vegeta's brow furrowed. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Ah, you must have a different word for it." Roshi nodded understandingly. "Ki is the term for a living being's spiritual energy; its life force. All living things have ki: plants, insects, us. The stronger you are, the more ki you have. If people are aware of their ki, they can learn how to sense it, as I have."
So, by "ki", he's just talking about energy, the same thing we use to measure power levels… Vegeta's eyes widened. Does that mean he can sense energy without a scouter? Is that possible?
"This actually makes sense," he said in realization. "The device I'm trying to fix – we call it a scouter – does a variety of things, but one of its uses is to detect the energy of living beings; ki, you called it. When I scan someone with it, it analyzes the energy within their body and uses it to designate their power level, a measurement of how strong they are."
"Interesting," Roshi murmured. "So, technology can be used to sense ki." Must be an inefficient method, considering that you might as well be blind without one of those devices…
"Yeah, basically." Vegeta shrugged. "Another reason why I need to get this thing working." He tapped the scouter impatiently with one hand, but it remained silent.
That was when an idea occurred to him. "Hang on…" He looked up at Roshi. "Did you say that you know how to sense energy without using a scouter?"
After a moment, Roshi nodded. "Ah… yes, I do."
An eager glint entered Vegeta's eyes. "Could you teach me?"
Roshi's eyes widened in surprise. "Teach you?" He stared at the boy, considering the possibility. "Well, it would take time, and it requires intense concentration…"
"That won't be a problem." Vegeta casually waved off the old martial artist's excuses. "I have yet to meet a challenge that I couldn't overcome. As for time, well…" He indicated their surroundings and the crashed pod with a sweep of his hand. "It's not like I'm going anywhere anytime soon, is it?"
After a moment, Roshi nodded. "All right, then. I'll train you."
"Excellent." Vegeta smirked. "Let's get started."
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Roshi and Vegeta stood on the beach, facing each other. The waves washed gently against the shore, the steady rushing sound echoing in their ears. Seagulls flew overhead, their cawing ringing out.
"So how do we do this?" Vegeta inquired.
"Well," Roshi explained, "first, I want to test your abilities. Then we can get started on your real training."
The young prince sighed. "What do we do first?"
"Show me your power." Roshi's expression was serious. "Your real power. I need to know what I have to work with here."
Vegeta shrugged. "Fine with me. You may want to take a step back, though."
Heeding his warning, Roshi took a few steps back, raising his guard and bracing himself.
Narrowing his eyes, Vegeta held his arms out to the sides and crouched slightly, clenching his hands into fists. A faint breeze whispered through the air, ruffling his hair.
"Hrrr…" he growled. "Rrrr…rrrRRAAGGHH!" His power climbed rapidly, a blue aura flaring to life around him as his ki continued to increase. A strong wind burst outwards from him, swirling the sand around his feet. Roshi staggered backwards, trying to maintain his balance.
"HRAAAH!" Vegeta yelled, bringing all of his strength to the surface as he powered up to maximum. A blast of light burst outwards from within his body, hurling Roshi backwards. For a moment, it felt as if the entire beach was shaking.
Then the light died down, returning to normal levels. Vegeta's aura faded as he powered back down to normal.
"So," he said. "How was that?"
Roshi picked himself up, groaning and brushing sand off of his clothes; the shockwave had flung him halfway down the beach, tumbling head over heels. He gawked incredulously at Vegeta. "You're that strong? That's insane; I've never felt anything like that before!"
"Well, that means that I'm definitely the strongest person on this rock," Vegeta muttered. "Which means I don't have anyone worthwhile to fight." He sighed. "Great. This is going to be boring, on top of everything else."
Roshi frowned, approaching the boy again. "You wanted to fight someone?"
"Of course!" Vegeta exclaimed. "That's what Saiyans do, what we live for! Fighting powerful opponents and growing stronger is one of the greatest joys for us; we love the thrill of battle!" His eyes gleamed with enthusiasm, which quickly faded. "Which is why my stay on this planet is probably going to be very uninteresting."
"Well, I wouldn't say that," Roshi replied. "I do happen to have quite a bit of strength of my own, which is why I'm so good at training people how to harness their ki." He grinned proudly. "As a matter of fact, I'm widely known as one of the greatest martial arts masters on this planet; and, as a result, I've become one of the strongest people in the world."
Vegeta raised an eyebrow. "You're one of the strongest people on this planet?"
"As a matter of fact, I am," the old martial artist countered. "Obviously not as strong as you, considering that I can compare the power I felt from you to my own, but I think I'm pretty strong myself."
