Cabba slowly pulled the lever on his right back, listening to the annoying beeps that were alerting him to the impending approach of the coordinates which had been placed into the ship's systems, manually pulling the vehicle out of warp drive.
As soon as reality righted itself in front of Cabba's cockpit, he was greeted with beautiful sight of his homeworld; Sadala, in all of it's glory. With it's breathtaking mix of blues, greens, and purples throughout the planet's atmosphere, giving it the air of mystique...at least to newcomers.
The young saiyan sighed, he simply couldn't wait to get down there, flop onto his bed, and rest for a few days in peace and quiet. That sounded like heaven to him then and there.
Of course, he couldn't do that quite yet. He still had one last thing to do before he went off on his own to get some res and relaxation. He still had to introduce his newest acquaintance to someone that could properly teach and explain the many particularities of the saiyan body. He claimed he would, and he wouldn't be back away from his obligations.
Speaking of which; where was that guy-?
Through the side of his eyes, Cabba saw space warp and bend somewhere off to the upper right of his cockpit, and a large object materialized seemingly out of nowhere. That object -vessel- was very familiar to the elite warrior.
That belief was only solidified when a loud and obnoxious beeping noise entered through his ear drums, signifying that someone was trying to contact him.
Hesitating for a fraction of a second, the skinny warrior jabbed the communicator, allowing the connection to come through.
"...Hello? Hello? Do you hear me? Is this thing even on!?"
Cabba pointedly cleared his throat. "Naruto-san? Do you hear me?"
"Ah! There you are, Cabbage! I've been trying to contact you!" Naruto's voice came through clearly, sounding excitable as usual. "Hey, this guy has been teaching me loads of stuff during the warp jump about the ship. From the advanced shit to the basic controls. This thing is cool as hell!"
A pause. "...Warp jump was what it was called, right?"
"...Yes."
"Awesome, I am learning!"
Cabba was strangely sympathetic to the plight of the man that his newest acquaintance had captured. "Don't you think that you're being kind of mean to the pilot, Naruto-san?"
"Hah? Of course not! I'm being perfectly nice to this guy, ain't that right you little shit!?"
"Y-Yes!"
"See? Everything's dandy dattebayo."
The saiyan bowed his head, promising in his heart that he'd save that pirate pilot by providing him with a safe prison cell once they landed. "I'm providing you with the coordinates to an area out of the city limit; it's pretty out of the way from the space port. If you follow the coordinates, you'll find a small house nearby; talk to the man inside, he'll be expecting you. I'll join you shortly."
Cabba had to make a pit stop at the local prisons before he saw his old friend; he had to drop off his cargo.
Deep within the forests of the Sadala, there was a tiny colorful house that stood in a small clearing. It's unassuming edifice communicating the owner's desire to remain secluded from the bustling metropolitan areas of the planet.
Said owner;Renso, was very content with his life, barring a few minor exceptions.
After a long and distinguished career as an elite soldier within the Sadala Defense Force, the dark-skinned muscular man with dark hair tied into a ponytail had been given quite the pension from the royal government for his work, so he was afforded the luxury of sleeping his day away.
Which, in turn, led to his complete boredom.
Outside of the maintenance that his home required, there was little to do except relax, and that was something that he was still not used to after several years of retirement.
He'd much prefer to go back out into space and fight the good fight...but there was little he could do.
His dark eyes trailed down to his right leg, scowling at it as if it had scorned him, ignoring the cast that had wrapped it.
Out in the field, he had gone and crippled himself in battle with pirates, and now he was saddled with an injury that refused to fully mend properly. Robbing him of the option to walk without pain, let alone to fight.
For a saiyan, that was something akin to a permanent torture session, though he was keeping himself occupied enough to stave off insanity.
It helped that that damned sister of his liked to fuck with him sometimes...
"...Come on...time to get up." Renso muttered, urging himself to action, figuring that his guest should be arriving soon.
Thankfully, keeping his hands busy wasn't the only option he had to avoid boredom. Getting visitors from old comrades and friends was definitely another option available to him.
Though, apparently he'd be meeting someone new this time around, at least before his kohai got his butt out of HQ.
A self-satisfied smirk made it's way to the veteran's face, pleased that he didn't have to deal with the bureaucracy of the Sadala Defense Force anymore.
That was one quirk that he enjoyed from his retirement, he had to admit.
As quickly as that smirk appeared on his lips however, it just as quickly got wiped off, mostly due to the feeling he had just gotten at the very edge of his awareness.
Someone was coming.
Someone strong.
He straightened and deflated simultaneously, somehow. It sucked to know that he couldn't even spar anymore without falling over howling.
Ah, the wonders of youth...
Sighing like a geezer, -how he hated doing that- the saiyan carefully got onto his feet and grabbed his long coat, wishing to welcome the new friend that his old battle buddy brought to his doorstep.
He had to admit that he was slightly...curious why Cabba requested that he should answer all of this stranger's questions, but he trusted the younger man, so he decided to just to go along with it.
Slowly shuffling to the door, Renso turned the knob and pulled the door open, squinting slightly at the light that filtered through the opening.
...And at the bright clothing that the stranger in front of his door was wearing.
The veteran had to admit; he was slightly taken aback at the sight that greeted his eyes, and apparently he wasn't the only one.
His hand extended to knock on the door, a man with spiky blond hair sheepishly retracted his limb before opening his mouth to give a greeting, ostensibly.
Then he paused, frowning. "Hey, can you do me a favor uh...Ranma, was it?"
