"Is this really necessary?" Gatta asked, arms folded, leaning against the wall of the sparring arena that sat hidden in one corner of the big atrium that Cana had walked through earlier. The arena was actually in a small structure inside the building, and laid out in a very traditional fashion, with polished wooden floors and pillars, another contrast to the high-tech wizardry that Capsule Corp was known for. Knowing what she knew now, the presence of the arena didn't surprise Cana.
Part of the Saiyan girl was asking the same question, however. By his own admission, Bockser would have willingly given her the Dragon Ball if she had been human, but his own Saiyan blood – diluted as it may have been – couldn't pass up the chance to challenge her. Cana had never assumed that she would be able to get through her journey without having to fight at some point, but she hadn't expected it so soon, and for so little reason. She was even still wearing her school uniform – skirt and button-up – an outfit that was not suitable at all for fighting.
Bockser stood at one end of the floor, dressed now in a t-shirt and loose pants, stretching and smiling like a schoolboy. "It's not a real battle, sis," the young man said. "I just want to see how a full-blooded Saiyan fights." He looked at Cana, blue eyes bright. "Admit it," he said. "You're looking forward to it, too."
"Don't flatter yourself," Cana said with false bravado, but Bockser just laughed with natural good cheer. Her stomach tightened with nervousness and she set herself in a fighting stance, legs bent and slightly apart, hands raised. She could feel the stiffness in her shoulders and thighs, the posture unfamiliar to her after so long. But her pupils had dilated and her breathing was slow and heavy. Her Saiyan blood pumped hot in her veins. She was looking forward to this.
Across from Cana, the younger heir to the Capsule Corporation lowered himself into a stance that was unknown to her; one foot forward, hands raised shoulder-high with fingers hooked into claws. He smirked. "Ready when you are," he said.
Gatta sighed, but Cana didn't turn her to head to look at her, red eyes fixed on her opponent. "Just try not to wreck the place this time," the older sibling said, resignation evident in her voice. She waited for three heartbeats. "Go!"
The Saiyan girl had expected Bockser to hang back and wait her out, preparing to counter-attack instead of moving in close himself, but he subverted her expectations, charging forward immediately. His left hand jabbed forward, and Cana leaned aside, the blow passing by her right ear. She raised an arm to parry the young man's other hand, then lashed upward with her knee. Bockser leapt back before it could connect.
Again, she thought he would circle and wait, more cautious this time, and – again – she was wrong. He jumped forward, foot drawn back for a flying roundhouse. A more experienced fighter could have caught the young man by the leg and thrown him, but Cana was out of practice. She side-stepped the kick and aimed a blow at Bockser's head as he landed. He ducked under her punch and kicked backwards in a deceptively awkward movement that staggered the Saiyan girl and pushed her back a few steps.
Stronger than I thought. And vicious, too. The spiky-haired girl smiled to herself. I guess he really is part Saiyan.
Hesitant at first, Cana changed her stance, lowering her center of gravity and widening her reach. Subconsciously, she had underestimated the young man, assuming he would not be a match for her, but she had forgotten how much she had forgotten, how out of practice she was, and Bockser clearly had some skill. Although Master Tien had also defeated her, Cana had believed that was a fluke. This experience was teaching her otherwise.
So far, Bockser had been pressing the advantage, forcing her to fight his fight instead of the reverse, making her play defense. This time, she darted forward, feinting with her right fist before striking with her left. The young man still managed to block the attack, but Cana was gratified to see his blue eyes widen with the impact. She dropped to sweep his legs but he backed out of reach, shaking his arms as if they tingled.
"Phew," Bockser gasped, rubbing one forearm, smiling as if he didn't have a care in the world. "You're strong."
"And you're tougher than I thought," the Saiyan girl said, nodding her head in a brief acknowledgment. The young man's smile broadened, and he took his stance again.
Cana went on the attack once more, charging forward at the same instant Bockser did. She drew back her fist, but the human surprised her again, dropping down onto his knees and sliding past her. The Saiyan jumped clear in case he tried to trip her, turning and landing with unconscious grace where he had been standing a moment earlier.
The beauty of the landing was marred as Bockser's foot struck her face, whipping her head to the right. "Here's an oldie but a goody," he said. "Wolf Fang Fist!" His hands, still curled like claws, lashed at her again and again in a series of rapid strikes too fast for her to block or parry. He drew back both hands and hit her with a double-palm strike that sent Cana flying, crashing through a pillar and skidding to a halt on the polished wooden floor.
She heard Gatta scream, but wasn't sure if it was concern for her or annoyance at Bockser damaging the sparring arena. Cana climbed to her feet, pained and winded, glaring at the young man who stood halfway across the room. He put a hand on the back of his neck, simpering, looking ashamed. "Sorry, guess I showed off a bit there," he said.
