Dragon Ball Governed

Chapter 5

"Kakarot's spirit"

"I wanna go, I wanna go, I wanna go!"

As time went through its phases on Planet Vegeta, the evening was soon to come to a close. Gine had just closed up work for the day and she hoped to get some rest and peace. Unfortunately, she didn't get the latter of the two since Kakarot had been pestering her to have him go out hunting for the past three and a half weeks now. Though Gine did like the idea initially, she came to the conclusion that Kakarot was far too hasty and that he just wasn't ready yet. The typical animal posed no danger to a regular Saiyan, nor did it most Saiyan children. It wasn't of the fact that Kakarot was too young to go out and carry the task but that he was merely unprepared. The kid didn't even know how to fly, much less utilize his ki to at least a limited extent.

Upon removing her glove, Gine turned around and walked past her eager son to interact with a fellow worker, a lower-class lady like her, though a bit chunkier.

"Seems like he just won't let it go, huh?"

Gine sighed. In the back of her head, she heard the constant hisses Kakarot made, though she learned to tune him out a long time ago. "I don't know what's gotten into him lately, Gumeel. Ever since Raditz left, he hasn't stopped begging me to go hunting."

"Eh…" Gumeel scratched at the corner of her lip as she looked over to Kakarot. "it seems to me that he's doing more demanding than begging." Gumeel had long recalled Raditz's last words to Kakarot prior to him taking his leave just a few weeks ago. She was no expertise when it came to the psyche of an individual's motivations, but she figured that Kakarot wanted to go hunt so he could prove his brother wrong. She didn't see the importance of revealing that information to Gine, though. He's just a kid throwing a temper tantrum so he'd be fine eventually.

"Anyway, work for the day is done. I'll be seeing you tomorrow?"

"As always!" Gumeel slapped the gloves she wore on the working table. "I'll be having my child moved in as a late night delivery, so I won't be getting much rest until she gets here."

"Ah, right! I forgot you just had a kid!" Gine remembered the fine moment when she realized that she was bearing a child of her own. It was a magical feeling that still bubbled up inside whenever she reminisced. "Have they decided what they're going to do with her?"

"Elery will be working with us, too! I'll just wait a few years until she's ready and she'll be here before you know it."

"Well that's good to hear," Gine told her. "I'm happy for you."

"Thank you, Gine."

Once Gumeel had left Gine and Kakarot alone, Gine turned around. Kakarot didn't hide the fiery look in his eyes as he remained with his arms folded, staring her down. A slight cold chill went up her spine looking at her son. Amazing it was to see just how much Kakarot looked like his father, especially when he was moody. "Come on, off to bed."

"No." Kakarot remained on the counter, as defiant as ever. "Not until we go!"

"Sorry, but I'm not taking no for an answer." Grabbing her boy's hand, Gine yanked him off the table and forced the boy to go to bed so that they could get their needed rest. Kakarot whined, kicked and did all to free himself, but to no avail. Getting him to bed was a success.

But getting him to sleep was different.

With night time at its peak, soft snores could be heard coming from Gine. Kakarot, on the other hand, hadn't bothered to try and rest ever since he was put in bed. As he lied between his mother's lap, the young boy's eyes had remained fixated on the roof of their home the entire time. Ever since Raditz left, Kakarot couldn't help but get his brother's words out of his head.

Weakling. You probably wouldn't be able to hunt an animal so you're better off with a freebie.

Those words made his face crinkle. It wasn't even because of the matter that Raditz physically kicked him but that he verbally insulted him after the fact. Kakarot didn't have an articulate understanding of what strength truly was but he could feel that it had great significance. He wanted to prove something contrary to Raditz's belittling belief of him.

Since his mother wasn't going to bring him then he was just going to go out and do it himself.

Slowly, Kakarot removed himself from the bed. He made sure that any potential noise he could have made stayed at a minimum. Once his feet softly touched the stone floor beneath him, the little boy grabbed at his armor that hung on a hanger equal to his height and put it on before making his leave.