"Renso." he could already tell that this young man would be a pain in the ass to deal with. "...And that depends."
"Oh, it's nothing important." the youth beamed. "You see; I'm about to fall unconscious, but I don't want you to worry too much about me. I'll get up in a few minutes, so just leave me on the floor, alright?"
Renso wasn't sure how he should respond to the boy's question, so he was left speechless when literally three seconds later; the boy did in fact collapse.
It wasn't a graceful fall either; he just fell flat on his face and probably broke his nose in the process.
The former warrior remained silent, staring at the fallen and unmoving form that was stretched out right in front of his door without warning, wondering whether he should follow through with the teen's last request.
...Hell, he's been acquiescing to everyone's requests recently, what's one more?
Renso turned on his heel and shuffled back to his bed, determined to forget what he had just saw and wondering where the hell Cabba found the new guy. IT had to have been one hell of a story.
Colorful personalities like that have to come from somewhere.
"Ehehe...sorry about that. I've got a unique condition."
"Indeed you do." Renso had to agree with the youth's assessment, dryly peering at him over the backrest of his couch.
It took Naruto a little bit to regain his bearings, but as soon as he recalled the -somewhat- steady flight to Ranma's house, he just as quickly remembered his final moments before he knocked out again.
As well as the embarrassing timing. It was a pretty bad first impression, even by his own standards.
"So, you're the one that Cabba sent my way, hm?" the man scratched his stubble of a beard, frowning. "You're a lot more eccentric than the guys he usually hangs out with, since he tends to be so serious. What brought you together exactly?"
"He tried to kill me."
Naruto said that with a straight face, and that by itself forced Renso to blink stupidly for a second or two. "...I'm sorry, can you repeat yourself?"
"I said-" the blond duly repeated himself. "-he tried to kill me."
"...Are you serious?"
"Yeah, is that so weird?"
"Kinda, yeah."
"Eh." waving away the man's incredulous look, the teen snorted. "Most of my greatest friends are people that tried to kill me at one point or another."
Renso felt his shoulders slack, he seriously had to wonder where his kohai found this guy. "...Right, well...it'll take some time before Cabba comes by. If I know the military; he's probably stuck doing paperwork. So feel free to ask me some questions...uh...?"
"Naruto." the blond supplied, eyes lighting up. "Thanks a bunch for your help, Ranma-jii-chan!"
"I told you...it's-" Renso sighed, rolling his eyes. "Never mind; just give me your questions."
"Right." Naruto grew serious, flipping a switch so quickly that even the old soldier raised a brow at it. "Can you give me a rundown of saiyan biology?"
Idly scratching his small beard, the older man shifted on his couch cushion and gestured towards a chair that was facing said couch. "I'm not sure why you'd want to learn about something so vague, but if you need a quick lesson; then feel free to sit down, because this will take some time."
Moving around the couch towards the chair offered to him, the newly minted warrior with ki plopped onto the seat, sighing in contentment. "Alright, ready for your lecture, teach!"
"Aren't we excited?" a hint of a smirk made it's way to the veteran's mouth. "Alright, to start with; saiyans a warrior race that are born and bred to fight. We thrive on conflict, essentially. Though we have been able to twist that biological drive into something positive; by fighting the ever-present corrupt, twisted, and truly dark individuals across the universe."
Naruto had to grin at that, knowing full well that there was never a shortage of evil people out there. He had to give respect for the practical and positive direction that they've taken their race.
Chest puffing in obvious pride, the former warrior continued. "Because of our race's perogitave, we grow tremendously during battle. There are few species that advance in strength as much as ours, especially with the zenkai boost that we receive when we go through an especially intense battle."
Ears perking, the native from the Elemental Nations parroted the word that caught his attention. "Zenkai Boost?"
"Interested, eh? It's an ability that has forged the greatest of warriors that my race has ever seen. It drastically raises the power of a saiyan warrior after they are brought towards the brink of death. The current king himself had received an impressive six zenkai boosts throughout the course of his life, which was what gave him the power to win the throne after a duel with his brother. Or, so I've heard." Renso sounded like he was beginning to boast the longer that he elucidated upon his species' biology.
Naruto might've cared more if he didn't become stiff at the description of the zenkai boost.
It sounded eerily familiar to a phenomenon that he has been going through...
"It should be noted that more serious internal injuries could provide saiyans with far more powerful zenkai boosts in return, especially if they were going through some powerful emotions at the time. It helps if they are healed thoroughly too."
Now that the blond thought about it, he was pretty sure that he had busted at least two major internal organs every time he lost consciousness...and apparently his sheer refusal to die, borne from his desire to return back home, helped keep him alive. Well; that and Kurama's chakra, which restored his body back to pristine condition.
"You're welcome."
Yes, yes, thank you, Kurama.
"Outside of that stuff; there's also the fact that saiyans tend to age slower than other races, eat a lot to justify the amount of calories we burn, and rarely change hairstyles...if anything they usually stay the same. No time to focus on other things besides fighting, ya know, kid?"
"Not a kid." the unwilling immigrant muttered as an afterthought, focusing on something else. "You've pointed out that saiyans like to fight. A lot. Is it really that big of a deal?"
"Kid." Renso shook his head, as if the very question was stupid and he couldn't believe that he was even answering it. "The desire to fight is imprinted within our very DNA, there's just no avoiding it; though some could resist it's call better than others."
Grunting now, he glared down at his leg, a bit of resentment leaking into his voice. "To be perfectly honest...being stuck in retirement is pretty much the worst thing that could've happened to me."
