Chapter One
Adventures Begin!
It was early in the morning and Son Tenshinhan was gathering water from the river for watering the plants while his grandfather prepared breakfast. He filled the buckets and looped a stick through the handles to carry the water up the hill on his shoulders. After Ten dropped the water off, however, something caught his attention. He spied a cloud of dust from the dirt road that led to his home growing ever-larger and frowned. The only people that came out this far were either Muten Roshi, the milkman, or bandits and hoodlums. The milkman had already come, and Muten Roshi didn't own a car.
Tenshinhan didn't want to take any chances and leaped high into the air, over the treeline. He flipped through the air and rocketed towards the blue TURBO car that came racing up the road. A woman shrieked as the car swerved to avoid him and came to a stop as he landed in the ground hard enough to make a hole in the ground. He climbed out of the hole just in time to see a blue-haired young girl climbing out of the car and pointing a pistol at him. She squeezed off the first shot and by the time the bullet reached the spot where Tenshinhan had been, he was already in front of her and had a hand on the pistol. In the time it took her to squeeze the trigger again, Tenshinhan had removed the firing hammer and the magazine, bullets spilling out onto the dirt. The girl stared at Tenshinhan in a cross between shock, astonishment, and fear.
"Who… what are you?" she asked in a tone barely above a whisper. Tenshinhan let go of her wrist and stared at her intensely. They never got many visitors up here, let alone people around his own age. Especially girls his own age.
"Who are you?" he replied, "What are you here for?" She glared at him for not answering her question and he glared right back. Before either one could say anything, however, Son Gohan arrived.
"Tenshinhan!" Gohan called tersely, "That's enough of that!" Tenshinhan reluctantly let go of the blue-haired girl's wrist and took a few steps away from her. "I'm terribly sorry about that, young lady," Gohan said as he bowed respectfully which made Ten bow reluctantly as well, "We don't get many friendly visitors around here. I'm Son Gohan, this is my grandson Tenshinhan. Who are you?"
"Name's Bulma," she said while picking bullets off the ground and loading them back into her magazine, "I'm looking for the Dragon Balls." She reached into a satchel on her hip and produced a strange, circular white device with a green screen. "I've invented this thing called a Dragon Radar and it tells me where they are." Bulma put the Radar back into her satchel and pulled out two Dragon Balls. Just like the ones Grandpa Gohan had! "I've already got two, see?" Tenshinhan blinked. Dragon Balls?
"So there's more than just the Four Star, grandpa?" he asked curiously. Gohan nodded and stroked his mustache while he eyed Bulma with no small level of suspicion.
"Indeed," he said, "I have one, as does Muten Roshi, and so does my old schoolmate, the Ox King. We kept three amongst ourselves to keep them out of the hands of those that might use the Dragon Balls' power for ill. Even if someone got the other four, they'd have to go through us."
"I don't understand," Tenshinhan said, "What power? What happens if you gather all seven?"
"Jeez," Bulma muttered, "You own one and you don't know what they do? What kinda hick are you?" Tenshinhan shot her a nasty look and opened his mouth to say something before Gohan spoke again.
"Perhaps we should continue this inside," Gohan said, "Would you like to join us for breakfast?"
Bulma blinked in surprise. By the shift in her body language, it was clear she hadn't expected for offer. "Uhhh," she said before shrugging, "Sure!" Tenshinhan wasn't entirely sure how he felt about that but Gohan and Bulma were already heading for the house before he could voice his complaints. He sighed and followed after them, already having a sneaking suspicion that this Bulma girl was going to lead to trouble.
Breakfast that morning consisted of rice porridge, eggs, and a few slices of grilled fish from the massive bass Ten had pulled out of the river earlier that same morning.
"So," Gohan began as he poured everyone tea, "Where are you from, Miss Bulma?" Bulma was transfixed by the Dragon Ball sitting on the mantle above the fireplace, so Gohan had to repeat himself. "Miss Bulma?"
