A/N: I am still hoping that someone makes a TVTropes page for this one day, maybe when this arc finishes it'll have reached that critical mass. Anyways, enjoy the chapter!
The wind blew calmly across Kame Island as the entire group stood assembled on the beach. Chi-Chi stood calmly, with Launch on her left, Kakarot on her right, and Krillin on the other side of Launch.
"Alright, since we're all outside, I'll put my house into a capsule, then we can move," Master Roshi said. The pink house went up in a puff of smoke, and suddenly nothing was there. Roshi tenderly placed the large capsule in his case before pulling out a normal sized one. He threw that one at the water to reveal a simple motorboat. Everyone climbed in and Roshi sped off to the southeast.
As the boat went on, Chi-Chi turned to Kakarot, who had been chosen to sit in the middle. "You haven't been talking much, are you feeling okay?" she asked. Kakarot smiled lightly and looked back at her.
"I'm fine, really. I just don't have any input. Better to not say anything than just spew an unending barrage of pointless words," Kakarot stated.
"If it is possible to cut a word, always cut it out," Chi-Chi said. Kakarot blinked before turning to her.
"What's that one from?" he asked.
"It's from an essay my father read to me once. I don't remember the title," Chi-Chi replied. She watched the spray of the sea splash up from the boat, and the water rush by as they went along.
"I've always liked watching water move. It's just… something about it makes me feel much more at peace than usual. If I remember correctly, my family home had a river running next to it," Kakarot said quietly. Unlike Chi-Chi, he was facing the back of the boat, watching the displaced water behind them like a cat did a laser pointer.
"Opening up slowly to the girl, why Kakarot, aren't you the romantic one?" Chi-Chi teased. Kakarot rolled his eyes and went back to watching the water behind them.
"Bleh, gross! I think I'm gonna be sick," Krillin said, sticking out his tongue.
"Then maybe I should throw you overboard so we don't catch something from you," Kakarot said in complete deadpan. Chi-Chi did a double-take at what he'd just said, before sighing in relief. No, the poor boy hadn't fallen into depression -hopefully-, he was just being quiet. At least he was behaving, she'd rather not see him making a game out of how many people they can murder again; even though she totally beat him, 35-4. If only she could see how he would act… if only her visions were closer in time rather than being at some unspecified point in the future.
Actually, that's a good thing.
Fun, you're back. Explain.
Seeing the future is a Kanassan ability. They could years into the future, and they always wrote down what they saw. However, it's a double edged sword. You said you wished the visions were close in time? Kanassans had a bit of a curse to that ability- the only time you ever see that close into the future is if you are about to die.
Well, that sounds pleasant.
Quite. Now pay attention, the Daikyō boy is trying to get your attention. Chi-Chi focused back on reality and turned to Kakarot.
"Yeah, what is it?" she asked.
"We've arrived at the new island," Kakarot said, pointing in front of the boat. Chi-Chi looked forward to see a large island with a smoking volcano. Master Roshi drove the boat up to the shore, before ordering them out and turning the boat back into a capsule. He then led them to a clearing around ten minutes from the beach, and unloaded his house from the capsule.
"So, anyone up for a quick lesson before dinner?" Roshi asked. All three of them rushed into a line in front of Roshi. Launch, for her part, yawned, causing a momentary panic with Krillin and Master Roshi, who ran and dove for cover. Chi-Chi stood and stared, while Kakarot sighed.
"Right," he said, "those weird metal things actually hurt you people."
"Kakarot," Chi-Chi said, "those are called bullets, and they are used to kill people."
"Yeah, I know, I know," Kakarot muttered, likely remembering what happened to Bulma.
Master Roshi cleared his throat to get everyone's attention yet again.
"Alright. Krillin, what is your experience with Martial Arts?" he asked.
"I studied for eight years at Orin Temple!" Krillin responded promptly.