Once out of his home and in the open, Kakarot got an open view of just how tiny he was in such a big world. He never walked fifty yards away from his house but by the time he walked twice that length, he felt a sense of freedom come over him. He wasn't at all familiar with the lands of Planet Vegeta, but he made it a personal mission to walk on until he came across any type of animal so that he could bring it down.

Unbeknownst to him, he was being watched from afar by an unnoticed figure—Gumeel. She, like Gine, decided to have her newborn child moved to her home. After her daughter had finally arrived home in an incubator, Gumeel caught a glimpse of Kakarot outside. She briefly wondered why the boy was left unattended but it didn't take long for her to figure things out. "He's sly…" If it was any other kid, Gumeel wouldn't have given it a second thought but this was her co-worker's kid. She knew exactly what the boy was up to.

Gumeel was aware of the potential dangers that hunting could bring to an unprepared individual so by keeping Gine and Kakarot's best interests at hand, she made sure to quietly follow the boy high above ground, where she could watch him openly. At the same time she wondered just exactly what type of diversion would come out of this kid's foxiness.

Her focus was far too great on the boy for her to realize that there was an extra party, who watched over the both of them.

Kakarot's purpose to get some game had him tirelessly walking the ground of Planet Vegeta. Once he left his village and passed empty lands, the boy did eventually come to a field with hundreds of grass leaning to the side, yet not detaching themselves off the ground as the wind blew hard. The many trees up ahead showed various bird nests and holes that animals more than likely remained in for sleep.

All it took was three hours for him to make it to this vicinity and he still didn't show any signs of exhaustion. The only time that Kakarot would be able to sleep tonight would be after he manages to catch something worthwhile. Up ahead he saw four legged creatures slowly passing on by with their heads lowered so that they, too, could hunt.

Copying this, Kakarot crouched down and started to slowly traverse through the grass that stood at a height far superior to his own, thanks to his itty bitty stature.

Gumeel looked on from above and realized these to be the moments of truth. Kakarot was sneaking up on a black coated animal with a scar over its left eye, which took the appearance of a buff cat. As Kakarot got closer and closer, his smile grew wider. It was right there! All he had to do was leap on the thing, dig his claws in it, and it'd ultimately be his for the taking.

SNAP!

Before he could make his move, the sound of a branch snapping from within the trees alerted the animal. Kakarot only got rewarded with dust and grass in his face due to the creature's unexpected take-off.

Despite the disappointment that came with not getting ahold of such an easy score, Kakarot decided to take his attention to where the sound had came from. Moving on along, the young Saiyan continued to take precaution with his movements. Once he made it near the trees unnoticed, Kakarot used a thick trunk as a form of cover.

Just up ahead, a two legged bear with a trunk and fangs could be seen guiding its 3 cubs to their home. Kakarot realized that the smaller ones had to be the weaker ones so he figured that he could get at least one of them. He would love to have the big one but to be able to get a hold of any of them at this point was ideal for the child.

"This kid is confident..." Gumeel whispered to herself.

Gumeel was so in tuned to the scene that she didn't realize her heavy weighted body started to take a toll on the branch she sat on. As the branch slowly started to detach itself from the tree, Gumeel also gradually lowered before falling down in a quick hurry.

After her body made a loud thud that rang through the area, she let out a moan. "Crud..."

This alerted not only Kakarot but the bears as well. Quickly, the young Saiyan boy looked over to the bears shooting off in one direction to flee away for safety. Not wanting to let them out of his sight, he blew his cover and took off on a chase.

The mother was in the lead with her first born just right behind. It was apparent that she had the capabilities to make a successful escape but Kakarot was proving himself to be a bit too fast for the youngest. Fast small breaths was all that the Saiyan child took as his quick thin legs drew him closer toward the young cub ahead of him. Once a few yards shy of making contact with it, he seized the opportunity by pouncing on it.