Cana didn't reply. With a flicker of motion, she crossed the gap, right hand rocketing up in an uppercut jab that took Bockser in the stomach. She heard the expulsion of breath, saw the shock on his face before he flew three feet into the air and twice that back. It took him a few moments to regain his feet and his breath, coughing and wheezing and rubbing his stomach. He looked at the Saiyan girl as if she had betrayed him.
"Oops," Cana said, expressionless.
A slow smile spread across the young man's features, a very different smile than the ones she had seen him wear so far. It was languorous and predatory. "That's more like it," he said. He took his stance again and beckoned her forward. "Come on."
The Saiyan complied. She attacked in a rush of punches and kicks, but neither of them were fooling around anymore, and Bockser blocked or dodged without taking serious damage. He counter-attacked, but found her defenses as strong as his own were. Cana managed to push the young man back with a palm strike to the chest, and she lifted her leg for a roundhouse kick to the face.
He caught her foot, and they stood there for a moment, Cana balanced effortlessly on one leg, Bockser's arm straining to hold back the limb. His blue eyes flicked down and a faint grin crossed his face. "Spats?" he asked. "That's kind of disappointing."
Cana's red eyes narrowed, her face warming. For a moment she could see the panic in the young man's face as he realized he had made a terrible mistake, but it was far too late. The Saiyan lifted her other foot clear of the ground and swung it viciously at the other side of Bockser's face. His other arm rose to block it, but the strike crashed through his guard and hit him behind his right ear. He spun away, dropping Cana's other foot and sending her plummeting to the wood floor, but his own motion continued until he smashed into another pillar, cracking it in half with the impact. Gatta screeched again.
Bockser lay flat on the ground, groaning with pain, dazed eyes staring up at the ceiling. Cana approached, fury in her eyes. She stopped a distance away, not wanting to allow the young man another chance to look up her skirt. "Are we done yet?" she asked.
"Okay, okay," Bockser said, lifting his hands to ward her off. "You got me."
Gatta stepped into view on the other side of the prone figure, extending a hand to give Cana back the glasses the Saiyan girl had handed to her before the match. "You totally deserved that," the lavender-haired woman said, and Bockser nodded glumly. The buxom young woman looked up at Cana. "Sure you don't want to hit him a few more times?" she asked.
"Don't tempt me," Cana said, shooting a tight smile up at the other woman, warming to her.
"I'm sorry," the young man said, still on the floor. "I couldn't help myself. I mean... you are pretty cute, you know?"
Cana drew back a foot to give Bockser a light kick, but Gatta beat her to it, and with far more force than the Saiyan had been about to use. "Give it a rest," the older sibling said. "Now, if you're finished playing around, go and get the Dragon Ball like you should have done in the first place."
Bockser struggled to stand up, but gave up after a few seconds. "Sure, just... give me a minute," he said.
The orange orb felt heavy in Cana's hand. Deep within, two darker orange stars glittered at the center of the ball. It was smaller than she had expected, but dense, although that might have been psychological. If what Master Tien had said was true, than the object she held was a piece of the puzzle that was capable of granting almost any wish. She could only imagine the battles that had been fought, the blood that had been spilled, the lives lost in order to get hold of even one of the Dragon Balls.
"Humbling, isn't it?" Gatta asked. The older girl stood across from her, staring at the Dragon Ball that Cana now held in her hand. They were back in the laboratory, where Bockser had retrieved the orb from a securely locked, multi-layered safe. "It's been in our family for a long time, but I never liked having it out in the open. Too much power for me."
The Saiyan looked up at Gatta. The lavender-haired girl was the heir to the most powerful corporation on the planet, rich beyond count, with the kind of technology that made almost anything possible. And yet... she claimed the Dragon Ball was too much power for her. "Encouraging," Cana muttered.
"Sorry, honey," Gatta said with a quick smile. "It's just something I've spent a lot of time thinking about. My ancestor – Bulma – changed the history of the entire world, maybe the whole galaxy, when she started looking for these things."
"Every time the Dragon Balls are brought together, the course of history is altered," Bockser said from where he leaned against a wall, an ice pack held against his face where Cana's battle-ending kick had struck him. "It's not an easy burden to bear."
Cana hefted the ball in her hand, biting her lip. It did seem like quite a hot potato for the old man to have dropped in her lap like this. Is this all just a different kind of test? She wondered. But no, that didn't seem right. "Master Tien implied he didn't actually want to use them for anything," she said. "That he didn't want to make a wish."
Gatta tossed back her hair and straightened her glasses. "The wish isn't always the important thing," she said. A giggle slipped from her lips. "If the stories are true, the first wish that was made on the Dragon Balls when Bulma gathered them was for a pair of panties."
"Seriously?" Cana said, narrowing her eyes.