Bulma blinked and shook herself back to the conversation. "What? Oh, sorry. I'm from West City." She took a sip of her tea before continuing. "I'm guessing you two haven't been there?" Tenshinhan grimaced while shoveling porridge into his mouth but Gohan only chuckled amicably.
"No," he admitted, "I can't say I have. Only big city I've been to was Papaya Island, but that was years and years ago. I know where it is, though. That's quite the journey you've been on already. What is it you plan on wishing for?"
"Wait," Ten interjected as he wiped his mouth with a napkin, "What wish? I still don't understand what the Dragon Balls do."
"Well," Bulma began around a mouthful of egg, "When you gather all seven of them together, they're supposed to summon a giant dragon that will grant you any wish." Ten turned back to his grandfather with his mouth agape.
"Why didn't you tell me they could do that?!" Gohan gave a halfhearted shrug.
"I'd always meant to tell you," Gohan assured him, "I just kept putting it off for one reason or another. Honestly, part of me was worried you'd go off on some wild adventure for the rest of them. The Dragon Balls aren't meant to be used lightly. With that in mind," Gohan said as he turned his attention back to Bulma, "What exactly do you plan to wish for?" Bulma's face reddened slightly and she looked down at her plate. It was kind of embarrassing to say it out loud, especially in front of an old man.
"Uhhh," Bulma muttered as one hand reached up to twirl her ponytail, "I kinda… wanna… wish for the perfect boyfriend." Tenshinhan blinked in confusion. What was a boyfriend, anyway? Did she just want a friend? That was… kind of sad. He felt a little bad now.
"Well," Gohan replied with another chuckle, "I suppose that's hardly sinister, is it?" Bulma's face brightened and she gasped in excitement. "Go ahead." Gohan went on with a gesture, pointing towards the mantle with his chopsticks. Bulma squealed in delight as she dashed from the table and grabbed the Dragon Ball before stuffing it into her pocket.
"Thank you!" Bulma cried eagerly as she ran back over to Gohan and shook his hand in both of hers. "Thank you so much!" Then she threw her arms around him in a quick hug which made the old man turn quite pink. She let out another squeal of delight before turning to Tenshinhan. "Hey," she said, "I'm sorry for… y'know, shooting at you." Tenshinhan shrugged.
"I'm sorry for attacking you," he replied as he sat up and gave a bow. "In fact," he added somewhat awkwardly, "This journey you're going on. It's… dangerous isn't it?" Bulma shrugged.
"I can handle myself," she assured him while patting the pistol on her hip. Tenshinhan folded his arms over his chest and raised one eyebrow.
"I think I've already proved that guns might not be the most effective thing in the world…" Bulma huffed and Tenshinhan hurriedly tried to get to the point. "What I meant to say was… I'd like to accompany you." Bulma blushed a little, which Tenshinhan didn't really understand. "It just wouldn't be right to let you wander off into some place dangerous. After all, we'd never get our Dragon Ball back." It was more than that, though. Tenshinhan didn't want to admit it but part of him was getting… bored, living on this same mountain, seeing the same trees and rocks and rivers, every single day. He wanted to see the rest of the world. Bulma chewed on her lip and shrugged before putting out her hand.
"Eh," she muttered, "What the heck? Sure!" Tenshinhan smiled and shook her hand. He turned to speak to his grandfather– he'd need his permission as well, after all– but Gohan was already standing and holding out his Power Pole for Tenshinhan to take.
"Grandpa…" Tenshinhan asked in a quiet voice, "A-are you sure?" Gohan nodded and Tenshinhan slowly took the pole from Gohan's hands and put it across his back before bowing appreciatively.
"Be safe," Gohan told him as he bowed back, "Look after yourself as well as young Bulma, and remember what I taught you." Ten stood up and pulled his grandpa into a hug.