Naruto, as usual, decided to be tactful about it. "Sucks, doesn't it?"
If anything, the old soldier was amused by the blunt question. "You have no idea. Now, since I've answered your broad question; do you think that you could answer me one in return?" he didn't bother to wait for a response. "Why are you so interested in saiyan biology?"
Ah, the million ryo question. Still, the lost shinobi didn't see what was wrong in quenching the man's curiosity. "Ah, well...it's because I'm kind of a saiyan too now, that's why."
Renso's expression slackened a fair bit. "...But with that hair...what, are you mixed blood? And what do you mean by 'kind of'?"
"It's kinda complicated, but I only recently became a saiyan. As a matter of fact, I only recently obtained the power of ki despite how common it is, apparently."
"Only recently...?" the disbelief in the veteran's tone was palpable. "But how is that possible? Everyone has ki deep inside..."
"Ranma." Naruto felt the edge of his lips twist at the grunt that accompanied the teen's verbalized butchering of his name. "Trust me when I say; the impossible happens around me a lot. I'm used to this."
"I-I see..."
Nodding firmly, the spiky-haired youth cupped his chin with his hand as he propped it onto the chair's armrest, frowning. "Yeah, so since I'm kinda new at using ki, I kinda need help in finding out all of it's applications. If only there was a veteran somewhere that could help me out with that..."
Blue eyes fleetingly shot towards Renso, before snapping to the floor, despondent. "If only there were someone..."
Renso's cheek twitched, staying silent as his guest continued to drop his 'hints'.
"...If only there were someone."
The older man crossed his arms, refusing to budge, if only out of a sense of stubbornness.
"...If only-"
Then again, he wasn't doing anything today...or ever, really.
"-there were-"
And this was getting kinda annoying...
"-someone...?"
He blankly looked at the hopeful look that the blond 'descreetly' shot at him, sighing mournfully with a roll of the eyes. "...I suppose I don't mind giving you some-"
"Really!? Oh, thanks a bunch, jii-chan!"
Snorting at the teen's exuberant attitude, the saiyan grabbed his cane and used it to carefully prop himself up, grunting. "I'm gonna need a drink. I'll be right back, so just stay right there and-"
As if darkness itself had invaded the homely abode, the lights all across the house flickered off, leaving only the orange and warm glow given by the fireplace beside Naruto's seat to light the room.
Tensing up, the blond scanned the room, extending his newly minted senses just in case they were about to be attacked.
Whereas Renso just sighed quietly and cursed under his breath. "Damn it...again? She seriously needs to stop messing with me..."
Onyx pupils moved away from the hanging lights above towards the sapphire of his guest, offering a sheepish smile. "Sorry, technical difficulties. I've gotta go and get the backup generator working, alright? So just sit tight."
Naruto, sensing something wrong, drew himself to his full height by getting onto his feet. "Wait, you're so nonchalant about this...is this normal? Also, what did you mean by 'she'?"
Waving away his concerns, the saiyan grunted. "Don't worry about it, it's just a prank."
The frown that was already making it's way to the blond's lips only grew deeper at the word utilized. He knew exactly what a prank was. At worse; a prank was annoying and time consuming towards the victim, at least to him.
But this? This wasn't just a prank anymore. Cutting off the electricity to a home in a remote area meant that this disabled man had to force himself onto his broken leg and restore power when he probably didn't have much money to begin with.
This was just cruel; a step too far for just a simple prank.
Naruto stood there as Renso disappeared into the depths of his home as an idea formed in the back of his mind; reaching a conclusion that brought a sharp grin to his lips.
This guy was nice to him, so why not do something in return to repay that kindness?
Glancing at the part of the house where the veteran disappeared to, the lost shinobi carefully tiptoed right out of the building and inspected the ground that the abode was elevated off of.
Essentially peeking under the house's front porch, he noted that Ranma's overall residence was lifted off of the ground thanks to the tree trunks that were no doubt used to build the nifty home.
That, and that there were several colored wires that poked out of the back of the homestead, disappearing into the forestry behind the house.
Lifting off of the ground, young warrior levitated just above the treeline and followed after the wires, keeping an eye out for anything suspicious along the way.
Eventually, after a minute of flight, the ground began to blur into a mix of colors and shades, his speed steadily rising in his impatience to find the perpetrator that wronged the gruff old man.
Thinking back on Ranma-jii-chan's words, it seemed that the man definitely had an inkling on who was responsible for cutting off all power to his building, so this was obviously a recurring problem.
The question still stood; why bother? Why bother an old guy in the middle of nowhere?
Those thoughts bandied around his head for a few moments before the blond glanced up ahead, feeling multiple presences just up ahead.
Reaching a clearing in the forest, Naruto descended and crashed at it's edge, startling the gaggle of thugs that were celebrating right up until he had arrived.
Lifting his head at a snail's pace, the blond grinned, showing off his sharp teeth in the process. "Good morning."
The saiyan hybrid had to love the expressions of shock that he elicited from people; they gave him life at times.
One of the thugs; a burly man with slicked back black hair, recovered quicker than his buddies and growled, visibly flushed. "W-Who the hell are you, dipshit!? You lookin' for a fight!?"
"Not really." Naruto replied gamely, his lips parting even wider, making the group assorted in front of him warier in return. "I'm just a stranger passing by that happened upon a bunch of idiots doing something fucked up. Something fucked up to a guy I happen to like."
Slowly, the shock fell away from features of the thugs, giving way to anger and indignation.