The two rolled over after the boy put all his weight on the cub. Kakarot did what he could by biting it, scratching at it, and even digging his nails into it. He did anything he could to subdue the animal so that he could prove himself capable of catching one.

The leaves and bushes surrounding them rustled as they continued to wheel around in a struggle. Once Kakarot found his way on top, he started to beat on the cub relentlessly. The mother didn't notice one of her children had been caught until she heard its cries ring out. As soon as she heard one of her babies whining for help, she came to an automatic stop, while the other two cubs continued running away toward shelter.

"Gotcha!"

Kakarot pounded his fist onto the head and face of the cub mercilessly. He didn't want to stop until the animal was motionless so he ignored the insane amount of blood on his hands and continued to beat at it, despite the fact it was already dead by this point. He mistook the cub's nerves for it still being alive and due to his ignorance, he kept on.

The heavy stomps of mama bear rushing in for Kakarot did catch the boy's attention. The booming growls that resonated from its mouth was something that he took on as a challenge instead of a warning sign. Now that the bigger game had his interest, Kakarot disregarded the dead cub underneath his body. Hopping up and standing his ground was virtually signalling the vicious animal to attack him.

The bear roared loudly yet again, putting its feeling of hatred and anguish into one single, bone chilling roar. Before the boy could even make sense of what happened, he found himself knocked on the ground, having been sent through a handful of trees as well. Just dead center in his breast plate was a crack—thanks to the bear, no doubt.

Kakarot hyperventilated with wide eyes of total bewilderment. The kid felt an unbelievable throbbing pain going on in his chest but he ignored that, as well as the aching all over his body. Any other non-Saiyan's intstinct would be to run but Kakarot's was the polar opposite.

He got back up and rushed at the big bad animal, provoking it yet again. He landed on its shoulders and started to recklessly punch at it. His little fists continuously being rammed against the bear's face only irked the pained mother even more. She grabbed Kakarot by his waist and slammed him into the ground beneath her. The boy's vision grew dizzy and his stomach started to feel funny after that one slam. The mother wasn't stopping until he was dead so she showed no mercy just as Kakarot did onto her cub.

Picking him up and down, she slammed the boy over and over.

Kakarot's eyes rolled up to the back of his prior to losing consciousness. Each slam trembled the very insides of his body and he just couldn't take it anymore. Before the bear could raise her feet and stomp on the boy's neck for sure measure, it was punched away. Gumeel had gotten up but not in time to save Kakarot from certain death. Luckily for Gumeel, the burden of salvation had been taken care of by someone else. She was uncertain as to who or what knocked the bear away but she made sure not to waste time and carry Kakarot to safety.

Gumeel grabbed Kakarot and put him over her shoulder before she took off into the sky as quickly as she could possibly go. Since she had no scouter, the chubby female wasn't able to tell whether or not he was still alive but she still had to send him off to the infirmary so that he could be treated back to health.

"Stay in there, kid, c'mon!"

As soon as Kakarot had been brought to an infirmary, Gumeel then made it her main objective to alert Gine and bring her in to check on her son. Though she was tired because of waking up in the middle of the night, Gine didn't hesitate to take off once she had been told what happened to Kakarot.

Gine and Gumeel were in a room surrounded by tanks that had rather effective methods of bringing people back to health, even if they were on the verge of death! Kakarot was in one of these tanks, being surrounded by a colored liquid similar to the incubators that young Saiyan children were placed in for proper growth.

Gine, in an area lit by blue and green lights illuminated from the tanks that constantly bubbled inside, had her hand placed on the glass in which Kakarot was protected by. Seeing her son with animalistic bruises and wounds all over his body made her heart sink to the pits of her stomach. The chances of a Saiyan dying in a rejuvenation tank was never high but the possibility had never been ruled out since it's happened before on occasion. She just hoped that small chance wouldn't take her son's life.