"What can I say?" Gatta asked with a shrug. "It's just a story."
A hiss of pain came from Bockser, who had removed the ice pack to poke at his swollen wound with a finger. "Damn!" He replaced the ice pack. "Her point is that it was the very act of searching for the Dragon Balls that changed history, not the wish. Bulma found Goku on that journey. Goku found the Turtle Hermit, the Ox-King, and Yamcha on that first adventure, all important figures later on. Looking for the balls isn't something that should be taken lightly."
The Saiyan girl frowned, glancing between the two siblings. "Okay, what's with you two?" she asked. "Are you saying I shouldn't do it? That I should give it back?" What?"
Gatta leaned forward to rest her hand on Cana's. "It's not that," she said.
"We just want you to know what you're getting into," Bockser finished. "This isn't a harmless scavenger hunt. It's serious business."
"Point taken," Cana sighed. "And I appreciate you two helping me, first with the Dragon Radar and – now – with the ball and for warning me." She grabbed her travel bag from where she had dropped it earlier, opened it, and stuffed the Dragon Ball inside. "I'll definitely be careful."
"That's all we can ask," Gatta said, smiling. "Oh, and there's something else Tien asked us to give you." She opened a nearby drawer and dug inside it with a free hand. The smile disappeared and she dug more frantically. She cursed, standing up and opening a different drawer to begin rooting around in it. Without speaking, Bockser went to one of the other desks, pulled it open, and retrieved a small case, tossing it to Cana, who caught it easily. Gatta stared at her younger brother. "Are you kidding me?"
Cana bit back a smile. She opened the small case to find it was filled with small dyno-caps. The lid of the box contained a legend, explaining what was in each capsule. She scanned the contents, eyes widening. "This is..."
"Clothing, shelter, and food," Gatta said.
"Lots of food," Bockser added with a grin.
The expression was mirrored on his older sister's face. "Yeah, we know how much Saiyans can eat," she said. "This should save you some time... no scavenging for meals or searching for caves to sleep in or whatever."
"I... don't know how to repay you two," Cana said, closing the case and placing it in her bag with the Dragon Ball. "You've been more kind to me than I would ever have expected."
Bockser blushed. "Well like my sister said... we're kind of like cousins."
"Just take care of yourself out there," Gatta said with a warm smile. "And come see us when you get back. You're always welcome at Capsule Corp." Gatta gestured for the Saiyan to hold out her wrist, and the older girl moved forward, invading her personal space again to turn the device on, clicking the button until the display showed the world map once more. "One more thing," the lavender-haired young woman said. "Master Tien wanted us to tell you that you could start with any of the Dragon Balls..." she pointed to an island that was nearly obscured by a blinking white dot. "Except for this one. This one he wants you to save until last."
Cana made a face. "Did he mention why?"
"Of course not," Gatta said.
"'The journey is the destination,'" they said together and laughed. Bockser just looked back and forth between them, confused.
The Saiyan girl gently tugged her hand free of Gatta's and shrugged. "Well whatever," she said. "The other five are sure to give me enough trouble as it is." She threw a quick smile to the Briefs siblings. "Thanks again."
She had turned west again after leaving Capsule Corporation, walking in silence through the bustling center of the city and further, out towards the edge of town. The sun was sinking in a brilliant red-orange ball of flame ahead of her, looking for all the world like a gigantic Dragon Ball falling under the horizon. Cana had been feeling optimistic when she had left Gatta and Bockser, but melancholy had crept back in during her trek. She felt alone, despite the life of the city around her, and she couldn't help but think of Jesi, who would be home by now.
Part of her hoped that the younger girl had somehow gotten ahead of her, waiting to say one last farewell at the edge of town, but Cana knew that such an event would only have made it harder to leave. No, she was on her own. At least she had supplies and direction now. She lifter her wrist and touched the button to activate the Dragon Radar, tracing a line between the blinking dots scattered across the map.
The enormity of the task ahead of her slumped Cana's shoulders for a moment, but she took a deep breath and lifted herself out of the brief depression. Once she got beyond the city limits, she could move a lot faster, running and leaping at speeds that she didn't feel comfortable using in populated areas. She wouldn't need to fly from location to location, although that would have been much easier.
Even as her crimson eyes lifted, she saw a sign ahead of her: "Now leaving West City". Cana slowed to halt when she came abreast of the billboard. As a Saiyan peacekeeper, she had traveled across the galaxy, making interplanetary flights on a regular basis and without a second thought. Now, the idea of leaving the city where she had been living for the last two years almost gave her a panic attack. Her heart was pounding in her chest and her breath was quick and shallow.
Fear.
She'd been a slave to it for far too long. Cana squared her shoulders, tensed her muscles, and moved forward.
She refused to look back.