Within the crowd, the another male thug called out from the gaggle of men and women present. "Fuck this cocky prick! I say we teach the clown a lesson!"
"Yeah!"
"Who the hell does this guy think he is!?"
"The boss will definitely praise us for putting this guy in his place!"
Rolling his shoulders, the shinobi remarked loudly over the din that the thugs were making, idly wondering whether the leather jackets they were all wearing were some kind of uniform. "Your boss ain't here, eh? Sounds like your boss doesn't have the balls to do his own dirty work, huh? Must suck for you guys dattebayo."
The silence that followed his taunt would've allowed for the sound of a pin drop to echo. Though it was obvious that this was the calm before the storm.
Something that was proven a second later.
"What the fuck did he say!?"
"Kill him! Just end him already!"
"He has a death wish, doesn't he!?"
"How dare he insult Ane-san like that!"
The resulting explosion of indignation, abject shock, and horror made the blond cock his head to one side, interested in the show of loyalty and in the fact that their boss was a lady.
Not that he cared, he'd beat the shit outta her anyway, regardless.
He was egalitarian like that.
"Any last words, brat?" one of the thugs took a step forward aggressively, cracking his knuckled, ready to start the massacre.
Too bad he didn't have an inkling that the massacre wasn't gonna be in his favor. "Only people I don't dislike can call me that, so you've just guaranteed yourself another week."
The thug he was talking to scowled. "Another week?"
Features darkening menacingly, the teen clarified himself. "Another week in the hospital, that is."
While several of his comrades roared out in anger and surged forward to prove the goody-goody wrong, the thug that saw the glint in the blond's eyes suddenly wondered whether they had just made a horrible mistake.
Ah...this was the life.
Lounging on her elaborate, if slightly dirty, throne; the young woman was chomping down on the newest offerings that her underlings had given her. Loving the explosion of flavor that the freshly cooked meat gave her taste buds.
That wasn't the only reason why she was in a good mood either, not at all.
Earlier that day, she had ordered her underlings to cut off the electricity in her brother's house, fucking him over royally once again. Just as he deserved.
As far as she was concerned, he had every ounce of his misfortune coming to him. As a matter of fact, one could say that she was kind of acting like the arbiter of karma.
Or something like that. She didn't really care.
All she cared about was annoying the hell out of the man and provoking him to do something.
Immediately, the woman's good mood evaporated a bit, dampening at the thought.
What the hell ever happened to that hot-headed bastard that would punch her square in the jaw for pissing him off? What, did that guy just let her do whatever the hell she wanted now?
That must've been the case, since he never retaliated for her transgressions despite the fact that she made it ridiculously obvious as to who the perpetrator was.
Meat laid abandoned beside her, the boss of the gang was so distracted with her thoughts that her favored underling must've noticed, because she walked up to her and nervously peered at her. "U-Um...Ane-san...? Are you ok?"
"Hah?" the woman sharply glared at the woman that broke her time of introspection, immediately softening at the nervous wreck that greeted her. "Oh, Kale, sorry about that. Don't worry about me, just thinkin'."
Kale's onyx eyes fleetingly glanced at the meat she let down. "A-Are you sure?"
"Of course!" she boasted, hopping off of her throne to pat her protege on the back, unaware of the wince that she made at the blow. "It may be rare, but even I use this noggin' up here, ya know? Don't you worry! More importantly; have you gotten into any fights recently?"
"...E-Eh? Me? Fight? N-No way could I do that..." Kale wiggled, shying away both physically and mentally.
"Man, you need to have more faith in yourself, Kale! Take it from me, you've got something special in there, waitin' to come out! I can feel it! You've just gotta bring it out!"
"...I don't know..."
"Trust me. I can tell that you're special."
"...How could you tell?"
The boss lady smirked, nudging the other woman by the shoulder. "Cause we're practically family, duh. And I won't rest until you've achieved your potential, ya hear me?"
Feeling her own face reflect some of the confidence that her friend was practically exuding, the nervous underling smiled softly. "Yes, Ane-san."
This would've been a heartwarming moment to see from a third person perspective, but the only person there that could've seen such a moment was busy rushing up to the throne from the lower level, panting in exertion from running. "A-Ane-san! There's an emergenc-!"
"Hah!?" his leader scowled fiercely when she turned to him, displeased to say the least. "I was having a moment with my protege here, if you haven't noticed! What could be so important that you would cut into that, huh!?"
Shivering, the poor man tried to regain his confidence before he answered. "W-Well, it's about the guys that you sent earlier. We just got an emergency call from 'em -they're under attack, Ane-san!"
Jolted at the news, the boisterous young woman quickly recovered and allowed a wild smirk to adorn her face. "Hah! So that brother of mine has finally decided to grow some balls, eh? Good! It's about time!"
"No...that doesn't seem to be the case." her underling quickly continued when he saw the scowl return to her lips. "But it does seem to be a man that was sent by your brother, and he seems to be really strong!"
"Strong?" the woman's demeanor shifted back to the prominent cocky smirk. "Well...I'm not one to let my underlings got thrown around without retribution anyway, so I suppose I could go out and teach that guy a lesson..."
Beside her, Kale slackened a bit, seeing right through her elder sister figure. She just wanted to get into a fight; like usual.
"Alrighty! Watch the chair, Kale. I'll be right back." her smirk transformed into something vicious, a wild and instinctive excitement rush overtaking her at the fight ahead. "I'll make this quick."
"Alright, just sign here, Cabba-san, and you'll be done with your report."
