"So you're still working at that pharmacy after all these years," Tien asked Launch.
Malachi had left with Chiaotzu in a hurry. Though his departure had been strangely abrupt, he was grateful that the other had done so. He'd been getting uncomfortable with how he was speaking to Launch—he didn't like that feeling, but jealously was a particularly difficult one to curb. He'd wanted to excuse himself, but Malachi had beat him to the punch. He was alone with Launch and it was then he realized how rarely that happened. Chiaotzu was almost always there by his side. Without him, he felt naked and exposed—it was a nice change of pace especially in this moment.
He was far from his comfort zone, but it gave him the kind of rush he'd been missing since the long years of peace began and he spent most of his time training others rather than himself.
"You got a problem with that?" Launch asked in her haughty voice.
"I'm just a little surprised is all," Tien said, "The way you used to go on and on about robbing banks—I thought it was a short-term commitment."
"I did that stuff because it gave me a thrill. But I got so good at it that it started feeling more routine than anything else. Sometimes, I'd get caught and have to spend time in jail—they were not my finest moments. I travelled all over the world always looking for something bigger and better. But it was just an illusion. I started frequenting bars…thinking about things I probably shouldn't. Then I found you again, living in this town. All I knew was that I wanted to be somewhere nearby. I couldn't do that if I got in trouble here so I found the first job I could. Then the rest is history."
"Quite the turn around," Tien commented. "Even for someone like you."
"Like me?" she said with a grin. "How about, I'm just tired of running all the time. I never thought I'd be saying something like that."
"People change," he said with understanding.
"Except for you apparently," Launch replied.
He sighed and then leaned a little on the side of the dining room table. "That's not true," he began slowly. "I've always been looking for something more ever since I realized I wasn't really needed to help protect Earth. I was completely out of my league, almost died while fighting Cell who wasn't even at full power. That didn't stop me from wanting to continue training, but there were never any real goals after that. To be honest, that was the entire reason why I opened up that dojo to begin with. Passing on my knowledge to others seemed like a fulfilling avenue."
"And has it been?" Launch asked.
"For the most part. Every year more students come and I am glad to teach them. I know that I have my limits and they will as well. It's just difficult to teach that one should not be satisfied with those limits—that one should excel even past one's teacher. Not that there isn't a drive there, but most are still coming to grips with the very presence of ki. Even my most veteran student can hardly form a proper ki blast. Somedays, it all just feels like an impossible task. I wonder if I'm just wasting my time."
"So what," Launch said, startling the other and making him look her way. "What does it matter if you're wasting time or not—do you enjoy doing it?"
Instead of answering immediately, he thought about it. He certainly wasn't upset about his work, but he also couldn't say that he was excited every time he opened up for the day. "I like the idea of teaching and passing on what I know, but the act of it...can get to be a little boring. Repetition is key to mastering techniques and at the same time sleep inducing to watch all the time. But the positives outweigh the negatives in this case. At least that's what I tell myself. And yet, it always feels like I'm missing something important. Despite surrounding myself with things that I love to do, I still feel that way."
"I know what you're missing," Launch said with a grin.
Tien looked at her mystified waiting for her to expound. She turned her attention to the dining room table filled with food and dishes.
"Let's clean this up already—I'm tired of looking at it," Launch said seemingly distracted.
Tien was in agreement despite being left hanging. Clearly, they were done with dinner and there was only them to clean it up in a timely manner before everything went bad. Chiaotzu had made a lot as usual, but Malachi had not gotten to most of it. Soon they found themselves quickly putting things away. It was an activity Tien had never thought he'd be doing with Launch especially not while she was blonde. For the next thirty minutes, their dialogue consisted of her asking where they usually put things and him giving her quick answers. She helped him wash the dishes as well, making the whole process take almost no time at all.
Chiaotzu came back around this time, but not many words were spoken between him before he simply headed off to bed albeit a little despondently. He'd asked about sparring that night and Tien declined entirely and suggested they do it the next day.
When he and Launch were done cleaning up, they took their conversation outside. It was fully dark now so Tien put on the porch light as well. They spoke further of their lives and what they'd been up to for the past few decades. Tien didn't have too much to say, but Launch had much more. She lived an adventurous life. The more he listened, the more he grew a bit envious of it despite it being filled with misfortune. It sounded exciting. That she would decide, in the end, to stay in this unremarkable town made even less sense than before. Even if they had known each other briefly in the past, surely his presence alone wouldn't be enough of a draw. Yet there they were chatting as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Of course, it had always been that way when it came to her. There were things that he shared with her that he'd spoken to no one about. As close as he was with Chiaotzu, there were certain topics that he never broached with him.
He never would have admitted that he was dissatisfied with his life to Chiaotzu knowing that such information would make him overly worried about him. He knew Chiaotzu would have no solutions anyway so he kept it to himself. And Malachi, he was too much of an unknown and he didn't think they had the sort of relationship that would make sense for that kind of discussion. But Malachi would have an opinion and maybe even a solution. He'd likely not sugarcoat anything. All these things were true about Launch as well. She looked at him knowingly and asked him questions that he had not thought to ask himself. When had she gotten so clever? Or had she always been that way and he hadn't noticed?
Malachi arrived as well and they said a few words before parting. Unlike Chiaotzu, however, he seemed in good spirits which was a relief. Tien could deal with an upset Chiaotzu, but Malachi was a different story. After he showed up, Tien spoke to Launch about him and what he hoped to achieve.
"He has so much potential," Tien said, "More than any of the students I've taught. His very existence inspires me. If there is one, there must be others in the world just like him, untapped. For a long time, Earth has pretty much depended on the strength of the Saiyans to save it time and again. I am grateful for that, but it is only a temporary fix to a much larger problem. We need to become more powerful. Just as they have learned from us, we should learn from them."