"Okay, then." The prince folded his arms over his chest. "Show me."
Roshi settled into a crouch, clenching his own fists and summoning up his ki. "Rrr… YAAAHH!" His own power rose rapidly, and a faint white aura flickered around his body, swirling up the sand again.
To his surprise, Vegeta actually smiled. "I'm impressed," he said, raising his voice to be heard over the wind kicked up by Roshi's aura. "I can't sense your energy, obviously, but I can tell you've got some decent power." He altered his stance, clenching his hands into fists and digging his feet into the sand. "I'll tell you what. How about this; I'll let you train me, if you let me see what you're made of."
Roshi contemplated that for a moment. "All right," he decided, assuming a fighting stance. "But you'll have to go easy on me; my power's nowhere near your level."
"Agreed. I'll start at my minimum power." Vegeta settled further into his own stance, bracing himself. "Come at me."
"Very well." With a yell, Roshi kicked off the sand and propelled himself forward, leaping at Vegeta with a flying kick. Just before impact, however, the young boy's arm snapped up, effortlessly blocking the blow.
Roshi jumped back, staring in shock at Vegeta. Wow, he thought. He really is incredible!
Vegeta smirked. "My turn." He shot forward, moving so fast that Roshi barely even saw him move, and swung a right hook, aimed at the old man's head for a quick knockout blow.
Before the blow could connect, however, Roshi ducked backwards, pushing off the ground with his hands and landing a full-force kick to the left side of Vegeta's head. The impact shoved the young prince's head around to the side, but didn't inflict any damage.
"Not bad," the boy remarked, before he seized Roshi's ankles, spun around once, and then let go, hurling him away. Roshi managed to regain control, powering up to maximum and turning his fall into a series of backflips, before skidding to a halt on his feet. Before he'd even managed to run back towards Vegeta, however, the young prince appeared in front of him, launching a series of kicks and punches.
While the Saiyan boy's combination of smaller size and much greater power would normally have been insurmountable, the fact that he was only using his minimum power meant that the two of them were fairly even in terms of strength. And Roshi had spent his life battling many different enemies, some of which had exceeded his own power by a wide margin. He had more fighting experience than anyone he knew, and that would serve him well here.
To an observer, the scene would have looked bizarre; Roshi was dancing backwards across the beach, dodging and deflecting Vegeta's attacks, both of them moving so fast that their forms seemed to blur. For the most part, the Turtle Hermit didn't bother launching any direct attacks, instead waiting patiently for the boy to leave an opening.
Damn it! Vegeta thought in frustration, continuing his assault to little success. Why can't I hit him? Judging by that kick, he can't be much stronger than I am at my minimum power, so what the hell is going on?!
After about thirty seconds, Roshi's moment came; Vegeta grinned, angling in for a spinning kick with his right leg, and leaving himself open in the process. Roshi immediately lunged forward, focusing his ki into his right fist and landing a full-force punch directly to the prince's face, just as Vegeta's knee slammed into his gut.
A resounding boom echoed over the beach, and both fighters hit the ground.
Vegeta clambered to his feet, brushing sand off of himself. He glanced over to where Roshi was groaning and trying to pick himself up. And, to the old martial artist's surprise, he grinned. "Impressive," he admitted. "How did you manage to dodge my attacks? I know you must be at least as strong as I am at my minimum, but based on the strength of those hits, you're not that strong." His eyebrows furrowed. "So how did you do that?"
"Simple; I'm several hundred years old." Roshi shrugged, sitting up on the sand. "I've been a martial artist for most of my life, and when you live to be as old as I am, you learn a few tricks. In this case, I was able to use my experience, and the fact that you don't know anything about how I fight, to make up for my lack of raw power."
The Saiyan child was actually impressed; this man had a fighting style that was unlike anything he'd ever seen before, and it had actually proven challenging. "Not bad, Earthman. I'm curious; how did you learn to fight like that?"
Roshi raised an eyebrow. "Well, if you want, I could teach you."
Vegeta frowned. "Really? You'd be willing to teach me your techniques, even after I've told you that my people destroy planets for profit?"
The hermit grinned. "You did tell me that, yeah. But that's your people, not you. See, I've always been able to read people fairly well, once I get to know them. And trust me when I say this, Vegeta; you could be a great man someday, if you're willing to put in the effort." His expression was open and honest, and there was conviction in his eyes. "With power like yours, if you can control it properly… you could be a hero."
Vegeta snorted. "If you've been alive for as long as you claim, old man, then you should know; there's no such thing as heroes." He smirked in amusement. "But I will let you teach me your martial arts, if only because your skills intrigue me, and I'll need something to pass the time until I can locate Kakarot."
