"Okay Saiya. Ready to learn about your ki-energy today?" Goku asked.
"You bet." I said with determination.
Today's training was learning how to shoot ki-blasts, just like how Goku promised the other day.
"Good. I want you to close your eyes and focus all of your energy into your hands. When you do so, aim at that tree." Goku said as he pointed at a tree couple of feel away.
I did as Goku instructed.
I closed my eyes and focused all my energy onto my hands.
I could feel my hand getting heated up.
I opened my eyes and looked at the tree.
I pointed my hand in that direction and shot the energy ball at it.
The tree broke in half.
"Woah!" I shouted in excitement. "That was awesome!"
"Good job Saiya" Goku said as he clapped. "Keep doing that and you'll be able to learn some special techniques with your skills"
"I could tell I'm getting stronger. I hope I'll be able to assist you guys in upcoming battles." I said.
"Don't worry, you will. Maybe you'll be with us for the upcoming tournament" Goku said with a smile.
"You bet" I smiled back.
"Now..." Goku started as he took a fighting stance. "Want to spar?"
"Definitely." I said
We both rushed at each other and threw in a couple of punches an kicks.
Goku even tried to attack me with some energy blasts to practice.
I managed to block them and blast back at Goku.
We were practically sparing for an hour or so.
"Okay Goku. Time to show you my ultimate skill." I said as I jumped a couple feet back.
I bent my knees and held my hands close together.
"Ka Me-" I started shouting.
"What!? No way!?" Goku shouted.
"Ha Me-" I continued.
"HOLD ON SAIYA!" Goku shouted.
"HA!" I thrust my hands forward and started laughing.
Goku had his eyes closed, awaiting for my Kamehameha.
"I'm just kidding Goku!" I said, still laughing. "Just thought it'd be fun to trick you."
"You got me Saiya. For a second, I really thought you knew the Kamehameha right then and there." Goku said with a sigh of relief.
"Nah. I would never know something that advanced." I said with a grin.
"It was a nice prank." Goku said. "You should spar with Gohan and try that trick on him too."
"Ooh! Nice idea Goku. I'll keep that in mind." I said as we both started laughing.
"Well I guess that's it for today. Go home and get some rest." Goku said.
"Okay. I'll see you later Goku." I waved at him as I took off.
"Later!" He called out to me.
I headed back home and bumped into Trunks and Bulma in the kitchen.
"Saiya!" Trunks shouted.
"Yes Trunks?" I looked at the kid.
"Mom said I can go see Tapion after I clean my room! Can you help me so we can go!?" Trunks asked.
"Sure. I'll help you" I said with a smile.
"Just hold on a minute. I need Saiya to help me put the dishes away before she helps you." Bulma said as she winked at me.
"Awh. Okay. Hurry Saiya! We're wasting time!" Trunks said as he ran off to his room.
"Your son is truly something." I told Bulma as I stood next to her and helped with the dishes.
"He's just excited. It's actually nice to seem him this happy." Bulma said.
"Yeah. He has taken a huge liking with Tapion." I added.
"Does he look up to him?" Bulma asked.
"He does. He mentioned that he thinks of Tapion as an older brother figure." I said with a smile.
"You know, I do have an extra plate of sandwiches. Maybe the two of you can bring that to Tapion." Bulma said as she pointed at the fridge.
"Awesome. I'll let him know when I get to his room."
I put the last dish away and headed off to Trunk's room.
I walked in and sees him frantically throwing items in his toy box.
"You know, that's not really cleaning Trunks." I said with a whisper.
"Shh. Don't let Mom know." He said quietly.
I placed my finger to my lip.
"Won't see. Won't tell." I said.
"Are we ready to go to Tapion?" Trunks asked in excitement.
"Yup. Your Mom also has an extra plate of food for him in the fridge." I said.
"Cool!" Trunks said as he threw the last item in the toy box and ran out of his room.
I followed along and watched him grab the food from the fridge.
"Thanks Mom! You're the best!" Trunks shouted as he rushed out to the door. "Also I'll be going to Goten's later to play!"
"Don't be out too late!" Bulma called out to him. "I don't think he heard me."
"It's okay. I'll let him know." I said as I winked at her and followed Trunks.
We made our way back to Tapions' hideout and headed inside.
I noticed a few changes around the building.
There were some more broken pieces of the building on the ground than usual. There's even a huge hold on the side.
That wasn't there yesterday. I thought to myself. I wonder what happened here.
"Hi Tapion!" Trunks shouted as he ran towards Tapion.
