14 February 745, Akira's Hideout

'Dear readers, I must have you all know that the writer of this will had been imprison by a cruel bandit.'

"What do you think you are doing?! Writing at a time like this!" Someone, whom I'm acquainted with for the past 3 hours.

'With an extremely annoying girl beside me .' I wrote on the back of my map which for some odd reason hasn't been confiscated yet. Not like it'll do much good.

I'm sorry for sneaking out, Yamcha. Please save me.

~A few hours earlier~

14 February 745, Nearby town

I ate some udon noodles as I rested at a nearby village. Nothing as good as Yamcha's noodles though.

Speaking of Yamcha, he had most probably reached Akira's hideout by now, according to the map. I mean, Akira's hideout isn't exactly a 100 miles away. It's only 45 minutes away from here.

I'm hoping to swoop in at the last minute so I'll just wait for several minutes before heading off again. Just like cartoons and anime.

Who am I kidding? I'm not gonna risk his life, this is real life here, not everything goes as plan. I must do the right thing.

Stop thinking and time to start. I got up from my seat and paid for the dishes. Glad Yamcha left some cash for me.

I grabbed my belongings and headed out. I could see Akira's menacing tower from here. The town seem pretty normal despite the menacing tower in the distance. I guess they didn't really care about this town. Afterall, who cares about a small town when your aim is the the entire world?

How am I supposed to get in the tower without being caught by the henchman or Yamcha even? I may have the map but Yamcha has the layout of the tower so what can I do to get in?

The front gate? A terrible idea. Windows? It's a tower, not a mansion. The back door? If there is one. Shit...I should have thought this through.

I chose to go through with my dumb plan anyway. I grabbed a pair of binoculars from the bag and scout the tower for hints to help me get in. There are several camps around the tower with the bandits everywhere. There must be a way in.

Huh?

Something caught my eye as I decided to get a better look. Yamcha is there? He's hiding behind one of the tents. A goon slowly was walking towards him, unaware of the fact that Yamcha is there.

As soon as the goon waltz around the corner, Yamcha grabbed the goon and hold onto the neck with his other hand covering his mouth, preventing him from breathing. Soon, the goon ran out of oxygen and fainted out.

Yamcha dragged the body into the tent and disappear from sight...if only he was good at talking to girls as he is at sneaking into camp.

However, this gave me an idea. I can't expect me to sneak into camp as great as Yamcha could. However, that isn't the only way to sneak into camp.

I placed my binoculars in my bag and prepare to sneak in. I walked down the hills and dashed into the forest that leads to the camp.

Several minutes later, I had reached the entrance of the camp. I saw two legs sticking out of the bush, most likely an unfortunate goon that was guarding the entrance and had to encounter Yamcha. He didn't hid the body very well though, probably he was in a hurry.

I am rather glad that they wore similar masks but not similar clothing or I might have to...you know.

I took the goon's mask and put it on. Most of my view had been blocked off and I'm having a hard time adjusting to it. How do they see in this thing? This might be one of the major reasons why they can't even land a hit on an injured guy like me.

I hid the goon deeper into the bush to hide my tracks when Yamcha couldn't. I entered the camp, pretending as if nothing happened. My acting isn't top notch but I'll just have to roll with it.

I casuall- I mean, uncasually marched towards the tower. I followed the pace of the goons around me without trouble.

However, before I could the reach the entrance of the tower, a sudden tap on my shoulder stopped me from marching any further. "S-sir, the cargo is h-here." I turned around to see another goon glancing at me, he wore the same mask as any other.

"Uhh...right." I didn't knew how to reply. "You may return to your duties." I signalled him with my hand to go away.

I tried to turn around and continue my mission but the goon called out again. "S-sir, I don't mean to ask b-but why didn't you make fun of me on my stuttering?" He asked.

Shit. Stop asking questions I don't know how to answer.

"Do you want me too?" I raised my eyebrow. I probably shouldn't as I had wasted more time.

He paled a little, thinking I might scold him or something. "N-no, sir. It's just that everyone p-picks on me because of my s-stuttering."

I raised an eyebrow at that. I should've expected that of bandits but...I couldn't help but feel sad. "I...see. Look, I'm in a hurry but I'll just say this, do not let their words affect you. Have confidence in yourself and be strong."

"B-bu-"

I interrupted. "I said I'm in a hurry, heed my words and you'll be fine. I have to go." I rushed off without looking back. I didn't have time for this.

I went ahead to the entrance of the tower, it's size towering over me. There were two guards who stood there, I channelled my inner actor and stood in front of them.