Inwardly, Roshi sighed. This was going to take a while. Outwardly, however, he retained a pleasant attitude, and smiled at the child standing in front of him.
"Right, then," he decided, holding out his right hand. "Do we have a deal?"
The Saiyan prince looked at the old man's outstretched hand for a long moment, as if he was still making up his mind.
And then, after a moment, he nodded, and shook Roshi's hand.
"We have a deal," he agreed.
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AN: And here we are again! I'm so sorry it's taken such a long time for me to update; hopefully this chapter made up for it! This chapter isn't all that exciting, but it should get much more interesting as the story goes on. And, with any luck, the next chapter shouldn't take nearly as long to finish.
Shoutouts to DiscoStu09, Itami Saiyan, Full Power, euroteres, Ultimate Black Ace, applefanfic, pokeball645, ShadowLDrago, BlackAeronaut, Ryu no Ohi and BaltaineShadow for reviewing; you guys are awesome!
As always, I tremendously appreciate feedback on my work, so if you have a comment or question regarding this chapter or the story as a whole, please review! (No hate, please).
Next chapter, Vegeta and Roshi begin their official training, and Vegeta makes progress in his plan to locate Kakarot… stay tuned!
See you next time!
Review Q&A:
Q: Nice start! I am eagerly looking forward to the changes that are made because of Vegeta.
A: Yeah, there will definitely be a lot of changes; some will be small, but others will turn out to be very major.
Q: you're idea is awesome i hope you update soon as i am thrilled from the first chapter
A: Thanks! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
Q: I really like this idea, actually, and your writing is great. I'm excited to see where this story goes, especially with Vegeta as early student of Roshi..Goku landed in same place as in canon? Neat. Alright, let's see what happens!
A: Yes, Vegeta's relationship with Roshi will definitely be very different from Goku's. And yeah, Goku landed in the same place as he did in canon.
Q: Oh this is going to be fun, I can feel it.
A: Oh, yes. Yes, it is.
Q: I think that this is a very interesting idea, I'd love to see where it goes and what differences it makes in the overall DBZ universe. You also have good writing and grammar skills.
Probably one of my only concerns is actually Vegeta, or rather his power. As a child he was apparently already stronger than Saibamen, able to take several on at once without trouble, which, provided that they were as strong as Canon Raditz, makes him much stronger than anything the Earth can throw at him for a while. Therefore, I'm worried that he won't be challenged for quite a while. I'm just hoping that you've accounted for this in your plans for the story.
A: Well, there will definitely be some major differences as a result; we'll have to wait and see what exactly is changed.
And yes, I have accounted for Vegeta's power in my plans for this story. Currently, he's slightly stronger than canon Raditz at full power, and slightly above Roshi at minimum power. I'd say that his skill, rather than his power, was the reason that he was able to take on multiple Saibamen at once; let's say that each Saibaman is at 1200 (since they're each equal to Raditz), and Vegeta is currently at about 1500 at maximum. So, yeah, he's stronger than basically anything that we'll see in the early part of Dragon Ball, but that doesn't mean he won't face challenges.
Q: Intresting... I like this story! Update soon.
A: Thanks, sorry it took so long!
Q: This is a very good start, I can't wait until Vegeta meets up with Kakarot, I mean Goku.
A: Yeah, that'll definitely be an interesting experience for him.
Q: Is it wrong that I imagine their TFS voices? This should prove interesting, this is a rather unique idea. I like.
A: No, either their TFS or Funimation voices would definitely work for the characters.
Q: What? Only one chapter? What a tease! :p
Honestly, though, it is an interesting, and yet, believable change from the original story line. I would honestly love to see how young Prince Vegita deals handles living with Master Roshi.
A: Yeah, it's definitely going to be an interesting dynamic.
Q: An interesting take on a common premise, & so far, the first chapter is coherent & well-written. No spelling errors! Vegeta's arrival on Master Roshi's island maybe could have been fleshed out more, but I'm guessing you'll do that in the next installment. Good job thus far!
A: Thanks! Yeah, I made an effort to flesh it out more in this chapter, and develop how Vegeta and Roshi interact. They're so different that, in some ways, they can play off each other very well.
Q: I think your story has a very interesting concept - but now the question is: what are you going to do with it? It's been a while since you posted this - great - chapter... :)
I hope you will update soon!
Greetings,
Baltaine
A: Yeah, sorry it's taken me so long to update. Hopefully this chapter made up for it!