"Hey there Trunks." Tapion said with a tiny smile. "What did you bring?"
"More sandwiches!" He shouted.
"Awesome. I really like them." Tapion said as he pointed at the empty plate.
"Nice! I'm happy you like them" Trunks smiled.
"Are you going somewhere?" Tapion asked.
"Yeah! I'm going to Goten's house and play with him! You want to come?" Trunks asked.
"I'm fine. I think I'm going to stay here" Tapion said.
"Okay. If you change your mind, you and Saiya can come over!" Trunks said. "I'll see you later!"
"Oi Trunks! Your mom said to not be out too late!" I shouted out to him.
"Got it!" Trunks shouted back as he took off.
I was alone with Tapion again.
Once again, I'm feeling nervous.
"So." Tapion said as he scratched his head. "Learned anything new today?"
"Yes I did!" I said. "I learned how to shoot energy blasts today. It was really fun!"
I was excited to tell him.
"Really? Care to show me?" He asked.
"Sure! Give me a second." I said as I looked around and chose a huge piece of rubble to shoot at.
I focused my energy towards my hands and shot a blast at the rubble.
It was blown to bits.
"Impressive" Tapion said as he clapped his hands.
"You really think so?" I asked, happy to see Tapion's reaction.
"Yeah. I do." He said as he sat on his usual rock.
I sat next to him. Our shoulders were practically touching.
I looked at my surroundings again. It really did get messier here.
"Hey Tapion. Can I ask you something?" I asked.
"What is it?" He looked at me.
"Did something happen here yesterday? This area seems messier than usual." I asked.
He was silent for a bit.
"It's nothing for you to worry about." He said quietly.
Does it have something to do with the creature Videl and Gohan talked about yesterday? I wondered.
"Do you want to hear my ocarina?" Tapion asked randomly.
"Eh?" I looked at him. "You want to play your ocarina for me?"
"Yeah. I do. Are you okay with that?" He asked shyly.
"Sure. I don't mind. I really do like it." I said with a smile.
Tapion smiled back and took out his ocarina. He brought it to his lips and started playing a couple of melodies.
It was five long minutes on listening to the sweet tunes.
Tapion had such a peaceful expression when he's playing with the ocarina.
I could feel my heart beating fast again.
It would be nice if we could just stay like this forever I thought to myself.
I guess I do like Tapion as more than a friend...
"So, do you like it?" Tapion said, interrupting my thoughts.
"Oh, yeah. I do. It was beautiful." I said with a smile.
I didn't notice it but our shoulders were still touching.
"Can I..." Tapion said as he trailed off.
"Can you?" I said, looking at him.
"I really do like having you here Saiya. Can I get to know you more?" He asked.
I was surprised to hear him say that.
I'm pretty sure I'm blushing again.
"What do you want to know about me?" I asked, feeling shy.
"Anything. You could tell me anything." He said as he placed his hand on top of mine.
His hand was warm. It was nice holding onto his hand.
"Well..." I started off.
"I don't really know much of my past. I never met my parents. I guess you could say I was abandoned in an island far away from Master Roshi's. I raised myself and taught myself how to fight. It was actually Goku and Bulma who found me. It was probably around the time an evil alien named Cell popped out and tried to destroy Earth. I believe it was around ten years ago when it happened. Trunks was just born when I joined the gang. I guess you could say, the entire gang adopted me into the family."
I looked at Tapion and smiled.
"Ever since then, I've been appreciating my time with everyone and been thankful to Bulma for letting me live in her home."
"So, Trunks is like your little brother huh?" Tapion asked.
"You could say it that way." I said as I leaned back a bit and looked at the ceiling. "He treats me as a big sister and I do love taking care of him."
"Well, I'm thankful you you were adopted into a wonderful home." Tapion said.
"What made you say that?" I asked, looking at him.
"Because then, we would've never met." He said as he intertwined his fingers with mine.
I couldn't help but to blush even more.
"Yeah. Then I would've never came upon your music box." I said with a small laugh.
We were looking at each other again. I couldn't move away from his gaze.
I guess I really am starting to fall for this guy. A thought came up in my head.
"Hey, it's starting to get dark outside. Should you head out?" Tapion said.
"Yeah. I should."
I let go of Tapion's hand and got up.
"Want me to walk you back home?" Tapion offered.
"O-Oh. U-Uhm." I said nervously. "I'm fine on my own."
"Okay. Get home safe then." He said with a smile.
I nodded and smiled at him.
All of a sudden, I felt someone elses' presence in here.