However, their lack of response caught me off guard. I coughed into my hand to get their attention but there was once again no response.

I proceeded to tap their shoulders, only for them to instantly collapse. I jumped a little in surprise before realizing they are unconscious.

This is most likely the work of Yamcha. How did he even make them stand anyway?

I shook my head mentally, refusing to ponder any longer about the logic of this world and entered.

There's once a person that said, 'Never judge a book by it's cover', I'm beginning to consider it.

The interior is much larger than the exterior and I'm not exaggerating. The outside looks like a tower, the inside looks like a freaking castle. Alright, focus. This place is much bigger than expected so I might need assistance.

I straightened my posture and wandered around, hoping to find someone...I don't exactly know what else to do.

As time slowly ticked down in my head, I finally encountered a passing grunt. I mustered my confidence and walked towards him.

He faced me as I approach and stood in front of him. I could see him shudder a little, for reasons I'm blind to. "Could you tell me where the girl is kept?" I knew I wasn't subtle in the least but I had already considered my question before speaking. There was no harm in asking as he might think that I'm interrogating her.

"The girl that Boss brought in earlier? How the fuck do you not know? The boss had informed all of us of her location and that we are to not approach her." ...Shit. Of course my question would not work. It would have gone too well.

"...I was simply out of town to finish off a job I was given. As soon as I arrived, I was given another and it's to interrogate the girl." I tried to explain so I wouldn't blow my cover.

Silence filled the air. I could feel myself getting uncomfortable. He simply deadpanned at me, before praising in amazement. "Wow...you must have done a pretty good job if the Boss is willing to let you near her."

I mentally sighed in relief. "I guess you could say that." I said smoothly, playing my role. "So...where's the girl kept?" I asked casually. I knew I didn't need to be formal as this isn't exactly a military base.

"It's at the basement level, right around the prison section." He grinned at me. "Don't forget to tell me what you did on your trip, alright?" He added before strolling down the hallway.

The bandits here are easily manipulated, it's a surprise that this place isn't infiltrated yet. Guilt ran through me as I thought back to his carefree grin. I don't exactly like to lie but given the circumstances, this was for the better.

I twist and turned through the hallways that should lead me to the blondie whose name I still don't know of. The further I went, the larger the difference in the environment.

If the camp outside was even considered quiet, this was just terrifyingly silent. I could hear my own breathing through my mask, muffled. I could feel my heart pounding with each step I take.

I love silence as it calms my nerves but somehow this environment had only made me worse.

I continued to walk down the hallway despite my senses telling me that this a bad idea.

As I was marched down the path, two other grunts came into view, standing on either side of the hallway. Their masks had a blue claw mark over them, obviously hinting at something that I'm oblivious to.

The two grunts noticed me and blocked me before I could walk pass them. "Halt. Password?" One of them asked.

Soon, my panic alarm had began to ring in my head. "Password?" I replied unsurely, my heart beating hard against my chest.

I swear I could feel they're narrowing their eyes in suspicion at me. "Password." He stated, pressuring me even further. I wonder if the paper of plans had the password but it's definitely too late to check now.

"Uhh..." I paused, my brain drawing a blank before a random word popped in. "Dragon ball?"

The grunts immediately stood back a little, showing their shock and surprise. I immediately took this chance and tried to run pass them. Keyword? Tried.

One of the grunts grabbed tightly onto my right shoulder and pulled me towards him which resulted in me falling down. The other grunt took out an axe and drived it towards my direction.

I freaked out and rolled out of the way. However, the hallways were too small for me manoeuvre around so I crashed into a wall instead. The grunt without the axe took this opportunity and slammed a baton that he pulled out from nowhere directly onto my head.

I could feel blood flowing out from my head, my conscious slowly fading, my eyes were drooping. Heh heh. I guess I should expect a lot of fainting from now on.

My mind faded into darkness. I'm sorry, Yamcha.

~Present time~

And so, my imprisonment had begun.

As soon as I blacked out, they threw me in the same cell as Mrs Blondie here which completed my mission...somewhat. My head had been patched up with bandages so that must have meant they needed me alive.

"Could you stop ignoring me?" A certain nuisance shouted beside me. I looked over to see her shouting at the grunts guarding our cell.

"And you!" She turned around and pointed an accusing finger at me. "Why aren't you doing anything?" She yelled at me.

"I am." I answered, putting down the map that I was writing my will on. "Can't you see I'm thinking?"

"Well, think harder! For a guy who's trying to save me, you're doing a very good job." She said, her voice laced with sarcasm.