"Very good, and I already know about you two," Roshi said, pointing to Kakarot and Chi-Chi, "now, before we do anything, I want to see what you've got." He pointed at a tree a little ways away. "That tree is 100 meters away," he dragged his foot along the ground to make a starting line, "I want you to run there as fast as you can."
Krillin immediately jogged up, bragging about how fast he was. Kakarot crouched down, grabbed a stick, and started drawing in the dirt. Chi-Chi walked over to the latter, barely paying attention to Krillin.
"What are you drawing there, Kakarot?" Chi-Chi asked.
"It's not drawing, it's writing," Kakarot explained. Chi-Chi looked carefully at what he'd drawn, and it looked nothing like anything she'd seen before. She looked at him and askance and he stood up. "I'll explain in a minute."
Looking up, Chi-Chi realized that Master Roshi had called up Kakarot to run next- apparently Krillin had run the 100 meters in 9.6 seconds, a new record for him. Kakarot walked up to the line and dashed forward, hitting the finish in 8.45 seconds. Show off… Chi-Chi thought, about both of them. She stretched her legs and stepped up to the starting line.
Taking a deep breath, she let a small amount of power flow into her, focused it into her legs, and pushed forward. Feeling the wind rip through her hair and along her skin, she skidded to a stop when she reached the tree, having barely felt the passage of time at all.
"S-Six-point-eight-four seconds!" Master Roshi called. Krillin's jaw practically dropped to the ground, while Kakarot just sighed and nodded.
"H-How the hell did you do that?!" Krillin yelled.
"Well… I just focused ki into my legs and ran," Chi-Chi explained, as if it were so simple. Well, to her it was, and maybe to Kakarot it was, too, but Krillin probably was having trouble wrapping his head around the concept.
Master Roshi simply nodded. "Not bad, Chi-Chi, though you really should learn to run fast using just your own physical strength before boosting it with ki. Like so," Master Roshi tossed off his turtle shell, which hit the ground with a CRASH, before handing the timer to Krillin as he stood in position. When Krillin gave the signal, Roshi dashed and zoomed passed Krillin.
"...Five-point-six seconds," Krillin said. Roshi shrugged and walked back over to his turtle shell.
"Not bad, I guess. I haven't run that way in years. Mind grabbing me a beer, one of you?" Roshi said.
"On it!" Krillin announced promptly as he ran into the house. Chi-Chi and Kakarot walked back over to where he'd been drawing/writing.
"So, what are you writing?" Chi-Chi asked. Kakarot just sighed.
"Just my name. I don't want to forget how to write it in our actual language, since Galactic Common is used here," he explained. She probably would have asked what the Saiyan language was like… but she really didn't care about it. If Kakarot wanted to keep it in his head, more power to him, but she didn't feel any kind of real connection to it. Earth was her planet, the only one she could really say was such, even if she felt a connection to her mother's planet, this was the only home she had left.
"But why didn't you just say that?" she asked. He stretched his arms up as he yawned.
"I like leaving people in suspense, it's fun," he said. The two suddenly turned their heads, hearing a loud scream from Krillin, running away from Blonde Launch, who was armed with a butcher's knife. Chi-Chi and Kakarot simply looked back at each other, smiled, and broke out laughing at their poor schoolmate's misfortune.
-R&R-
Standing on the far left side of the group, Kakarot standing in between him and Chi-Chi, Krillin stood stiffly as he watched Master Roshi pick up a stone and draw his symbol on it.
"So… is this supposed to be Arts & Crafts?" Kakarot asked, only to get elbowed in the side by Chi-Chi.
"Focus, Kakarot," she said. Muttering something under his breath, he turned back to facing Master Roshi.
"No, this is not Arts & Crafts," Roshi said, as he spun his arm and threw it into off the cliff and into the jungle at the bottom. "Alright, I still got that, at least."
"So… are we throwing rocks?" Krillin asked.
"No… you are going to go and find the one I just threw. Anyone can throw a stone, or a punch, but finding someone else's takes intense concentration and perseverance. So, run along now. The only one of you that gets dinner is the one who brings back that stone- and if you don't have it back in half an hour, no one gets it!" Roshi said.