"Thank you very much, ma'am."
Cabba jotted down his signature upon the piece of paper provided, sighing in relief that his paperwork in regards to the prisoner transfer was about complete.
The prisoners that the blond captured on the planet Mayyonai and in space both forced the elite soldier to sit down and write a report upon what had occurred out on his self-imposed mission, to his chagrin.
Now, thankfully, he was pretty much done. Washing his hands of the pirates once and for all, and freeing himself to enjoy the metropolitan areas of Sadala.
First things first though; he should check up on Naruto.
"Ah, Cabba-san! There's someone on the communicator for ya!" a secretary called out from the hallway nearby. "It's Renso-san."
Raising his head from the desk, the elite warrior thanked the man and moved out of his seat to take the call, wondering how his old battle buddy was doing with the blond.
"He's gone."
That was precisely the one thing that he didn't want to hear.
Probably aware of the groan that was going through the youth's head, Renso continued. "I'm not too sure, but I think that he went to find who cut my power off. Which means that he's going after Caulifla."
Oh boy, another name he didn't want to hear. "...I'm not good with Caulifla-san."
"I remember." Renso noted dryly over the call. "And you're not good with Naruto-san either, so imagine what would happen if those two met."
A pitiful grown did come out this time, and the veteran definitely felt bad for reminding him of the inevitable headache that he would get if those two met.
Not enough to go after the boy himself though, for once he was thankful of his injury.
"...Right...I'm on my way." Cabba replied listlessly, cutting the connection and steeling himself to prevent the meeting of the two most intractable people he has ever met.
"Huaaaaah!"
Annnnnd another one bit the dust.
Catching one of the thugs square in the stomach with his foot, Naruto wondered whether he was enjoying their pained grunts a little too much. Was he, perhaps, gaining an appreciation for the art of ass kicking?
He thought about it while his hand clasped the leg of one of the female thugs that tried to kick him,swinging her around and using her as a human -saiyan?- bat against her fellows.
Nah. He was always like that. His new saiyan biology was probably enhancing it though.
Hmm...biological sadism?
Mentally shrugging at the idea, the new saiyan hybrid batted away an errant ki blast and grabbed the collar of the bastard that tried to blindside him with an overhead axe kick, flinging him over his shoulder once he tripped one of the other assholes off of his feet before he could even try and attack.
"T-This guy's a monster!"
"C'mon! There's no way that this prick could take us all on at once!"
The woman that gave that roaring and inspiring speech kissed his fist shortly thereafter, knocking her right out afterwards.
Fist retracting, Naruto swiveled his head to check the remaining men and women that were still standing and not writhing on the floor, grinning sharply as they drew away from him.
"What? Is that all you tough guys got? I'm disappointed, where did all of that fire go?" taunt voiced, the blond flicked his attention across the field, waiting for anyone to try and take a swing, almost disappointed that no one did. "Wait, seriously? That's it?"
"J-Just you wait! Once Ane-san gets here, you'll be sorry that you messed with us!" one of the more braver thugs cried out, shaking as much as his voice was.
"Oh really?" the blond tried to sound concerned, but it came out as a sarcastic drawl. "I'd like to see that."
"At least we agree on somethin' then!"
Blinking, blue eyes trailed towards the sky and focused on the newcomer that cut into his ass kicking, eyebrows creasing at the lack of the leather jacket. DId that mean she wasn't with these punks? "Who are you?"
He received his answer without needing to get an answer form her. "Ane-san! You made it!"
Similar cries of relief and excitement were echoed from the thugs around them, ecstatic that their boss had arrived to support them in their time of need. Practically shouting their accolades.
Something that left the woman with a frown. "C'mon boys, how'd ya all get your ass kicked by this guy? He can't be that tough."
"We're sorry, Ane-san!" one wailed.
"We tried our best!"
"This guy is ridiculously tough!"
Ignoring the bumbling apologetics that the conscious fighters around him were making, Naruto inspected the newcomer with a critical eye, frowning.
She didn't look like much, if he were honest.
A short girl with a slender build; the young woman had a low cut magenta top and a pair of low set purple harem pants on, as well as dark wristbands and pointy shoes. While her choice of clothing was unique, the only thing that really caught his eye was her ridiculously long and gravity-defying spiky hair.
It actually seemed to define her, if he were honest; wild and untamed.
That was the impression he got at least, when her sharp onyx eyes locked onto him.
"So..." she drawled, the beginnings of a dangerous smirk touching at her lips. "You're the guy that gave my boys trouble, huh? My brother must've been desperate to send you, if that's the case."
"Your brother? Who-?" the teen cut off abruptly, lips flattening against one another. "Ranma-jii-chan is your brother?"
"Ranma?" the woman sounded amused at the butchered name of her family member. "...You know what? I like it."
Unlike her, the blond was not so amused. "Oi, you. Why the hell would you fuck with your own brother like that? You shouldn't treat your family like that, especially if he's all you've got. Cherish those that you care about."
"Cherish?" the boss sounded out the word with a twisted lip. "...That sounds lame. Why the hell would I do that? Why is that any of your business anyway?"
"It ain't." the shinobi shook his head crossly. "Just some advice is all."
"Well keep your advice to yourself!" came the harsh retort, before her lips cracked into a vicious grin. "Now then...what do you say that you ignore my underlings for a second and deal with me?"
All around him, the underlings in question began to scatter away from the clearing, using this chance to get away from the devastation that they were all confident that their boss was about to unleash. Wanting no part of it.