"I will," he promised, "And I'll be back as soon as we're done!" Gohan nodded and gave a wave as Tenshinhan and Bulma walked out the door.
"Hey," Bulma said as they made their way down the dirt road, "I kinda wanted to ask. That third eye of yours…?"
"Yeah?"
"Well, what's the deal? Not a whole lot of people with three eyes."
"Whaddaya mean 'what's the deal'?"
"I mean, does it cry like the other two? I didn't see it blink the whole time or anything. Does it get dust, what happens?"
Tenshinhan shrugged. "It's not really like an eye eye. It doesn't… see like my other two, but it sees… ki and stuff."
"What's ki?" Bulma asked.
"It's hard to explain."
"Gee, you're helpful, aren't ya?" Bulma climbed into her car and started it up. "My car's not exactly built for someone your size, so it might be a bit of a–"
"Don't worry," Tenshinhan said as he dropped into a runner's crouch, "I can keep up." Bulma rolled her eyes.
"Riiiight," she shot back sarcastically, "Hey, your name's kinda long. Mind if I just call you Ten?"
"Yes." Ten told her flatly. Bulma grinned and stuck out her tongue.
"Well, then you'll have to catch me to do somethin' about it!" She floored the gas and took off laughing… until she noticed Ten was running right beside her. She blinked and stared and nearly went off the road. This guy was weird.
OoOoOoO
Chaozu was sitting at lunch with some of the other Crane students during their break and he found himself looking over to Kakarot, the strange child who had been raised at the Crane School since infancy. And had apparently turned into a giant monkey at one point. He sat far removed from the other students with a slightly larger bowl of beef and rice than the others and, for some reason, didn't wear shoes.
"Don't get too close to that kid," warned Aoi, one of the white-haired, blue-skinned twin students that Chaozu sat with. He suspected they all sat together because, well, they looked weird to everyone else.
"Yeah," added Aoi's brother Tori, "He's dangerous." Chaozu hardly needed to be reminded of that, but… still. He wondered why the kid was so sullen and lonely all the time. What was he thinking about? Chaozu reached out with his telepathic powers to try and see what was going on in Kakarot's mind. He instantly flinched back at what he found. Kakarot's mind was so angry, full of rage and hate and a screaming voice in a language that definitely wasn't English. Chaozu tried to probe further and get a clearer picture.
He was soon far more occupied by the hand around his throat as Kakarot had somehow covered the distance of more than a hundred feet in about a second. The savage boy slammed Chaozu down onto the table and glared down at him with his hand squeezing at Chaozu's throat.
"Stay. Out. Of. My. Head." Kakarot growled. Chaozu nodded frantically and Kakarot let him go. Chaozu groaned and groaned as he slid down to the floor while the other boy stomped off, presumably to go looking in the woods for more food.
"Thanks, guys." Chaozu muttered sarcastically as he rubbed at his throat.
"Whaddaya think we are," the twins responded in unison, "Idiots?" Chaozu rolled his eyes.
OoOoOoO
Later that day, as the sun began to set, Chaozu was out in the fields picking fruit for the next morning's breakfast. Normally for someone of Chaozu's stature, the chore would have been seen as a cruel joke. Luckily for Chaozu, he had psychic powers, so that made plucking the fruit down from the trees fairly easy. He heard a trio of snickering behind him and groaned.
"Well, well, well," said a voice with a firm, authoritative tenor, "Look, boys. It's the Crane School's lucky leprechaun!" Chaozu rolled his eyes and set the fruit basket down as he looked up at his fellow students.
"Hello, Washi," Chaozu said dryly. Washi was a tall young man with dark skin and white hair. He also had a hooked nose and intense yellow eyes. He was the sort who liked to strut proudly with his chest puffed out. He was also tailed by his two cronies, Kitsutsuki and Garanchou. Kitsuki was lean, always grinning, with a spike of red hair and a toothpick dangling from his lips. Garanchou had no hair, but he did have an enormous chin.
