A/N: Howdy. We move on to chapter 2 now! Names of the monks of Orin Temple were never given so I had to do some digging. The Kuri in Kuririn means chesnut so I thought 'hey, let's name these guys after nuts and stuff like that!' and this was the result. Enjoy~
Kuririn awoke to snoring. He grabbed his pillow and wrapped it around his bald head. "Kami... never knew Muten Roshi could snore that loud..." He managed to get a few more minutes of shuteye before he was awoken once again, this time by a deeper, louder snore. "W-what the? That's definitely not Roshi." He sat up in his futon and rubbed his eyes to remove sleep. He was facing a brown wooden wall. That was strange. The Kame House had pink walls, not brown. A loud, choked snore sounded and Kuririn whipped his head to the right to see a skinny monk roll over in his futon.
Oh, it's Kurumi. Okay, back to bed...
He was about to enter the dreamworld again when his eyes snapped open. Wait, what?! Kurumi? If that's Kurumi then...
The loud, deep snore echoed through the room. Kuririn's eyes widened. It-it's Pikan! A-and over to the far left is Rakkasei! And the twins Natto and Shido!
Before Kuririn could fully wrap his head around it all, the gong signally the arrival of dawn sounded and sleepy groans arose. The monks got up and started preparing for the day.
Kuririn pretended to be asleep for a bit longer as he contemplated what was happening. I'm back at Orin... He looked down at himself, glancing at his chubby hands and short legs. And it looks like I'm 12 again. Or 13 depending whenever we are now. I never grew much... The memories of what had transpired before his little time jump rushed back to him. His eyes widened. I was dying! I was on my literal deathbed! A-and the wish. Oh, Kami, the wish. Is... is this the result? His family pushed themselves to the forefront of his mind. Oh no. Marron. She's my daughter. What would she think? I left her! I'll never see her again. Not even in the Otherworld. She could still be born in this timeline... but it won't be the same. But... I could give her the chance to be happy. I'll never leave her like I did before. Never again.
He finished his resolved just as Kurumi, the lanky monk, ducked back into the room. "Yo, little Kuririn! Wake up." He held up his fist with a sneer. "Or maybe I should beat you awake?"
"Shut up," snarled Kuririn, getting up. "Don't talk to me like that." His glare was almost a perfect imitation of Vegeta's and Kurumi looked like he was about to wet himself. But the glare apparantly wasn't as effective when it was being practiced by a bald 12 year old with no nose as Kurumi managed to gather his swagger again.
"Oh yeah? And what are you doing to do about it?" He marched up to Kuririn and prodded him roughly in the chest with one finger. It didn't hurt but he felt it. It seemed that Kuririn would have to retrain his body once again. Kurumi smirked. "Tell you what, I'll be nice. We can take it out on the training field instead. Me and Pikan against you and someone else. Good luck finding a sparring partner. Little loser!"
Kuririn seethed after Kurumi but calmed himself before summoning a ball of chi. He cut off the flow of chi before summoning a kienzan. It looked as sharp as ever. I'm weaker than ever before. I'm stuck in a child's body and I haven't done any proper training for decades. I'm already a bit puffed just summoning that kienzan.
But training could wait, for it was breakfast now. Kuririn grimaced as he wandered down to the mess hall. He had always hated breakfast time. Kurumi and Pikan liked using that time to try and publicly humiliate him. For two veteran monks, they were sure immature. Orin Temple mostly ran itself as a community but it was mostly Kurumi and Pikan that swayed the decisions made. Everyday, it would be mostly the same routine. Breakfast, their only meal for the day; training; chanting; more training and then meditation in the evening before hitting the hay. Then the cycle would repeat itself. It was the same for everyone, except Kuririn. Along with the general routine, Kuririn would also be made to fetch water during intervals. It was a tight time frame; he had to return before the next activity. Kuririn couldn't even imagine how he had managed in the past without his powers.
Thankfully, breakfast passed by without any disturbance until the first interval.
"Hey, short stack!" Pikan called to Kuririn mockingly. "Did you forget? It's time to fetch your pail of water, Jill!"
The entire mess hall burst into laughter like Pikan had said the funniest thing in the world. But Kuririn only walked out with his head held high. Or, well, as high as he could hold it anyway. Kuririn never was a tall person. People were still snickering but Kurumi and Pikan looked slightly dismayed. They had been expecting more of a reaction: something akin to embarrassment and shuffling out as quick as he could without tripping while the hall howled with laughter. When Kurumi reached out to pat Kuririn on the head like he was a little dog, Kuririn caught his wrist.
Kurumi spluttered in surprise before Kuririn let him go. The older monk stared after Kuririn's retreating form in shock. Just when did little Kuririn have such a grip? But never mind, he would pay Kuririn back during training. Kurumi was extremely confident with his own strength and ability. He thought himself the strongest monk in Orin Temple, even stronger than the muscly Pikan. Heck, even Hercule seemed like a modest person compared to Kurumi.
Kuririn smirked as he imagined Kurumi's surprise. He wouldn't openly war against them now. Disputes were settled in training time. Instead, Kuririn focused on the good things, like the exercise he was going to get by collecting water. He would think of it like it was the Muten Roshi's training. It gave him a rush of excitement, and he picked up the large twin pails - strapped across a bamboo stick - and placed the stick upon his shoulders before jogging to the lake.
Kuririn made it to the lake in no time. There would still be plenty of time before morning training sessions began. So he took it upon himself to exercise his body by performing the basic Turtle kata. He needed to get in shape and fast. He suspected he was still 12 at the moment, but turning 13 soon. And when that day came, he would, like in the original timeline, leave the Orin Temple forever. But for now, it was time to train. Eventually, he tapped into his chi reserves again to relearn how to use his chi effectively. He formed three balls of chi and juggled in the air as a form of meditation.