Krillin and his two classmates immediately turned and ran for the cliff, only to see that it was pretty much a straight down drop, with no real footholds.
"D-Damn it! There's no way down! We'll just have to go a-" he began, but was cut off by Kakarot just jumping off the cliff, Chi-Chi right behind him. "You idiots! Do you want to die?!"
"We'll be fine!" Chi-Chi called back up. The two swung off a few tree branches and dashed off into the woods in separate directions. After listening to his own heartbeat, Krillin dashed off to look for a way down. How the hell will I ever find that stone?! I could always- no, I can't fake it! I don't know Master Roshi's handwriting, and he's too smart to fall for something so trivial!
Several minutes later, Krillin found a spot that he could run down. Granted, he had to cross a precarious rope bridge that looked like it would fail any minute, but that was the price that one had to pay to train with the amazing Turtle Hermit. Well, it's supposed to be, but those other two didn't care, what with their just jumping off a cliff and all. Those two always seemed like they were to going to do that kissy stuff in movies that he hated.
As he was mulling this over, a tiger burst out of the brush and made a dive for him. Krillin jumped out of the way on reflex and recoiled back at the tiger, driving his elbow into the creature's neck. Well, that was a close one, he thought. Suddenly, nearby, a triceratops stalked by, chasing some lesser beasts away with its might, shaking the ground with every step.
What the hell kind of jungle is this? Not one that I want to visit again, that's for sure! Krillin thought as he ran along.
"Yahoo! I'm gonna get supper!" Krillin heard a voice cheer, causing him to trip and fall. Oh you have got to be kidding me! There is no way I'm losing to those two again! Quickly hatching a plan, Krillin ran through the trees and saw Chi-Chi standing there, a huge smile on her face, and the stone in her right hand.
"How the hell did you find that, Chi-Chi?" Krillin asked.
"This? Kakarot gave it to me, said he didn't really feel like sticking around for dinner," Chi-Chi explained. Well, it certainly sounded like something that moody boy would say.
"Err… you sure that's the right one? I found a few that looked like it but didn't have the right handwriting," Krillin lied through his teeth.
Chi-Chi, unsuspecting, held it up so he could see the handwriting. "So, does this look correct?"
Krillin responded by grabbing the stone and shoving her roughly before running back towards the bridge as fast as he could.
"Oi! Give me back the stone you cheater!" she called after him. Krillin didn't even try to retort, he ran as fast as he could, just hoping to reach the damned bridge before she remembered that she was faster than him. Sure enough, he charged across the rope bridge and quickly slashed at the ropes with his hands, shredding them handily, and sending the now sobbing girl plummeting down into the ravine.
Despite feeling slightly guilty, he shrugged it off. Things happened, after all. While Chi-Chi was fast, it didn't seem like she could control herself enough to use that speed to catch him under pressure. If she died, she died, and if she didn't, oh well, he'd already be eating dinner by the time she made it back to Kame House. Krillin gave himself a light smile and began jogging back to the house at a leisurely pace. He'd made it barely 20 feet before the moody kid dropped from the tree branch in front of him.
"You have exactly ten seconds to give me the stone before I leave you dead on the jungle floor and tell Master Roshi how you died a tragic death via triceratops," Kakarot said. He didn't raise his voice, he didn't add any spin, he simply said it like an offer. One that Krillin was not going to entertain; he was hungry, damn it, and he wasn't going to give the stone up to the girl that knocked him out over a mistake!
"I'm not just gonna let you walk all over me! You're not the strongest of us!" Krillin said, finding his courage. Kakarot simply threw out his hands like a scale and shook his head side to side.
"Yes, because you've demonstrated so much courage. You abused the trust of an eleven year old girl to steal a rock from her that would allow her to eat dinner," Kakarot said. He then returned his arms to his sides. "By the by, your ten seconds are up."