"Man," Kitsutsuki teased as he leaned down to look at Chaozu, "You've been here five years, have you grown an inch?" he cackled his obnoxious laugh and flicked the toothpick at Chaozu. It bounced off Chaozu's forehead and he rolled his eyes again.
"We heard that you had a run-in with Kakarot at lunch," Garanchou pointed out. "Heard that it didn't turn out so great!" The trio laughed again and Washu shoved Chaozu.
"You know it's rough when the freaks can't even get along with other freaks!" Chaozu said nothing so Washu shoved him again. Then a third time, so Chaozu shoved him back. Washu stumbled back before he and his cohorts moved towards Chaozu with their fists drawn back.
"Hey!" a voice barked. All four swiveled around to see Kakarot stomping towards them and Washi laughed and puffed his chest out again.
"You think I'm scare of you, freak?" he taunted, "You may be able to take out any of the other students, but I'm the best of us." Magamo had been the best before he mysteriously died the day Kakarot arrived, but Chaozu figured that Washu was trying to forget that. "Let's see what you've–" Kakarot punched Washu in the knee and he shrieked as the bone snapped in half. Washu fell to a knee with a shriek and Kakarot headbutted him hard enough to send him flying into a tree. As the other two scrambled to pick Washu up and carry him away, Kakarot shrugged.
"Guess I'm the best." he said as he watched them run away. Then he turned to Chaozu and nodded at him before he started to walk off again. Chaozu picked up the fruit basket and hesitated for a moment before following after him.
"Wait," Chaozu called, "I don't get it! Why would you help me?" Kakarot shrugged.
"I don't like the weak. Or cowards. Bullies are both. They prey on the weak to make themselves feel strong because they're too afraid to actually be challenged."
"Thanks," Chaozu said, "...I think."
"What were you doing in my mind, anyway?" Kakarot asked. Now it was Chaozu's turn to shrug.
"You just looked lonely. I wanted to see what was going on in your head. Maybe be your friend."
"I don't need friends," Kakarot told him curtly, "Father says they'll just get in my way."
"Yeah, but… do you want one?"
"...Maybe."
OoOoOoO
It was the end of a long day's drive (well, a drive for Bulma and a run for Ten) and after a run-in with a pterodactyl, Bulma had decided to call it a day. Ten had been fully prepared to sleep under a tree when Bulma produced a small bauble from her car and threw it on the ground. There was a puff of smoke and then, where once there had been nothing, there was a house!
"That's amazing!" Ten exclaimed as he followed Bulma inside, "I didn't know you could do magic!" Bulma scoffed.
"Magic?" she asked with a laugh, "What, have you never heard of capsules before?" Ten shook his head and Bulma grinned as she turned on some strange machine that looked like it had a teapot attached to it. "Well, it's a technology my father invented. He's the owner and founder of Capsule Corp, so when he steps down, I'm gonna take over and make like a jillion dollars."
"That's… nice?" Tenshinhan said with a shrug. He didn't really see the importance of money. "So how does it work?"
"It's 'hard to explain'," Bulma teased, echoing Ten's earlier sentiments about ki, which made Ten roll all three eyes. "Basically, the capsules create a negative ionic field that bombards whatever object the capsules is used on with particles that greatly shrink down the object's mass to almost the subatomic level, so that they can be stored easily in the capsule without carrying any weight." Ten blinked and it was clear that everything Bulma had said went right over his head. "Look," Bulma added arrogantly, "It takes something really big," she made overdramatic gestures with her hands and spoke slowly, as if talking to a child, "And makes it really small, okay?" The teapot machine beeped and Bulma poured two mugs of a strange dark liquid. "Now," she said as she handed him one, "Tell me about this 'ki' stuff."