"What can I say, I'm weak. All I got going for me is my wits and brain and even then I'm still pretty stupid so could you please give me a break?" I stated as an order more than a question.

"Give you a break?! Well, I wish I could get a break!" She yelled once more. "Do you know how many times they came in here and tortured me before you arrive? TEN FUCKING TIMES!" She gestured to herself after shouting which revealed bruises and cuts covering her entire body.

I was taken aback, my back against the wall. My eyes widened as well. She seem to notice as well and chose to sit down at her corner. I glanced over at her, feeling guilty for not arriving sooner.

I felt my throat was swelled up, my mouth stayed shut. I felt like saying sorry but it didn't seem like something she needed now. My mind was assembling the words to use. "Why?" I asked. She didn't respond to my question. "Why did you want to come with us?"

She didn't say anything for the pass minute, her eyes staring into the distance. Time went on, I sat there, waiting for a reply but as time kept going, I gave up on waiting and looked away.

"I-" She finally answered. I looked back at her, waiting for her to continue. "I hate him. Akira." Simple words but I could feel a heavier meaning behind it. "He came to our village, he had little to no army with him. He wishes to have more so he forced our mayor to make everyone work for him. When our mayor didn't comply, he slaughtered him, right in front of our eyes." I could see her eyes shifted in panic, her mind most likely remembered that day clearly.

"Even then, all our villagers still denied him. So it began, he burned down our village and murdered our people. He decided that if he couldn't make us join him, he figured we were just in the way of his conquest. There were only few children who escaped." She paused for awhile before resuming. "He killed them. My parents. I will never forgive him." Her voice filled with hatred.

I just stared at her, not knowing what to say. I could her tears welling up at the corners of her eyes. Why am I so helpless? Why can't I do anything? I had never been good at these kind of things but I knew I can't just stand aside anymore. I had to do something.

"Look, I'm not gonna say I'm sorry because I know it'll never bring them back. I won't say that I understand how you feel either but I'll say this. From my perspective, I don't see someone who won't fight back. I don't see someone who will lay aside and let it all happen. So I know that you will keep trying and trying until you finally get what you want." I spoke softly to her. "Besides, this is the closes you've gotten to getting revenge, right? Might as well go through with it."

I stopped to let my speech to sink in and hopefully it works. "I know you are just trying to cheer me up and you suck at it." She responded, making me wince a little. "But you are right about one thing. This is the closes I've gotten to revenge so I'll make him pay."

"That's more like it. Now it's best we try to do something about our situation." I said in a chipper tone.

"Don't think that this makes us friends." She barked at me. "But you're right once again, we might need to do something."

"Don't worry, for the brain guy already had an escape plan." I pulled out my phone and unlocked it.

She looked curiously at me, or more accurately my phone. "What's that?"

"Nothing for you to worry about." I took my phone and went over to the cell gate. "Hey! I want to show something!" I shouted at the grunt guarding the prison.

He looked at me before he decided to ignore like how he did with blondie. However, I waved my phone at him before he could.

He must had been curious because he decided to humour me and stood in front of the cell. "What's that?"

"It's a prototype. It has all kinds of functions such as calling and taking pictures." I explained.

"Hehe. Like I would believe a boy like you could have something like that."

"Who says I owned it in the first place? It's my father's invention, he's a pretty good inventor. If you still don't believe me, I can show you." I proceeded to select camera and set the flash mode. "Don't move. I'll just take a picture." Before he could reply, I pressed the button and the light blinded him immediately.

I quickly took the advantage and grabbed his collar. I pulled him closer before driving my fist through his mask. It hurt like hell but compared to the pain I'm going through these days, it's nothing. The grunt collapsed on the ground with a 'thud'.

I went to pull the body closer and snatched the keys on his belt. "Wha-Huh?" The girl seem confused at anything's that had just unfold. I would too if I was in her shoes.

"I have the element of surprise." I stated, as if that would explain anything. I used the keys to open the cell door quickly.

"I know that but what was that?!" She shouted.

"Shhh. This is our chance, now let's hurry." I urged her. The door had opened and I signalled her to get out.

Though she was still confused, she chose that it was best to get out first. She walked out of the door and went towards the right side. "I remembered where the exit was when they brought me in. Follow me."

"Wait!" I called her to a halt. "My friend is still looking for you."

"Well, there's no time. I'm pretty sure he could take care of himself, now let's go." She already rushed off.

Shit. I still recall the map so I might be able to navigate my way out but I still had to find Yamcha. Damn it. I decided to head in the opposite direction, hoping I could find Yamcha.