Ascending above the treeline, Naruto eventually leveled with the spiky-haired woman, her hands on her hips, her excitement palpable. "You ready for an ass kicking? Cause I'm sure as hell ready to give one, buddy."
"Naruto."
Sharp onyx eyes lit up in amusement. "So that's your name, eh? Alright, I'll play your game; my name is Caulifla, the boss of this little group of misfits. Nice to meetcha'. Now I hope you're ready to fight and get what's coming to ya! Don't you dare hold back, ya hear!?"
She emphasized this statement by releasing her energy, releasing waves upon waves of power that she had kept in leash within her slender body. Her power pushed back anyone and anything that was unlucky to be within ten meters of her physical form.
With one exception, of course. "Oh, I won't, don't you worry about me dattebayo."
Giddy and excited, Caulifla charged forward with a headlong charge, her fist cocked back to deliver all of her strength into a crippling blow that would ruin her opponent and the forest around them.
Seeing the blond tense in surprise at the sudden move, the young woman was certain that her fist was about to implant itself deeply into the stomach of her newest adversary, making a new home for itself. But the balled limb would, in actuality, sail past harmlessly the the blond. His dodge clean and extravagant since he flipped over her.
Clumsily twisting in the air, Caulifla managed to recover her bearings before truly embarrassing herself too much and twisted her head over her shoulder to growl. "Hey! What the hell, Naruto!? Don't dodge!"
Hanging upside down over her, her opponent grinned cheekily. "Or you could have better aim, scrub."
Cocky smirk returning, she splayed her hand out as she brought it back, shooting it forward once she gathered a significant amount of energy within her palms, releasing a violent wave of power.
Grunting, Naruto narrowed his eyes, beginning to take this seriously.
Spinning around to force himself upright, the blond swerved around the blast and raised his arms once he noticed Caulifla appear in front of him in a burst of speed, making her look like she had re-materialized right in front of him.
Howling, she went all in and came at him like a woman possessed, throwing caution into the wind by attacking with a flurry of punches and kicks.
Naruto was only slightly surprised when she charged at him like that, not expecting her to completely forgo defense, but after a few sloppy dodges mixed with his lackluster flying abilities, he was soon able to distinguish a rhythm to her strikes.
The very fact that she had a rhythm at all meant that she was pretty damn inexperienced in fighting though, since her movements were made with little thought or foresight. Thus, they were predictable.
In Caulifla, the shinobi saw a brawler, but one without any sense of creativity.
At least that was the impression he got as he backed up slowly to parry and block each and every attack that was aimed to take him out. Every blow heavy with the woman's full strength behind them.
Growling in frustration at his stonewalling, the gang leader retracted the leg that was blocked by her adversary in an attempt to spin around and slam her other leg against his other unprotected side. Only to find the blond soaring over her, with his hands clasped together.
Only managing to brace herself for the hit, Caulifla found herself flying towards the ground after she was brought low from his clasped hands, forcing her to use her hands to catch herself on the solid earth below. Wincing at the headache the attack gave her.
Moving past the pain, the woman glared at the figure hanging in the sky, her grim smirk forcing it's way to her lips despite her state.
"Alright you tough bastard..." she murmured under her breath, focusing a sizable amount of energy into her hand again, focusing extensively. "Let's see you deal with this!"
With a roar, the punk boss aimed her hand and blasted a huge volley of highly concentrated red energy blasts at her opponent, homing in on the blond with deadly precision.
Her grin grew wickedly once she saw Naruto's eyes widen.
"Crush Cannon!" she exclaimed wildly, her voice drowned out by the explosion that shook the ground as it erupted in the sky.
Trees and underlings were thrown away from the point of impact as smoke billowed out in thick chunks, coating the area heavily.
Enthusiasm dying down after a moment, Caulifla squinted into the smokescreen above her. "...Shit, where did he-?"
A foot knocked her off of her feet and sent her crashing face first into the forest floor, the taste of dirt registering in her taste buds as she created a trench with her body.
"That hurt." Naruto growled behind her, clicking his tongue as he lowered his leg after kicking the woman into the ground. "Though I guess I deserve that for not taking you seriously."
Already getting onto her hands and knees, Caulifla raised her head from the dirt to glance at the saiyan and human hybrid behind her, grinning toothily. "You're...the real deal, aren't ya? You're no pushover."
"You didn't think so before?" came the reply, warily watching the punk boss got onto her feet again, suspicious of her flippant attitude.
"Not really, to be honest." the gang boss admitted, rubbing the back of her neck to get some kinks out. "But I have to admit; I don't mind being wrong for once. It's...been a long time since someone like you has come around these parts to give me a good fight."
She raised her head, wistful. "Not since Nii-san..."
Her expression hardened a bit after a moment of introspection, her spiky long hair shifting as she shook her head. "Never mind. Now come on; fight me."
Naruto had already adopted a fighting stance, but his eyes had narrowed after he had registered her words. "...By the way, why did you order your goons to cut off Ranma-jii-chan's power lines? What was the point of that?"
"Still on about that, huh?" Caulifla scowled visibly, crossing her arms over her chest. "Why do you care so much? What's your stake in this?"
"He did good by me. I just wanted to do good by him as well, that's all."
Snorting, the boss lady leaned back a bit, eyeing him skeptically. "Is that right? Well, if you really wanna do good by him, why not have him come out and stop me himself? I ain't stopping until he tells me to stop."
Cocking his head to one side, the blond had to wonder aloud. "Why does it need to be him?"