Kakarot suddenly dashed forward, planting his knee in Krillin's stomach and sending him flying back into a tree. Krillin hit his head on the bark, and while his ears rang and he felt liquid on his back, he pressed his feet against the trunk and jumped at Kakarot. For his part, Kakarot simply sidestepped and elbowed Krillin the in back, letting him smash into the ground with his own momentum.
Not leaving him alone for a moment, Kakarot turned Krillin over and started raining blows down onto his body and face. Krillin was fairly certain that if he had a nose, it would be broken in several places by this point, and bleeding severely, just like his lips were. By the time Kakarot grabbed his tunic and hauled him up, he barely felt the pain of the blows anymore, only the ringing in his ears.
"You really should have just handed the stone over," Kakarot said, almost in a chastising way. Krillin didn't know what to think, anymore. Kakarot simply reached his other hand for Krillin's throat. Krillin closed his eyes, knowing this was the end of the road for him. I really should have either taken the offer or just tried to find something to eat in the jungle. Better than being murdered here by the moody kid.
Vaguely, Krillin heard a voice from behind Kakarot, followed by a sigh and Krillin being thrown to the ground. After taking a minute to let his ears stop ringing, he looked around to see that his assailant was gone without a trace besides the obvious signs of a struggle. Stumbling to his feet, Krillin slowly made his way out of the jungle, gritting his teeth to endure the pain. He kept going cross-eyed as he walked, and honestly wanted nothing more than to go to sleep. Nonetheless, he endured, finally making it back to Kame House, where Master Roshi waited patiently.
"Masssterrr Rrrosshhhiiii!" Krillin slurred, "I fooound the stooone!" He stumbled to Roshi and pressed the stone into his hands, before falling on his rump.
"Krillin, what happened to you down there? I'm glad you got the stone, but it looks like you lost a fight with a tiger and it felt too sorry for you to eat you," Roshi said, in a bit of a sad tone.
"More like its girlfriend felt too sorry for me to let it rip me limb from limb," Krillin said, shaking his head as his focus returned to him, "Master, Kakarot is both dangerous and insane. We got into a fight over the stone and he nearly killed me. I don't know for sure, but I'm pretty sure I only survived because Chi-Chi would rather not have seen my blood on his hands."
"...I see. Well, I'll make sure to give Kakarot a stern talking to when he gets back, but just remember that a fight has two people. Don't pick fights with your fellow students in the future. Now come on, let's go have dinner," Roshi said. Krillin stood up carefully and walked into the house, wondering if it was really worth it. Of course, when he woke up the next morning ill since Launch decided it would be fun to cook blowfish for dinner, he decided the answer was a true and resolute no.
-R&R-
Meanwhile, Kakarot was sitting on a log around a campfire, cooking a deer he had killed about an hour previous. Chi-Chi was placing some more kindling on said fire. As he divided it up into portions for the two of them to eat, he looked over at her.
"Why did you stop me from killing Krillin?" he asked, not understanding why she would stop him after he tried to kill her by dropping her into a ravine.
"Because, despite his actions, I don't think he deserved death," Chi-Chi walked up to him and took one of his hands in her own two, "I appreciate the willingness to protect me, though."
Finishing dividing up the venison and handing Chi-Chi her portion, the two stared up at the stars.
"Out of curiosity," Chi-Chi began, "where was the planet you and my mother were born on?"
Kakarot frowned and searched the constellations, trying to remember the star chart that had been engraved into his mind. After searching the depths of his mind, he pointed at a rather bright star in the middle of a group that made almost a plate looking design.
"That's where our planet was. It's a binary star system, which is why it looks so bright," Kakarot explained.
Chi-Chi finished eating and curled up on the ground. "That's cool. Thanks for sharing, Kakarot," she said, before going to sleep. Kakarot smiled down at the girl.
"Anytime, Chi-Chi, anytime," he said, more to himself than her. Sliding down from the log, he laid down a short distance away from her, and joined in her slumber.
A/N: Follow, Favourite, and Review! Especially that last one! See you all next week!