"I'm sorry this happened." Gumeel came up from behind Gine and placed her hand on the woman's back to comfort her. Gine managed not to shed any tears but she was just one step away from letting the waterworks go. There was a moment when Bardock had been placed in one of these things because of her incompetence on the battlefield. It was from there that she decided to no longer fight and she hoped to never see her mate or any of her children in any of these things. It just baffled her how this could happen to Kakarot, of all people.

"Why didn't you stop Kakarot from attacking them?" Gine softly asked.

"Ah?" Gumeel froze up.

Gine turned around to face Gumeel, her face hot red, fists balled and shoulders elevated. "Why didn't you stop him!? You said you followed him, right?"

Gumeel swallowed down hard. She could have easily lied and said that she got there at the last moment but doing such a thing just wasn't in her character. In her mind, she didn't expect things to go as horribly as they did in the first place. "I-I had confidence that Kakarot would be able to take care of himself!" she stammered. "I didn't think things would end up like that and as soon as they did. Before I could get there in time, someone else had saved him!"

As would anybody in a mood similar to Gine's, the woman felt the need to blame someone at the very moment. She didn't get a word in from any doctor at all since she made her arrival to the rejuvenation room, so she didn't know whether her son was going to perish or survive. Gine knew it wasn't entirely Gumeel's fault but her mind was clouded with emotion, though Gine retained enough logic to see that her tone toward Gumeel was superfluous. Gine quickly backed off and turned around to look back at her son. His heart rate seemed to be going just fine but anything could go wrong at any time and that worried her. "Yeah...sorry." Gine closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I just feel..."

"Hurt." Gumeel grabbed Gine's slouched shoulder. "I know. I've lost people I've cared about...even though they may not have cared about me. I know it hurts but I promise you, he'll be okay."

Gine still wondered who in the hell could have possibly swooped in and saved her son? According to Gumeel, she wouldn't have been able to make it in time, but someone else did? Was someone keeping an eye out for Kakarot? It couldn't have been Raditz, nor Bardock since both were out on missions. It left her wondering.

A beep followed by the opening of an automatic door caught the attention of the two female Saiyans. Right through the door appeared a Saiyan doctor, who looked rather young. Like any typical doctor/scientist such as Moroko or Shito, this Saiyan male wore a grey thick robe that fell down to his very legs with a strapped armor plate that covered his chest only. In his left hand was a rectangular touch scree monitor, which he used to collect data and keep track of any other necessities regarding his work.

"Whoah." Gumeel was blown away by this man's appearance. Unlike most Saiyan doctors, he looked rather young, with no signs of aging at all. The two long thick strands of hair that grew from his sideburns brisked past his shoulders before he came to a stop by the rejuvenation tank which Gine stood by. He realized that the blood on his hands from earlier weren't his since it belonged to one of the animals. Without a doubt, like a lot of past children, Kakarot made the mistake of attacking unprepared. Prideful and confident—sure—that garnered respect; however still foolish.

The doctor looked over to Kakarot and clicked on his pad a bit, looking over the information he accumulated revolving around the kid's initial condition upon his arrival and comparing that to his progress while in healing. "The treatment is going just as expected," he informed the two Saiyan women. "Kakarot ought to be brought back to full health by the morning, though we can't do anything about the scar that's on his chest. Seems as if the bear who attacked him had dug its nails deep down after stomping on him and managed to dig deep enough into the skin. Luckily enough, it wasn't deep enough to penetrate anything fatal internally."

Hearing this caused Gine to stumble back into a chair and let out a deep sigh.

"So he'll make a speedy recovery," Gumeel spoke, also relieved. "That's great news, doctor!"

"Call me Spench." He then tapped in a bit more information before finalizing his assigned person. "It says here that this boy was birthed just over three years ago, is that correct?"

"Yes," Gine confirmed. "Why?"

"Kakarot was born with a very low power. Although he's not being raised as a combatant, his power-level is typically rising as we speak since the injuries he's endured are being healed. He's already surpassed a power-level of ten and it gives us reason to believe his overall power will increase even higher. Our estimation is that he could range anywhere from 13 to 20 once he is in top condition. For a three-year old child, he could currently be sent on a frontier planet and be able to take care of it easily, especially if under a full moon. Would you like me to put a word in for him? He could make for a decent soldier."