I ran through the hallway with twist and turns, hoping to bump into Yamcha. Soon, I encountered several lying bodies on the floor. I must be close. I followed the trail of bodies, closely listening to my surroundings for Yamcha.

I could hear faint sounds of punching and kicking from a distance. I must be getting closer. The piles of bodies in these hallways are starting to increase. How many grunts have he been fighting?

I followed the sounds into this large room with a grand entrance and that's when I saw him, Yamcha, fighting off two goons with white claw marks over their masks. He seem very exhausted, like all of his energy had just disappear.

Before I could do anything, a voice boomed over the empty room. "And look who we have here, the wolf's weak friend" This alerted everyone in the room to me, which was only a few people. I glanced over to the person talking, my teeth gritted tightly. Akira. "Have you come to play as well?" What does he think this is? Some kind of game?!

Yamcha was alerted by my presence the most and his face scrunched up in anger at me. Nice to meet you too, Yamcha. That made him too distracted and was attacked by the two goons.

The two goons lashed out and bashed him in synchronize. The white masks goons must be elites to be this good. I did not have time to think and charged head first at them which proved to be really dumb idea.

The goons noticed easily and deflected the punch I threw at them, countering me blow by blow before I finally buckled over. One of the goons grabbed me from behind and hold me in an arm lock. I didn't have the energy nor the skill to pry them open.

The other goon kicked me repeatedly in the gut, I could feel the pain coursing through my body.

Yamcha was too hurt and exhausted to move and could only watch as I was repeatedly tortured over and over.

"You feel useless, don't you?" Akira's voice echoed throughout the room. "To watch your friend suffer and you can't do anything about it."

"D-Don't listen to h-" I was interrupted with a knee to the gut.

"Even he can do nothing about i-"

"Of course I can, you and your dreams can fuck yourselves!" I shouted at him.

"Shut him up." Akira ordered the two goons. The goons complied and they punched me so hard in the gut that I thought my gut was blown to bits. Unfortunately, they weren't finish, one of the goons grabbed my left arm and the other goon punched right at my bones, making them crack upon impact.

I screamed out loud in agony, after the all the pain I went through, I thought it couldn't get worse. I was dead wrong. The pain was nothing like the rest, the rest put me to sleep. This, this kept me wide awake.

"My, my, even after that he still couldn't shut up." Akira said across the room.

Unbeknownst to me, Yamcha was angry. He was angry at me at first, for coming here even after he told him not to. However, he had now direct his anger to someone else. His rage kept growing, until he finally snapped.

"AAAAHHHHH!" Yamcha shouted out loud, covering my screams. Through my pain, I could his energy spiking. Not just any energy, his latent energy. He continued shouting as he leapt towards me and the two goons.

The goons dropped me onto the ground, preparing to defend themselves. One of the elites punched at Yamcha, while the other kicked at Yamcha in the gut. The simultaneous attacks failed to harm Yamcha and only succeeded to make him angrier.

Yamcha punched the goon directly on the face, giving the elite no time to react. The goon flew into the wall, most likely out of commission. The elite suddenly panicked and unleashed a barrage of kicks and punches at Yamcha. Yamcha dodged them all and kicked the grunt right in the gut, making him fly to the roof.

Akira only looked on in boredom. "Must I do everything myself?" He said in annoyance. Akira stepped forward and injected a purple-ish liquid into his bloodstream. His size suddenly doubled, making him twice as menacing.

This meant nothing to Yamcha as he charged forward. Akira sent a punch flying at Yamcha which he managed to dodge. What happened next had began to be extremely anti-climatic. The moment Yamcha entered his range, Yamcha quickly used his ultimate technique.

"Wolf!" He decked Akira with an open palm. "Fang!" He continued to lay it thick onto Akira, refusing to show him mercy. "Fist!" Yamcha pushed two of his hands outward and thrust it towards him. Akira could not react in time and forced to withstand the blow which had led to a bad outcome for him.

Akira was immediately sent into the wall with a loud crash. Suddenly, it became very silent. Yamcha walked towards Akira and pulled him up, Akira's body dangling from his palm.

"Now it's time for you to shut up." Yamcha grabbed Akira's head and did the unthinkable, he snapped Akira's neck before dropping his body on the ground.

Yamcha just stood there silently, most likely due to exhaustion.

Suddenly, the blond girl appeared and yelled towards us. "Hey! The police are coming! Or should say the entire army!" That last part caught my attention. Army? Oh no. That's bad news for Yamcha, we need to go.