I looked up and saw a shuriken coming its way towards us.
"Look out Tapion!" I shouted as the shuriken came into contact with Tapion's hand.
"Ah!" Tapion's hand was still gripped onto the ocarina but let go when it was hit.
The ocarina fell to the ground and skidded a couple of feet.
"My ocarina!" Tapion shouted.
I could sense the mysterious figure coming in closer towards us.
They're probably out for the ocarina!
I dashed ahead and grabbed the ocarina before the mysterious figure could.
I sensed him darting away and stood on top of a pile of rocks.
"Give me that ocarina you stupid girl!" Yelled the suspicious person.
"That voice sounds familiar." I said quietly.
"Saiya!" Tapion called out. "Quick! Pass me my ocarina!"
I moved my arm back and was about to toss it to him until the mysterious person spoke.
"Wait! Don't give it to him!" The person yelled.
"Why should I listen to you!?" I yelled back. "Who are you!?"
This person had a hood on the entire time. He finally removed it so we could see his face.
Behind that hood was Hoi.
"Hoi!?" I said surprised.
I knew it! There was something suspicious about this guy!
"You're the one Gohan and Videl saw the other day!" I shouted at him. "I knew you shouldn't be trusted!"
"Indeed, it is I." Hoi said. "But you must know. Tapion cannot be trusted as well!"
"What are you talking about!? You're the one who told us that he is a great warrior!" I shouted as I looked at Tapion.
Tapion was quiet but he was glaring at Hoi.
"Tapion is actually the one who summoned Hirudegarn to attack the city! He uses that ocarina to summon it!" Hoi yelled.
"What!?" I looked at Tapion once again.
Just what the hell is going on!?
"Don't believe him Saiya!" Tapion shouted. "He is lying!"
"Am I now?" Hoi said in a cocky tone. "If you hand him that ocarina, he'll probably destroy your planet. Maybe the universe! If you give it to me, I can help you save this place."
Hoi held out his hand, insisting that I give it to him.
Nothing makes sense.
Hoi was the one who insist that we open that music box.
He told us that Tapion is the one who saved his planet from destruction.
Now he is trying to tell me that Tapion is dangerous?
That's bullcrap. I don't believe him.
Hoi is the one that can't be trusted.
"Like hell I'm giving this to you!" I shouted as I turned around and tossed the ocarina to Tapion.
"No!" Hoi screamed as he was caught off guard.
I took this as an opportunity to dash towards him and attack him.
Unfortunately, Hoi managed to grab a kunai and throws it towards me.
I dodged it at the last second but the sharpness of the kunai made a cut on my arm.
Hoi took that as a chance to retreat.
"Damn. He got away." I said as I walked back to Tapion.
"Are you okay Saiya!?" A worried Tapion said as he approached me.
"Yeah. I'm fine." I said.
I looked at my arm and noticed blood coming out from it.
"Y-You're bleeding!" Tapion said as he looked at my arm.
"Yeah. Hoi managed to hit me with his kunai." I said as I winced from the sharp pain.
"Here, let me help." Tapion said as he took out a piece of cloth from his pocket.
He wiped off some of the blood and wrapped it around my arm to stop the bleeding.
"Thanks" I said quietly.
"You should go home and take care of it." Tapion said worriedly.
"Don't worry. I will." I said and gave a faint smile.
Now that Hoi found Tapion's hideout, I don't think he'd be safe here anymore.
"Do you want me to assist you home?" Tapion offered.
"Yeah. If you come home with me." I said as I smiled at him.
"Huh?" Tapion asked confused.
"If you stay here Tapion, Hoi might come back and attack again. He's after your ocarina. I don't think you'd be safe here anymore." I said. "If you come back to Capsule Corp with me, you'll be a lot safer. I'm pretty sure Bulma would want you to stay there as well."
"Are you sure? Wouldn't I be a burden?" He asked.
"No. You're not a burden." I said as I grabbed his hand.
"Okay. I guess I can stay over." He said as he held onto my hand. "Shall we get going?"
With that, Tapion and I left the hideout and made our way towards Capsule Corp.
It took me a few minutes to realize that we were will holding hands.
"Oh. I'm sorry." I said as I let go of his hand. "I didn't realize I was still holding your hand"
I was laughing nervously.
"Don't be." Tapion said as he grabbed my hand again. "Remember what I said? I really do like your company."
He looked at me and smiled.
I could feel my face getting red.
"Okay." I said and smiled.
I held onto his hand tight as we continued to make our way back to Capsule Corp.