Gine didn't give the question any thought and immediately shook her head. "No, Kakarot's not going out there. If it wasn't obvious enough for you, he wasn't even able to fight off an animal properly."

"Well, that's because he is untrained," Spench responded. "Surely if you taught the kid the basics of fighting and control, he could prove himself a worthy soldier."

"Maybe his father would accept it but as long as I'm here and alive, Kakarot stays as a worker. Understood?"

Spench merely nodded, respecting the woman's wishes. His job was to bring people to health and throw in a few suggestions but at the end of the day, the decision wasn't ultimately his. "I just figured I ought to throw in my opinion."

"Some opinions are more valued when you don't throw them out at all," Gine shot back sharply.

Seeing that the woman was now catching an attitude, Spench decided to cut this interaction short. "Stay here and wait tomorrow or leave and be back by morning. He'll be back at full health soon."

"Thank you, Spench," Gumeel told him. "We appreciate it."

"Mhm." Spench made his leave. He had a lot of other work to tend to and dealing with a moody female just wasn't his field.

"Well this is great. Kakarot gets to live and he's gonna be even stronger! Awesome, isn't it?"

"Eh." Gine corrected her posture while seated. To her, she didn't see the benefit in Kakarot becoming stronger. Sure, the boy got a rather amazing boost in power but he wasn't going to be out on the frontlines like Raditz and Bardock. There was no sense in increasing his power through battle if he was just going to remain on Planet Vegeta working alongside her.

"Yeah...I suppose."

The following morning, Kakarot had been retrieved from the infirmary and brought back home, where he was put to work immediately. He and his mother chopped up food normally as if nothing had ever happened the previous night. Gine did manage to move on from the incident but Kakarot didn't—he couldn't.

After slicing two giant legs of meat into a handful of thick pieces, Kakarot put a specific amount in separate sacks and carried them over to her mother, who handed them to a pair of Saiyans who were just getting ready to head off for an assignment. Most people came in the morning to collect their rations and then, the numbers just died off. There was no rush hour since things would normally run fluidly.

Kakarot slammed the butcher knife onto the wooden table and made sure it stuck there. His abrupt action brought him attention from both Gine and Gumeel, who looked over to him. "Kakarot, what's the matter?"

From the moment of his waking up until now, he couldn't get last night's events out of his head. He completely disregarded the fact that he managed to kill a baby bear and just felt shame of how much of a pitiful loss he faced at the hands of the bigger animal. He wouldn't be content with himself unless he could prove that he was indeed strong enough.

The boy hopped off the counter and looked up over to his mom. "I wanna go hunting," he told her.

No, not this again!

Gine lowered herself to one knee so that she could get eye-level with her son. "Kakarot, you know what happened last night! You can not risk that again, do you hear me?"

The boy just sneered in her face. After being brought back to health, he felt a sense of revitalization that he couldn't even come to remotely describe! It may have been of no matter to them but he was stronger and he could feel it. Now he was certain that he could take on the bear!

"Hmph." Kakarot did indeed hear her, but it didn't mean that he was just going to listen. He brushed by his mother and walked outside. "I'm still going."

Gumeel remained there and looked over to Gine, who was with her head down. Her son really wasn't going to let this go and there was absolutely nothing she could do about it. Even if she tried to keep him inside, he'd just sneak out and risk his life again but at the same time she didn't want him trying to live the life of a combatant either. She didn't know what to do. Gumeel realized that Gine was too deep in her mind to notice her son still walking off toward the same path that he took last night. "Are you going to go after him?"

"Yeah…" Gine rose to her feet. "Seems like I have no choice."

"What are you going to do?"

"I have no choice but to let him have what he wants. If Kakarot is going to go out and hunt animals, then he at the very least needs to know how to handle himself out there."

Gumeel nodded her head, in full agreement. "Best to do it now before it's too late."