I tried standing on my own two feet before falling over. As I was falling over, Yamcha caught me in time. "Let's hurry." He said softly.

"This way!" The girl shouted at us, directing us to the exit. Yamcha quickly followed her, dragging my body with him.

Our eyes finally met beautiful sunlight, blinding us a little. The girl threw a capsule, that turned into car. "Hurry, get in." Huh. I want to try throwing the capsule someday. We did as told and got in the car, driving off as far as needed to get out of view.

The journey gave us time to rest, enjoying the view despite only consisting of sand and more sand. I glanced toward Yamcha who looked like he could pass out at any second.

I looked at the girl, she looks tired but in better condition than the both of us. "So...what did you do after you ran off?" I broke the silence. I could hear the girl say something along the lines of 'So much for peace and quiet' but I chose to ignore it.

"Well, as soon as I got out, I was caught by this kid in one of the Akira masks. He was quite weak so it was rather easy to overpower him. He reminded me of the kids back at the old village so I couldn't hurt him. Instead, I told him to call the police which brought the army as well and run away. He stuttered a lot which annoy the hell out of me though." She told her part of the story. Guess the kid made it out alive, that's good. "What happened to Akira?"

Silence overtook the atmosphere again before Yamcha replied grimmly. "I killed him."

"Damn it, I was going to be the one to kill him but whatever at least he's dead."

The trip became peaceful once again as she drove us back to...the broken railway tracks? "Sorry about dropping you guys here but this is first place we met so...yeah." The girl apologized? That's a first.

"It's fine." I replied as Yamcha and I got out of the car as we reached our destination. "Well, this is goodbye, I guess."

"Wait. Before you go, I still want to tell you guys my name." She called out. "I-its Launch." She flustered a little as her cheeks had a tint of pink.

"Well, nice to meet you, Launch. Though Blondie kinda stuck to me." I admitted.

"How dare you! Whatever. I'll be going." She waved at us before heading off into the horizon.

I turned back to Yamcha who still look gloomy. "Yamcha? You alright?"

He snapped out of his funk and glanced back at me. "It's just...you shouldn't see me like that." He paused. "Killing."

"Yamcha, it's fine. I don't totally agree to it however, I do understand that it needs to be done."

"Yeah but-"

"Yamcha." I grabbed his shoulder tightly, with my non-broken arm. "It's fine. You did to protect me and for that, I'm grateful."

Yamcha stared at me for a bit, before shaking his head. "Fine. You win. Kami, you're weird. Not a lot of people would just willingly accept."

"Just try to minimize it and it would be fine." I suggested.

"Alright. There's still one thing I want to settle though." Suddenly, killing intent started flowing from him. He glared at me with a menacing smile. "Let's talk about the reason you followed me."

"Uhh...hehe, that's funny story." I'm screwed, aren't I?

~~~

A/N: Hey guys, I know it's been awhile and I would like to apologize for the long wait. Exams come and go which troubled me a little but for now I'm free.

My latest reviews are...weird so I don't exactly know what to reply.

Here the power levels,

Sam: (Injured) 2

Yamcha: (exhausted) 5 (Angered) 20 (Powered Wolf Fang Fist) 22

Elite: 10

Akira: 8 (Enhanced) 12

Launch(Blondie): 6 (Tortured) 4

Blue masks goons: 7

Regular goons: 6

Stutter kid: 3

And that's all for the power levels.

Here is a short omake,

(Launch's POV)

What am I doing here? I could've gotten away with a few robbery by now but instead, I chose to stick with these two dumbasses.

"Can't believe we have another one." Someone complained from outside the cell.

Two goons dragged a body which revealed to be the dumb blond kid, Sam. "Yeah. I know." The two goons glanced over at me. "Be careful, she's feisty one."

They opened the cell gate and threw the body in my cell. I chose not to do anything as I was still hurt from my torture earlier. They closed the gate and walked away.

I looked at the boy, this is probably the first time I've gotten a close look at him. He always seem like a kid but now, he looked older than me.

I got closer to him and stared at him. From here, he looks cuter. I blushed a little for thinking these stupid thoughts. I poked at him to try and wake him up but he's still remain motionless.

I soon realize I touched his face without his permission, not like I care anyways...right? I think I'll keep my distance for now.

~~~

An omake for those romance lovers but be warn that I suck big time...you're too late.

Thanks for the follows and the favourites and I would kindly accept any kind of review and criticism.

I'll see you all in the next episode of Dragon Ball: Songs About Me.