Ten sniffed the liquid suspiciously as Bulma sat down at a table and he set it aside before speaking. "Ki is…" he rubbed one hand on the back of his neck as he tried to search for the right words, like how his grandpa had explained to him, "Ki is… an energy inside everything. It's not like a 'soul', it's not just in living things. Everything from you and me, to animals, to the trees and the rocks and the ocean and the stars. Everything has ki. People can make their ki stronger through training, and they can learn to sense it and even control it." Ten held up one hand and a small ball of yellow light hovered an inch above his palm. "Like this, see?" Bulma's eyes went wide with wonder and Tenshinhan smiled, glad to see that he could surprise her, too. He dissolved the ki ball and went on. "Ki is a part of everything, inside and out. It surrounds us all and binds the universe together."
Bulma grinned. "Sounds like something out of a movie," she quipped. Ten blinked.
"What's a movie?" he asked. Bulma rolled her eyes as Ten lifted the mug to his lips and took a sip. He jerked away from it and stared in horror like it was a wild animal that had tried to rip his face off. "Blech! What kind of tea is this?!"
"It's not tea," Bulma explained as she loaded her mug with cream and sugar, "It's coffee."
"How do you drink it?!"
"Heavily modified," she told him before taking a long swallow. "So can only certain people learn how to use ki or what?"
"Oh, no," Ten said, "Anyone can use their ki. They just need someone to train them." Bulma nodded and took another sip.
"Maybe you could teach me a couple moves sometime?" she asked with a wink.
"...Was there something in your eye?" Ten asked. Bulma groaned and took another drink of her coffee before standing up from the table and stretching.
"Welp," she said, "It's gettin' dark, so I'm gonna take a shower and change. You can wait outside."
"Why?" Ten asked.
"Don't think this clueless farmboy routine is fooling me, ya sneaky pervert."
"P-pervert?!" Ten exclaimed in confusion. Where the heck did that come from?!
"Deciding to follow a young and beautiful girl like me around the world, all alone on a perilous mission, wanting to be my big hero?" She accused.
"What are you talking about?" Ten asked. He was so lost.
"And turn around out there!" Bulma told him as she headed for the bathroom, "I don't want you looking through the walls with that third eye!"
"My third eye doesn't see through walls!" he protested. Bulma shut the bathroom door and Ten groaned before heading outside. He turned his back to the Capsule House and stared up at the quickly-darkening sky as he wondered just what kind of headache he'd gotten himself into.
OoOoOoO
"Kakarot is starting to worry me," Shen said as he poured tea for Tao Pai Pai, who was sitting across the table from him, "I've had him put more focus into his meditation, but at times I catch him muttering to himself in that strange language that machine was speaking in when I found him. He's violent–"
"A good quality in a mercenary," Tao put in sardonically. Shen rolled his eyes and pressed on.
"I know that. I've raised the boy to be a killing machine, haven't I? But his violence is beyond the point of reason sometimes. He would have killed a third student in sparring if I hadn't stopped him."
Tao nodded and took a sip of tea. "That's what's really troubling you, isn't it, brother? Not that he's violent or dangerous. You're worried that one day, you won't be able to stop him. That he'll be too strong, he'll outgrow you. You're wondering what happens to you then." Tao chuckled. "Personally? I can't wait to find out."
Shen groaned and rolled his eyes. "I can always count on you for moral support, can't I, sister?" he asked dryly. Tao Pai Pai, an older (though not nearly so old as Shen), lean-faced woman with her dark hair in a tight ponytail smirked back at him. Before the conversation could turn nasty, a fat-nosed student named Ahiru burst into Shen's private study and was gasping for breath.
"M-Ma-master Shen," he wheezed, "L-Lady Mercenary…"
"Yes, yes," Shen muttered while gesturing for Ahiru to get on with it, "Who is Kakarot maiming this time?"
"It's not Kakarot," Ahiru explained, "We've… we've had an intruder!" Shen shot up quickly from his chair and Tao stood up as well with a look of mild bemusement on her face as she followed after the Master and Student.