"But I just can't leave work," Gine added.

"Don't worry, I'll cover for you."

"Really?"

"Mhm." Gumeel started to chop up more meat. "It's a rather slow day compared to usual so I can take this on for a while all by myself. Go on ahead!"

Gine smiled. Gumeel truly was kind but she let herself seem a bit more mean to others than she typically let on. Many saw it as a sign of weakness and she hated being bothered for being soft, though Gine couldn't care less. She appreciated Gumeel for who she truly was. "Thanks, Gumeel. I'll be back soon!" Gine shot out of the room.

In any other world, for a child to wander the streets by himself unattended would catch a few curious eyes, but not most Saiyans. Everyone else had been caught up in their card games, food, work, or just time for relaxing inactivity. Seeing a kid on by themself wasn't out of the ordinary but the fact that Bardock's spitting image was off about by himself did catch a few eyes, especially from someone who himself had a very striking resemblance.

"Kakarot, wait up!" Gine called out.

Kakarot ignored Gine and just continued walking. She called out his name a few more times but he still didn't look back. Even though Gine would yell louder and bring attention to herself, Kakarot stayed on the path. It wasn't until Gine caught up to him and grabbed him by the shoulder that she forced his attention.

"Kakarot," she said sternly. Seeing that he gave her no response, Gine quickly realized that he was giving her the silent treatment, something Bardock himself tended to do whenever he wasn't in a good mood. "Look, I get that I just can't stop you from going out there to do what you want but if you're going to hunt, at the very least, you have to be taught properly before you do."

A bit confused, Kakarot's brow furrowed.

"I'm going to teach you how to hunt, Kakarot," Gine said simply. "And properly."

Hearing these words come out of her mouth lit up the boy's eyes. For the first time in weeks, he smiled wide and started wagging his tail anxiously. If she really meant it, then surely she'd take him there! "Let's go!" Holding his hand out, he waited for his mother to grab it and fly him over to the hunting grounds.

"And that's the first thing." Gine pushed Kakarot's hand down. "You've got to learn to fly on your own." Slowly, Gine removed her feet from the ground and started to hover in the air. "Like this. See?"

Kakarot nodded.

"You know that feeling you get in the pit of your stomach when you're about to fight?" she asked him. As an answer to his mother's question, Kakarot merely nodded for a second time. He had that feeling last night as he was hunting those animals. "Push that feeling down to your feet and use it to levitate."

Kakarot mentally brought himself back to the moment where he was confronting that giant creature. As the warm feeling had been brought back to him, he did as directed and instinctually channelled that feeling down to his feet. Five seconds later, he started to rise off the ground like his mother. Proud of the fact that he managed to catch on, Kakarot continued to raise himself even higher.

"Hey, hey, don't go too high now!" Gine warned him.

"Teaching the boy, huh?"

The sound of a low and nerve assuaging voice had caught Gine's attention. Turning around, her eyes widened at the sight of this figure, who looked exactly like her son's. The stranger only smiled upon realizing that his hair and facial structure had taken her by surprise. If he were just a few shades lighter, then he'd look 99% like Bardock, save for his eyes, which were shaped like Kakarot's.

"Don't worry, I don't take offense," the young man said, breaking the ice. "I can see why you'd be surprised."

"Who are you?" Gine asked. Very rare was it for a peer to randomly talk to another unless they made an attempt to gain something beneficial for themselves, though this didn't seem to be one of those cases. This Saiyan looked extremely similar to Bardock and Kakarot and there must have been a reason. Could he be related to them?

"The name's Turles," he answered truthfully.

Gine wanted to ask a plethora of questions but so many were coming so quickly at once that she just couldn't spit the words out of her mouth. Never before did she see this Saiyan before but she felt as if she should have since he looked so much like her soulmate and his child.

"I see that you're just teaching your boy to fly?" Turles inquired, paraphrasing his initial question.

"Y-Yes," Gine answered. "He has to learn somehow now, doesn't he?"