"Because-" she faltered for a moment, before growling. "Because that's what he used to do, until he became spineless that is..."
Eyebrows furrowed, an inkling of a clue forming in Naruto's head in regards to this woman's motivation, urging him to open his mouth again to continue the conversation.
"Enough." Caulifla prevented him from digging deeper, nostrils flaring in blatant want. "Come over here so I can knock your ass to the ground!"
Naruto was forced to raise his arms to guard against the headbutt that rushed into him, eyes bulging at the unconventional tactic. Who the hell would do something like-?
Oh.
He did that before, didn't he?
Unsure of how he should feel now that he was the one facing unconventional attacks, the saiyan woman in front of him opted to kick her feet out after bouncing her head off of his crossed arms. All while trying not to wince too hard at the headache that she had received from her own attack.
Backflipping away from the foot that narrowly missed his jaw, the blond landed on his hands and twisted his body to swipe away his opponent's feet as soon as she landed on the ground.
As soon as Caulifla managed to gain control over her form by utilizing her energy to levitate, her face was grabbed by the blond after he flew towards her, dragging her with him as he sped across the field.
Gritting her teeth, the saiyan yelled and thrashed against the man that was holding her face and preparing to smash it into something.
Whatever she was trying to say was rendered moot, however, once she was slammed into several of the massive trees that stood between the blond and one of the larger rocky outcrops.
With stars erupting in her vision after every blow, Caulifla only just managed to obtain the presence of mind to charge up a ki blast and fire, hoping to do some damage at point blank range.
It only served to piss off her opponent.
Gasping, the air in the saiyan's lungs was knocked out of her once she was slammed into the rocky outcrop, shattering it upon impact. Her body buried under the rubble.
Naruto skidded to a stop in front of the outcropping, peering within the mass of rocks and pebbles to find the excitable woman that was currently getting throttled, patiently waiting for her next move.
If nothing else; he had to respect her tenacity. It definitely reminded him of someone...
Naruto blinked, staring at the ruined outcropping.
Then his gaze trailed to the ground under him, grinning at the slight rumbling feeling that transferred through his feet.
The earth suddenly cracked and broke apart under the shinobi's very eyes, forcing him to fly into the air before he tumbled over, giving him the chance to watch a large piece of earth rise into the air.
Only to be flung at him, like a projectile of sorts.
Clenching his fist, Naruto tore apart the massive rock with one straight jab that reduced it into several pieces right at it's center, keeping a mental note on the power that was rushing right after it.
Not that he needed to try too hard or anything, since Caulifla's battle cry made her presence known quite obvious.
Raising his arms in a cross guard, the saiyan's hard head crashed into him, leaving a sense of numbness in it's wake at the sheer impact.
Despite getting dazed, apparently Caulifla managed to grab him before he backed up, her sharp canines glinting in the light of the day.
Naruto felt a sense of foreboding crawl up his spine at the sight. A feeling that was vindicated when she viciously chomped at one of his arms, ignoring his resulting shout of alarm.
It must've looked ridiculous when Naruto cried out and began to try to violently shake her off, flinging her around like a ragdoll. At least from the point of view from any neutral observers.
The man that was hanging onto the younger flying man wasn't just a simple bystander, if anything; he expected the view that greeted his gaze. Evidenced by the low sigh under his breath.
When Naruto succeeded to shake Caulifla off by jerking his arm away, he was able to see that, despite her ear-to-ear grin, she had numerous scratches across her body and a particularly bloody gash on her forehead.
Not that it was worth much, since she was still raring to go. "Hah! Bet you didn't expect that, huh!?"
Scowling, Naruto eventually mirrored her expression darkly. "You wanna do unpredictable? I can do unpredictable."
"Bring it!" she taunted gutterly. "I can take it!"
Heeding her words, two fingers connected and joined on each hand in order to form a cross with both hands, prepared to create copies of himself to-
"W-Wait! Please! Don't fight anymore!"
Naruto sighed, already aware of who was heading their way. He hoped in vain that those two would wait until they were done, but no such luck it seemed.
On the other hand, Caulifla was far more vocal in her disappointment. "Haaaah!? Who the hell are you, you fuckin'-!"
"Is that any way to talk to family, you lil' shit!?"
For the first time since he's met her, the blond saw the punk boss get rendered speechless, all thanks to that booming voice.
Descending close to them, Cabba landed while carrying Renso, holding onto the shoulder that was draped over his neck. Where the veteran was looking supremely irate, his kohai seemed more sheepish in comparison.
"Nii-san?" the saiyan looked genuinely surprised to see her brother out of his home, at least before her scowl returned. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"I didn't want you two to destroy tho forest, since you're both a couple of knuckleheads!" Renso snapped, dismissing Cabba's attempt to calm him down. "And you, imouto, need to learn how to take a hint."
"Me!?" the younger sister was apoplectic. "What about you!? You keep brushing me off even though I keep cutting off your power! What, was it gonna kill you to get off your fatass and say something yourself!?"
"You always restored the power anyway." a sly smirk made it's way to the gruff man's lips. "All I ever had to do was wait 'till you did so, so it wasn't any sweat off my back."
Naruto watched the sibling argument in interest, especially after that little tidbit was given and made Caulifla flush. "I-I didn't want to hurt you or anythin', asshole! I just wanted to piss you off enough to do something!"
"If you haven't noticed, Caulifla..." the older brother noted wryly, before raising his voice to emphasize the latter half of his sentence. "I'm injured!"