When he had finished, the wind had picked up slightly, causing lake water to lap against the shore. Kuririn smiled. Just like Kame Island. If only this place wasn't contaminated by those guys... then it'd be perfect. I'd prefer a dirty old man than those idiots back at the temple. Heh. Now I remember why I left. He thought about it some more as he walked back to the temple. Heck, who said I had to stay until my birthday anyway? This was the result of my wish. Does it matter if I divulge from the original timeline? A small naggy voice that sounded eerily like a blend between Bulma and Chi Chi told him yes. But another voice, sounding like Goku, seemed to disagree. In the end, he went with the Goku voice. This is my wish. This is my wish. And this time, things are going to be different, he promised himself.
Once he had fed the empty well the water he had collected, he headed straight to the training area, where the chi signatures of all the monks were gathered. He couldn't help but grin broadly at the thought of wiping the floor with Kurumi and Pikan. Oh yeah. Things were definitely going to be different this time around.
"Alright chumps!" Kurumi yelled across the clearing. "Today's going to be a little different."
Kuririn blinked. Different? Huh, weird. Maybe by changing the timeline this morning it effected Kurumi's decisions. He's gotta be using this to get back at me somehow.
"Earlier today," Kurumi continued. "A certain shrimp decided it would be a good idea to defy me. And defiance was read as a challenge!" With a flourish that only he and Hercule could possibly pull off, he pointed directly at Kuririn. "You're going down today, short stuff!" He even did the thumbs down gesture which Kuririn had come to associate Hercule with.
Poor Kuririn couldn't hold back a snigger.
"What, you think this is funny?" Kurumi growled, even more enraged at Kuririn's flippant reaction. "Okay then, you asked for it, shrimp. No more Mr Nice Guy. I'm going to pummel you."
Kuririn yawned.
"Okay, that's it!" snapped Kurumi. "You and me, the ring, now."
Kuririn shrugged and stepped into the training circle. He raised an eyebrow when Kurumi gestured to Pikan to come over. The heavyset monk joined his thinner companion in the ring.
"Two on one?" said Kuririn. "Gee that's hardly fair," he smirked, "for you."
"Feel free to pick a partner," Kurumi invited. "That is, if you can find one." The monk grinned wickedly. When Kuririn had left breakfast, Kurumi had ordered all of the monks to refuse Kuririn as a partner.
"That's okay," said Kuririn, looking bored. "I don't need a partner. Besides, it's pretty obvious you coerced them into not helping."
Everyone stared at Kuririn in disbelief.
"He's crazy."
"Kurumi and Pikan will wipe the floor with him!"
"Poor guy. There won't be much left once they're done with him."
"He'll be sent away in a stretcher."
"Never took him as a fatalist."
Kuririn did some basic stretches as Pikan volunteered Rakkasei as the referee.
"Begin!" shouted Rakkasei and Kuririn took a stance for the sake of training. Across the ring, Kurumi and Pikan had also shifted into their stances: classic Orin Temple ones. Kuririn couldn't help but notice how many holes there were in their stances.
Kurumi made the first move, as expected. He shot off at a speed that was fast for humans but incredibly slow to Kuririn's chi enhanced eyesight. Kuririn stifled a yawn as he prepared to counter.
There was a collection of gasps when Kuririn caught Kurumi's fist with ease before punching his sternum, knocking the older monk out cold. Before Pikan could even move, Kuririn was right in front of him.
"B-but how -"
A flying kick to the face was Pikan's answer.
Kuririn bowed respectfully as the giant man fell to the ground with a large thump. He made his face a mask of neutrality, but inside he was laughing with wicked glee. Man that felt good! He could have waited until the tournament to get back at Kurumi but the thrill of it erased all doubts from his mind.
Rakkasei's eyes bulged out of his head in shock as he declared, "W-winner: Kuririn!"
After that day, no one bothered him again.
The stars were barely visible against the skyline but the city itself was as bright as a star. The streets were always busy, but tonight seemed quieter than normal.
A car pulled up on the street and a young woman emerged from the vehicle. Her onyx eyes were stern and gazing toward the large dome building that was Capsule Corp.
Keeping her chi as low as possible, Pan entered the building. The receptionist hardly looked up at her. From her peripheral vision, the woman behind the desk could tell it was one of 'Bulma's strange friends'. No questions were asked as Pan wandered the halls until she found the door of Bulma's laboratory. The retina scanner automatically turned on to scan Pan's irises.
"Recognized: Son Pan," said the automated voice.
After hours of string pulling from her best friend Bra Briefs, she was logged on to the system with access to some of the most secret places, including Bulma's lab.
I swear I'm doing this for good. Just because I'm sneaking around in what's practically my second home doesn't mean anything bad.
The time machine was quickly found and uncovered. Without wasting a moment, Pan hopped into the machine and checked her capsule case. Everything she needed for the trip was there: multiple houses, a seemingly unending supply of food to feed her saiyan appetite, a gravity room, clothes. She closed the case and started up the time machine. It wasn't particularly loud but Pan knew how sensitive Vegeta's hearing was and quickly entered the year she wished to travel to: Age 749.
"Do you wish to fly?" said the computer.
"No," replied Pan. "We're indoors and Bulma would kill me for wrecking her roof. And don't even get me started on Vegeta."
"Very well."
And in one massive, blinding flash, the machine was gone and Pan with it.
A/N: Hmm. Just what would a fight between Kuririn and Kurumi and/or Pikan be like? Honestly, the way I imagined it, it would never be a fair fight. If Kuririn did not retain his strength from the future Kurumi would beat the crap out of him. But with them, Kuririn would win by a long shot. One will always be significantly weaker than the other.