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Chapter 3 – Rage
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Throughout Bardock's lifetime on Vegeta, he had created quite the reputation for himself. He was outspoken and blunt, and had no respect for the Elite—who at this time in Vegeta's history, were governed by a horrible General that had caused a severe split between classes. Almost a day didn't pass where there wasn't a spat or fight between Bardock and some upper class Saiya-jin. He had more write-ups than any other Saiya-jin on record. But despite all of this, there were certain things Bardock stood for, and these included his comrades (of third-class orientation), his beliefs, and his own Saiya-jin pride. He was always waiting for the current General, Hito, to be overthrown so the planet wouldn't remain so divided. The negative feelings towards Bardock by the Elite were easily transferred to his son, Gokou. And both would soon learn that the only way to survive during the inhumane ruling of the Elite would be sticking together.
The class that Gokou was attending, unfortunately, had an Elite as the instructor, and his name was Nappa. Nappa's appearance was like that of a giant, muscular troll. He towered over all the children and most Saiya-jin adults. He was missing a couple teeth and there was a single sprout of red hair growing atop his head much like a radish bulb. His size and brute strength alone, however, was enough to strike fear in the young Saiya-jins—although there wasn't much going on upstairs in old Nappa's cranium.
Nappa began barking orders at the children, his voice loud and lethargic. He told the kids to pair off and the person chosen as their partner would be the one they sparred with today, and he told them to make it quick.
Gokou surveyed his classmates, sable hues drifting from student to student. Most of them wore navy blue armor, which was the color of the Elite, and there were a couple with the scarlet armor, which was indicative of second-class, but Gokou was the only one wearing green. He was the only third-class student. Each time Gokou took a step towards one of the other students to attempt to be their partners, they would move away from him as if he had some disease. A small furrow formed on Gokou's brow, his little fists clenching in frustration. He had to get a partner! Didn't they hear? He stepped towards another child, they moved. Again. They moved.
As the frustration continued to mount, Gokou finally burst out with a little shout, "HEY!"
The room fell silent.
Nappa's head jerked towards Gokou with an ugly scowl. "Is there a problem, runt?" He trotted loudly over towards Gokou, glaring downwards at the three-foot tall Saiya-jin. "Third-class punk can't do somethin' as easy as finding a sparring partner? Huh?"
A frown of disapproval formed on Gokou's face, and he shot a glare up at Nappa. It was clearly not the case. "No. That's not it. It's becau----"
"It's because nobody wants to be partners with low class looosers~! Especially if your dad is Bardock!" A sassy child cut Gokou short. This boy was General Hito's son, Kazu, and he sported black armor just like his father.
Gokou wasn't aware of the boy's status, he only knew that he didn't appreciate the interjection, especially the part about his father. He'd only met Bardock, but he didn't seem like a loser…not to him. His blood began boiling and within a split second Gokou had leapt across the room and tackled Kazu to the floor, landing punch after punch into the boy's face. "Take it back!!!"
Although Nappa found children fighting to be very amusing, he couldn't let the General's kid get beat up, so he moved over and yanked Gokou off of Kazu, letting the boy dangle from his grasp. "We got ourselves a tough guy here, class. This kid has an attitude just like his low-life father."
The "father" remarks were really beginning to crawl under Gokou's skin, and when Nappa spat another one in his face, Gokou, dangling in the air, growled and swung a leg at the instructor, his foot connecting forcefully with Nappa's jaw. The impact of this kick knocked Nappa off his feet, a tooth flying across the room. The instructor's head jerked forward with a twisted grimace of pain.
"What the hell?! You little piece of third class trash!" he yelled at young Gokou, a vein bulging on his forehead. "I'll teach you to disrespect your superiors!" And with that, Nappa flung Gokou like a bullet into the wall, the little Saiya-jin's body cracking the cement upon impact. Gokou's body fell to the floor with a thump, and before he could stagger to his feet, a large foot was rammed into his side, the snapping of bones echoing through the room. Nappa gave Gokou's side another kick, and another, and another, feeling satisfied only when he saw the first signs of blood trickle out from the child's mouth.
Overwhelmed with pain, Gokou curled into a ball, protecting his ribcage from any more broken bones. He swallowed back the blood he had begun to taste, consciousness flickering in and out.