"Yet you're here now." Caulifla noted, a new somber tone to her voice. "Yeah, you're here with help, but I've already seen more life in your eyes in the last two minutes than I ever saw in the last year alone."
Renso went quiet, studying his sole family member for a few moments, speculative. "...Wait"
The younger saiyan's sharp gaze, which was surprisingly soft, glanced away after a moment. Self-conscious.
It didn't stop the older of the siblings to widen his eyes after reaching a personal revelation. "...Did you do all of this just to get you out of my funk?"
"...I didn't just do it for you..." she admitted eventually, quietly, as if unwilling to truly take credit for it. "It was annoying, seeing you all mopey. Embarrassing too. As a matter of fact, I did it as much for myself as for you! So don't get it twisted, aight!?"
Where her words were once quiet, they eventually transformed into full blown rant by the time she was finished speaking, but that didn't kill the reflective look in his eye. His focus unwavering on his little sister, as if she was some kind of project that he couldn't make heads or tails out of.
After another beat, Renso finally spoke, grinning all the while. "Alright then, I'll forgive you this time around, Caulifla. I don't expect much from my punk of a sister, really."
Ignoring the scowl at the insult that he snuck her way, the veteran finally addressed the blond, who was staying oddly silent this whole time. "C'mon, let's get back to my place."
Cabba had to agree. His prior experience with the passionate woman left him with a desire to stay out of her line of sight at the best of times.
Thankfully, it seemed that she didn't recognize him, or care to.
Which was why the young man was dismayed to see the blond walk up to her without any sense of wariness whatsoever, though he dutifully kept his mouth shut lest he earn Caulifla's ire.
Apparently, the saiyan woman agreed with his thoughts, since she tensed a bit when he neared. "...What? You wanna go again?"
Naruto, armed with nothing but a friendly smile. "Seems I misjudged you. Wouldn't be the first time, mind you, but it's good to be proven wrong this time around."
"Hah?" the boss lady had no idea what he was talking about.
Smile growing wider, he jerked his head towards the man that was waiting for him; her brother. "You do give a shit."
"I-" Caulifla faltered, nonplussed. "...It's not as sappy as you're makin' it sound."
"Doesn't matter how you word it, it's your actions that count. And I think it speaks for itself." Naruto extended his hand for a handshake, his disarming smile still present upon his features. "Let's start over, eh? Without the misunderstandings?"
Tipping her head to regard the hand, the punk boss breathed in some air before turning back to the blond's eyes. "...You're...kinda weird, ya know that?"
"I get that a lot."
"I can tell." Caulifla hesitantly took the hand, smirking at the callouses that she felt when their hands connected. This guy obviously worked hard to get where he was. "How did you end up with my brother anyway?"
"He offered to help me out." Naruto admitted readily, withdrawing his hand after she withdrew hers. "So I'm staying there a little bit to learn about some stuff."
"Are you now?" the woman tapped her chin, thoughtful. "How long do you figure?"
"No idea. As long as I need, I guess."
Nodding, Caulifla glanced back at the scrawny guy and her brother, raising a thin eyebrow at the way the former was trying not to meet her eyes, before turning back to the man in front of her. "Well, for what it's worth, sorry about the whole mess. Though I ain't apologizin' for biting you."
Internally, she frowned at what she had said, feeling that she wanted to say something else, but that she didn't have the gumption to do so for some reason.
Rolling his eyes at the reminder, the blond turned to go, waving his hand in farewell as he did so. "Welp, see you later then, try not to pick on your brother too much now."
"Y-Yeah." Caulifla didn't know what else to say, so she watched as the trio of men grouped together and helped her brother into the air, soaring off into the sky and towards his home.
She didn't say a word as she gazed right after them, even after they were long gone from her sight. Thinking.
She stayed that way when her subordinates came along, and remained even after she absentmindedly ordered them to fix the cables that they sabotaged. Like usual.
After a few more moments she raised her hand, eyeing it critically, seeing the bruises that were on her knuckles.
That very hand then went higher, gently touching the bloody gash on her forehead, and trialed down gently to feel the assortment of wounds she had received from her short spar.
Vividly, she recalled the fact that she saw no such wounds on the blond, or the fact that he even used an energy attacks for that matter.
Then, right then and there, Caulifla knew what she had wanted to say. To ask. To demand.
"I..." Caulifla raised her bruised fist into the sky, aimed at where she had last saw the group, her grin vicious. "Wanna fight you again, Naruto."
Strange.
She wasn't usually so good with names.
AN: Alrighty, this chapter's done. Next chapter will probably focus on Naruto learning how to utilize energy blasts without blowing himself up accidentally (he will likely do so anyway) and properly introduce Kale.
Also, yeah, I'm gonna get rid of the Power Levels of last chapter, that shit will just get on my nerves later on. And I thank everyone for their suggestions, though it should be noted that little-to-none will actually be implemented. (I kinda had a plan already... .) Though some of them did provoke a thought or two, so thanks nonetheless.
Hopefully I didn't butcher Caulifla's character too much, I figured that she was only really open to Kale in an effort to open her up, and her family relationships were either strained or a bit more...complicated. Yeah, so I'm trying to put some depth here, hopefully it aligns with who she is. I figured that she was kind of a prick, but the kind of prick that would only be a prick to help you...if that makes sense.
...A jerk with a heart of gold maybe? Eh, I'm just rambling now.
PS. I didn't really spell check since I'm so tired, so I'm gonna do that tomorrow when I have free time. (If I get any at least...) So plz bear with it.
So yeah, cya next chapter everyone! :D
