A lone seagull flew on the winds, flapping their wings as they soared over the sparkling ocean below. The skies were clear today, the hot sun shining down as it hung above. The lush green grass of a lone island was waving gently in the wind's flow. A large inactive volcano stood stoutly in the centre of the island, a flourishing forest around its base with a lake to the north and a canyon to the south. The wind picked up, a tattered brown shroud flowing in the current. A familiar figure stood alone atop a lone spire in the middle of the lake. Their arms folded, he stood staring down upon the sparkling lake waters below. The grass cool beneath his feet. The seagull from before came to perch upon the shrouded shoulder of the being. He smiled, lifting up his arm and letting the bird jump onto his wrist. The seagull chirped a little. Lifting his arm higher, the figure let the bird take to the skies. Birds like that were the only visitors the island ever received: making it a prime localisation for secluded training. Well, they used to be the only visitors. Not that it mattered to the warrior: he was leaving the island he called home soon. Good timing, as he heard about an interest in tourism of the island recently. But he'd done enough training there anyway, the time had come to open up his planned business in West City. The tourists could do as they please for all he cared. The near-perfection of a new fighting technique he had 'discovered' was enough to satisfy him for now. It could rival both the Turtle Hermit and Kaioken fighting technique.
Kuriza smiled, unfolding his arms. Gine hovered in the air behind Kuriza. She was dressed in her martial arts gi, accompanying boots on her feet with her red sweat bands on her forearms. She slowly descended, landing on the other side of the spire. Gine pulled out her red headband, tying it around her forehead before tightening it. Silence. The wind blew between them. Kuriza pulled off his tattered shroud, letting it fall to his side. The wind blew Gine's headband to her left.
"So, I heard Bulma bought you a place in West City..." Gine opened up.
"Yes, I'm gonna become a devil hunter, a private investigator... keeps me occupied." Her rival responded. Gine smiled.
"You really are giving it your all to root out the world's problems." She muttered.
"I can't save everybody... but I won't sit back either. Father's previous escape from the other world has deteriorated the fabric between realms a little... I'm gonna fix it." Kuriza sighed.
"What about training?" Gine inquired. Kuriza smirked, looking over his shoulder.
"Do you recall that fellow from another world? I had a great opportunity to study his technique... sure, he was weak... but his style has great appeal to me. I was fortunate enough to get a quick favor from the Time Patrol when I was informed of the weakened reality barriers... they 'acquired' a book from another world on the fighting art he employed, seems the fabrics between realities are altering more than we thought... anyway, I've taken to studying it... adding my own twist too." Kuriza mused.
"Heh, I get the feeling you wanna test it out?" Gine grinned, rubbing her nose. A white aura engulfed her. God Ki. Kuriza turned his head back around.
"You've taken a liking to fighting yourself." He noted.
"Possibly." Gine chuckled. An orange aura engulfed Kuriza. The 失 kanji glowing on his back. Gine adopted her fighting stance. Kuriza turned around, stomping his right foot on the ground as he clenched his fists whilst in a crouching position as he powered up. Gine smirked. Standing up from his crouching position; Kuriza lifted his right arm up to the side of his chest, placing his left arm before his stomach as if it was in a sling.
"I made sure not to abuse the art's dark side by the way..." Kuriza informed.
"Just one thing... they say before you start a war, you better know what you're fighting for. Do you really want to take up the burden of restoring balance, all by yourself? Why do you want to try and make up for things you had no control over? What are you fighting for?" Gine inquired. Kuriza eased up a little, looking at his open palm for a second. He clenched his fist at last.
"I walk a path with no end... I'm fighting to make a better life for everybody... I'm fighting to better myself. You cannot know the burden that is my family name..." He closed his eyes.
"No, but I know what it is like to fight against where you come from, who you were... I've killed so many... I hear their screams at night, I see their faces when I close my eyes... all lost to the sands of time. I don't want this for anyone else." Gine nodded, closing her eyes.
"I guess we never were so different..." Kuriza smiled. Gine nodded, smiling back. They both assumed their individual fighting stances once more. Gine's red headband flowed behind her and Kuriza's 失 kanji glowed on his back once more. There was a deafening silence between the two. Their individual auras engulfing one another. Birds took to the sky to flee as their powers surged. Both auras kicked up a violent wind storm around Gine and Kuriza. The grass waved uncontrollably beneath them. The gentle lake waters below became unsettled, crashing violently against the spire the two stood upon. "One more fight for old time's sake it is then... I'll be gone for a while soon..." Kuriza mused. Gine chuckled.
"All the best." Gine wished. Kuriza nodded. There was a short burst of silence between them again. Kuriza readied himself. Gine took a deep breath: letting her instincts take over. She, Goku and Vegeta still had a way to go to master the art of instinct fighting, but they got closer every session. Faster than the eye could see; Kuriza took off, blasting towards Gine and leaving a Ki trail in his wake. Gine smiled, blasting off herself.