"Indeed. It's just unusual for a Saiyan child with a battle power of 17 to not know how to fly. And also being Bardock's son, I just find it quite odd."

Raditz was flying as soon as he got out the tank.

"You know Bardock?" At this point, Gine felt sure that this Turles figure had some relation to Bardock. Bardock and Kakarot's hairstyle were very rare amongst the Saiyan people and only a select few had it. To have this type of hair would mean that they're of some blood relation—at least in her opinion. If they were related, then it'd stand to show that this man was on the younger side of the family, given his rather thin build and clean face.

Turles had to quickly catch how he spoke. This was his first time introducing himself to an extended part of the family and he was already saying too much. "What low-class doesn't? I hear many around this area tend to adore him for some odd reason." His eyes slightly narrowed. "I came to see what the fuss was about but he's just another low-level soldier."

"Well, yes..." Gine's eyes veered off for Kakarot. She had to look around for a second until she spotted her boy flying around in circles, getting used to this newly learned ability to fly around. Gine did question how she could deduce that this kid was Bardock's son but then again, only those two had such hair in this area.

"So, what's today's lesson? Going out to take him hunting, I presume?"

"Yes," Gine answered. "He's been pestering me a lot to go hunting and he just wouldn't take no for an answer. He even snuck out and risked his life last night just to do it!"

"Ah...so you really haven't been left with any choice, have you?"

"No, not at all."

Hearing this put a smile on Turles' face. "Take it as a message from the universe, miss. A lower-class Saiyan he may be, but a sign it also is, indeed. He has that fighting spirit." Deciding to cut their meeting short, Turles began to walk away. "It's been a pleasure. I'll be seeing you much later on."

This guy had virtually left Gine speechless.

I've got to tell Bardock about this when he gets back home.

Before Gine could start getting to thinking deeply about this, Kakarot had taken off. Seeing her young boy breezing through the sky as if he'd been doing so for years had alerted the woman. "Hey!" she shouted. "Wait for me, Kakarot!"

Once Kakarot had touched down in the same fields he arrived at last night, Gine had came to a stop as well. When Kakarot looked passed the grassy fields and onto the trees, Gine caught on to the major possibility that it was in that specific area in which Kakarot took his beating.

Gine noticed her son's anxiousness to jump right into action and to start the hunt again but there was still more learning. "Kakarot."

"Hm?"

"Watch this."

Gine rose her hand above her head and aimed it to the sky. Through Kakarot's eyes, a bright glow appeared, which emanated from his mother's palm. Using her other hand, Gine fired a ki attack for the other ball of energy and used it to blow it up. "See that?"

Never before had Kakarot laid his eyes on such a thing. To see it for the first time was like magic to him. With his want to learn everything that he saw, Kakarot mimicked his mother and did the same thing: firing one energy ball and firing off another. Unlike Gine, Kakarot's aim was absolutely terrible.

Gine chuckled at the sight and ruffled her boy's hair. "Nicely done."

"Hehe. Can I go now?"

Gine nodded.

Once his mother had given him the greenlight, Kakarot took off that instant. No longer did he rely on his feet, but flight instead. Once he made it past the very first tree he hid behind last night, the boy shot up and above until he appeared above all of the trees.

Now he didn't feel so little anymore.

Using his great sense of sight, Kakarot scoped out the area. He saw birds in their nests like before and even some smaller animals digging holes but he paid none of them any mind. He looked out for the bear that he fought the previous night. Looking out a bit more, he saw a lifeless body.

After seeing her son moving into the area of trees, Gine followed. She spotted him crouching down, touching a small animal that had been torn piece by piece, surrounded by its own dried blood. It was no doubt that it had been preyed upon by scavengers.

Kakarot pointed at the bear as he looked over to his mom. "I killed it."

"Really? That's great!"

"But it's little," Kakarot added. He no longer treasured this kill because he desired to catch the other. "I want the big one that beat me."

Gine wasn't too sure about that still, given the damage that Kakarot had taken by this creature.