"Heh, heh, heh…" Nappa smirked, looking upon Gokou triumphantly. "Worthless excuse for a Saiya-jin…" He added, turning his back on Gokou to walk back to the rest of the students.
Worthless excuse for a Saiya-jin? Those words…those last words…they echoed in Gokou's mind as he struggled to stay awake, something beginning to swell inside his chest. It was dark and warm, and it seemed to be feeding his body.
It was rage. Saiya-jin rage.
Pure and fresh, this rage numbed Gokou's pain, giving him fuel to rise to his feet. Gritting his teeth, the young Saiya-jin glared coldly at Nappa's back, hands becoming tight fists. Taking in a deep breath, Gokou broke into a sprint, leaping through the air and tackling Nappa to the floor from behind, teeth clamping down on one of Nappa's ears while hands and feet dug deep into the instructor's body.
Nappa was startled by this attack, yelling out in pain as he felt his ear being bitten in half. "YOU LITTLE BASTARD!" He snarled, a hand reaching up to rip Gokou from his back and fling the boy across the room into another wall. This time, when Gokou hit the wall and fell to the floor, he didn't get up. He didn't even move.
Infuriated, Nappa hissed an order at the children, "Class is dismissed!!" A hand went up afterwards to cup his bleeding ear, a malevolent expression consuming his face.
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After Bardock's training session had concluded, he veered away from the rest of the group, wanting to go see how his son was fairing at his first day of training. He sauntered down the hallway, rounding the corner with a grin. However, this grin vanished instantly when he was almost knocked off his feet by a crowd of young boys rushing past him out of the training room.
"Hey! Watch it! You little----" he stopped himself, realizing that the kids who had just passed him were Gokou's classmates and Gokou hadn't been in the group. "…the hell?"
Skeptically, Bardock began nearing the door to the training room, dark pools peering inside. He saw Nappa, tending to what looked like a nasty wound on his ear…and then…in the corner of the room, lifeless, laid his son. As if someone had flicked a switch, Bardock was consumed with fury, his energy level rising as fast as his blood began boiling.
"What the FUCK did you do to my son?!" He shouted across the room to Nappa, clenched fists trembling from anger. The rage was blinding for Bardock. He didn't even care if Nappa was an Elite, he was going to tear him apart.
Nappa's head spun to look at Bardock, amusement covering his face. "Well, Bardock, your son has quite the mouth on him. Looks like the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, eh?" He took a jab at Bardock, as all Elite did. "I simply taught him a lesson about respect."
"The hell you did! He's a fucking four year old, you sick bastard!!" Veins began bulging in Bardock's neck as he struggled to maintain what little composure he had left. He couldn't emphasize the age of his son enough. It simply baffled him that Nappa had beaten up a child near death for punishment, rather than disciplining him through use of limited force.
"I'm gonna rip you a new one, Nappa." He growled. "First, by finishing what my FOUR YEAR OLD son started!!!" Bardock sailed across the room, a raised fist planting itself like a sledgehammer into Nappa's bloody ear.
Nappa crumbled from the pain, falling to his knees with a ringing ear. "I'm gonna…." He took a swing at Bardock, who easily evaded the attack.
Bardock, instead, caught the arm intended to punch him and began twisting it around until he dislocated Nappa's shoulder with a loud snap. "How's that feel, Nappa? Hm? Good? You want some more?" He twisted the arm further, watching Nappa's mouth widen as he yelled out in pain. Bardock finally let up, knowing if he didn't hurry it up, more Elite would arrive to back-up Nappa. He didn't have time for a brawl; he needed to tend to his son.
He shoved Nappa over and quickly made his way over to Gokou. His heart sank when he saw the little four-year olds bruised form. Bardock knelt down, gently scooping up Gokou into his arms. Inwardly, he wondered if he had somehow brought this horrible fate to his son. Shaking away the thought, Bardock left the training room. He would first take Gokou to the infirmary, and then to their room. He held Gokou close to his chest, realizing for the first time that this boy—his son—was the missing piece in his life. He was the hope for something better at the end of the day, and Bardock couldn't let him die. Clutching his son, he sprinted down the hallway and out of the building.