"Explain," Shen demanded as they walked.
"We don't know where she came from," Ahiru began, "She won't say. She just seemed to be running from something and broke into our storerooms. She was armed and–"
"Is she still alive?" Shen asked. He did not tolerate intruders on his school grounds. There was no telling what Turtle spies might be lurking with painted shells.
"Y-yes," Ahiru replied, "We wanted to ask you what to do with her." They arrived on the training grounds to find Da and Chou, a pair of bug-eyed and lanky twins that were Shen's tallest students by far, holding a struggling blonde girl between them with each holding one of her arms and keeping her off the ground. She kicked and flailed and growled as the twins pinioned her arms behind her back. The girl had scrapes on her knees and elbows and scratches up and down her arms and legs. She also had dirt on her face and clothes and leaves in her hair. She certainly looked like she'd been running from something.
"Who," Shen demanded as he pulled down his sunglasses, "Are you?"
"Name's Launch," the girl said, "Who the hell wants to know?" Tao laughed at the girl's impudence while Shen tugged at the lapels of his jacket.
"I am Shen," he told her, "Master of the Crane School. What are you doing here?"
"Not that it's any of your goddamn business, Grandpa," Launch told him, "But I was runnin' from the cops. I didn't know anything about this place, I just came here 'cause it was a building where I could lie low and maybe get some food. But I didn't steal anythin'." Launch paused. "Okay, so I didn't get the chance to steal anythin'." Shen nodded.
"What were the authorities chasing you for?" he demanded. Launch shrugged.
"Stole some stuff. Killed some people. What's it to you?" Shen looked to the towering twins and waved a hand.
"Release her," he demanded. The pair let Launch down and she had a moment to stretch her arms before Shen grabbed her by the arm and examined her. "You have good bone structure and ki flow," he told her, "And a great potential for violence. There is… a weakness in you, but I believe that can be removed." For some reason, that made Launch grin. "You shall not need to run anymore. You will stay here and be trained in the way of the Crane School." Shen smirked for a moment. "Unless you'd prefer to take your chances with the law?"
Launch's grin widened and she cracked her knuckles. "What the hell? Always wanted to get better at kickin' ass."
OoOoOoO
Kakarot sat on a rock under a waterfall and let the water run over him as he sat in focused meditation. Control. He had to find control. Had to find… had to find…
'Kill them, Kakarot!' a voice screamed in his head. It was always there, that awful voice. Some days it was louder than others. 'It is your mission! It is your destiny! Kill them all!' Kakarot ground his teeth and took several long, slow breaths until the voice went away.
"Hey," Chaozu called, "Kakarot! Over here!" Kakarot opened his eyes and climbed out from under the waterfall to see Chaozu hovering just above the treeline. Someday he'd have to get his friend to teach him how he did that. Kakarot quickly climbed up a tree and looked to where Chaozu was pointing. All the students were in the yard and that old lady was next to Father. Father was talking to some blonde… person.
"Oumu will show you to an empty room," Father was saying, "Then you will begin training with the rest of the students at dawn. Be wary of my… son, Kakarot. He's quite dangerous."
"What is that?" Kakarot whispered as he watched Father walk with the person and the old woman.
"What do you mean?" Chaozu asked, "That's a girl." Kakarot blinked. "Like that Tao lady, but not old."
"Ohhh." Kakarot muttered. A girl. He'd never seen one before…
A/N: Yes, Tao is a woman. Why, you ask? Well, I saw a design for genderswapped Tao Pai Pai on funsexydragonball's tumblr (obviously nsfw and not for any of my young fans) that I really liked and wanted to use. No huge revelations, I just thought it was neat.
Name translations!
Aoi Tori: Blue bird
Washi: Eagle
Kitsutsuki: Woodpecker
Garanchou: Pelican
Ahiru: Duck
Dachou: Ostrich
Oumu: Parrot