SNIFF SNIFF

Kakarot's tail had stood on alert after catching a familar scent within the area. The sense of smell he had was correspondent to that of the big bear he fought last night. It had came back, albeit he wasn't aware why. Even though the creature was just an animal, it did turn around to mourn over its lost child. Kakarot didn't understand it, nor did he care, for he just wanted to get his kill.

Looking down, Kakarot noticed a few pairs of fresh tracks. They were equal to the shape of the bear's feet so it had to be it! His tail wagging was a definite indicator of his enthusiasm, which in itself was self-explanatory: he was close!

Kakarot hopped from one track to another and his mother just followed behind and kept a close eye on him. Gine was surprised as to how quickly Kakarot was catching onto the basics of hunting, despite not even being taught! Everything was just being learned on his own and it showed Gine just how dedicated he was to proving himself. She was worried albeit proud at the same time.

Once they made it to what seemed to be the freshest track, Kakarot looked around for a possible home that they could be residing in.

"Look," Gine whispered.

Kakarot's head jerked over to a nearby pond of water ahead being tended by a bear and two cubs. Kakarot's nose fidgeted prior to him confirming those bears to be the ones he came across last night.

The boy showed no hesitation and aimed one arm out. The trio were still getting over the loss of a loved one and were doing what they could to move on now. The plan was to find another safety zone as today was their last day around here. None of them expected the Saiyan boy to be back so soon and it showed.

Whines coming from both cubs caught the attention of the mother, who looked on to see both of them falling into the pond of water helplessly. Watching the blood of her own mixing with the once pure water was nothing other than shocking.

"HEY!" Kakarot yelled.

"Kakarot, what the hell are you doing?" Gine hoped that her son would also take the mother bear down so that he could get his successful game but apparently, it was much more deeper than that for him at this point. "You just don't call it out like that!" She at the very least expected Kakarot to remain silent and catch the mama bear off guard as well.

Kakarot observed how disheartened the bear was last night from him killing its child so he knew that it would be even more angry after his murder of her last two babies. At this point, the bear would have no choice but to attack, which would give Kakarot exactly what he wanted.

The bear stomped at Kakarot like a raging bull, roaring. The little boy just smiled and fired off a plethora of energy attacks. This did slow the animal down but there was no cease to its movement. Just moments before it came into contact with him, Kakarot ascended to the sky, turned around, and proceeded to fire off more.

The bear started to howl in pain, which made Gine feel somewhat uncomfortable. "Kakarot, I think it's done for! If you keep going, it won't be worth eating!"

He heard his mother loud and well though he didn't listen to her. Taking very much pleasure in exacting revenge on this vile animal, Kakarot used his other hand to fire off more scorching ki attacks. His enjoyment of this made Gine's stomach churn. She expected Kakarot to not show any mercy but she didn't anticipate him getting a kick out of this. He looked like one of those ruthless Saiyans in a combat zone!

Once the bear had fallen over on his back, Kakarot still hadn't come to a stop. He wanted to keep on going until the thing was literal ashes.

"ENOUGH!" Gine smacked him across the face.

The sudden slap had made him come to an immediate stop. He looked up to his mother, feeling somewhat embarrassed. Why would she slap him? He was doing just fine!

"I brought you here so that you could hunt like you wanted, not so that you could be a sadist!"

"But I was having fun!" Kakarot yelled in protest.

Gine just shook her head. Not once had Kakarot been put on the battlefield and he was already enjoying the feeling that came with taking lives. She understood why many of her people loved to fight but did they have to enjoy the senseless murder that came with their jobs, too? It didn't really bother her nowadays but to see her three-year old son taking pleasure in the pain of other sentient beings was very alarming to her.

"Let's just pick them up and bring them home, Kakarot."

Turles kept a close eye on Kakarot from afar, scrutinizing his every move. He could tell this was the boy's first time and seeing his instinctual performance on display put a smug smile over the dark skinned Saiyan's face. "A fine prospect indeed. Heh."