"I can see it in your eyes, you're really looking forward to doing this."
"I am, but I'm trying not to put all my eggs in one basket—"
"Then don't," she said cutting across him. They were sitting side by side on the steps so it wasn't too difficult to do what she did next. "How about trying to succeed in something else for a change?"
She leaned forward and bridged almost all the distance between them. At the last moment, unthinkingly he leaned forth to receive her lips. But it was all wrong, he sensed it as soon as it began. He pulled back from her quickly, embarrassed with the entire affair. Launch laughed at his reaction as she pulled back as well. He imagined her storming off for some reason, but she seemed somehow entertained.
"You're out of practice," she said with a real smile gracing her lips.
"I guess I am," he said after a moment. He realized that he wanted a do-over, but that was not to be as she stood up at this moment.
"Well, maybe you need to stop hanging out with little boys all the time," she said with another laugh. "It's getting late anyhow. I'm off tomorrow as well—we should hang out," she finished as she moved down the couple of porch steps.
"I would like that," Tien said truthfully though not knowing how he could possibly fit her into his usual schedule. He found he didn't care. If Launch wanted to hang out and he agreed to it, she would find a way one way or another. "Good night," he said to her before she was too far away.
"Sleep well, handsome," she said with a grin before continuing to her house next door.
She left him with a warm feeling that Tien found that he liked. He watched her until he was sure she entered her place without incidence. Then finally, he went inside for the night as well. He almost stumbled over Chiaotzu as he was making his way down the hall.
"Tien?" Chiaotzu said in his small voice before he actually could run into him.
"Yeah? What are you doing up so late?" he asked, finding a late-night encounter with his friend to be odd. Chiaotzu would have already been asleep at this time.
"I couldn't sleep. Will we spar tomorrow?" he asked.
"Of course, we always do," Tien said. Then he thought about it for a moment before he amended his statement. "In the morning at least. Launch will probably be over in the evening."
"Oh…okay," Chiaotzu said in a disappointed tone.
Tien noticed his tone immediately. "What's wrong? Did something happen?"
"No, nothing. It's nothing," he said with a sigh.
He left it at that as he passed by Tien and went to his own room. All the while, Tien looked on curiously. They would need to talk later, it seemed. He suspected he knew what was bothering his friend, but he hoped he was wrong.
Tien presented Malachi with the pine green gi that his students wore and the pale-yellow sash that went with it. Malachi was clearly amused with the new outfit, but gave no protests to donning it that day. Most of the students he taught had a bulky, muscular build, but Malachi was tiny in comparison. He would appear unassuming with normal clothes on, but the gi which exposed his arms allowed him to see a bit more.
He allowed Malachi to wake at the same time he usually did which gave him enough time to clean up and eat breakfast. He and Chiaotzu sparred just as he had said. It was a quiet affair and Tien did not feel like discussing the elephant in the room.
After breakfast, they departed. Per usual, they flew off towards the dojo. Using this mode of transportation, it would take a mere fifteen minutes to arrive. It was odd to have an extra person coming with them, but Malachi was pleasant company that morning. He seemed still in a good mood. He asked many questions as to what was going to happen that day and Tien gladly filled him in. Instead of one class, Malachi would participate in two beginner classes back to back which would teach him proper form and basic technique. Tien expected it would take Malachi a few months to move on to the intermediate classes taking into account his ability to catch onto things quickly. He would spend a bit longer in the intermediate classes and then be in the advanced classes for the duration until he reached a point that he had decent mastery of the Tienshin-Style. From there, he would continue to perfect his technique. For most, such a journey took two to three years, but it depended on how much time one was willing to put into training. Only time would tell how it would be for Malachi.
"I'm surprised you haven't told me to shave off my hair," Malachi said when they got closer to their destination.
Tien laughed at this. "I don't require it, but most of my students tend to do so out of respect. Some do it just so they don't stand out from the others. Females generally don't do it, but they don't stay for long."
"I see," Malachi said thoughtfully, "Well, you know I don't mind standing out," he said with the beginnings of a grin.
"That doesn't surprise me, but might I suggest you keep a low profile. Not all my students live in this town. Some travel a long distance to get here and there's no telling who might recognize you."
"I understand," he replied, "Hopefully, nothing like that happens. I've been lucky so far."
Tien taught five hour long classes at the dojo. The first two starting at eleven was beginner's level, then an hour-long break followed. Generally, Tien would use this time to meet individually with students if they needed special attention. After that, he taught two more hour long classes that was for intermediate level followed by an hour-long break used for the same purpose as the last. Then he ended the day with his small advanced class which would span an hour before heading home around six in the evening.
Today Tien was quite motivated to teach and he knew it was because of Malachi despite his innocuous comment on how green wasn't really his color. Chiaotzu merely rolled his eyes at such a comment, but stubbornly remained quiet. In fact, he hadn't said much that day besides "good morning". Tien separated from Malachi so that his association with him wouldn't be so apparent. If there was one thing he was hoping for, it was that Malachi developed a good rapport with the other students. Malachi seemed to be the kind of person who enjoyed company—perhaps he could find ones other than women.
Chiaotzu was a bit more talkative with Malachi out the picture as they continued to the back get things ready. Class began promptly after the students filed into the large outside court. His students obediently took their places. His eyes quickly spotted Malachi who had managed to find a place in the front. Generally, newcomers would be in the back. Tien hoped he wasn't already pissing off people, but monitoring his social life was not his job. Instead, he began the lesson with warm-ups. He always started slow and then quickly ramped up the intensity level until the very end so that everyone would feel like they got a good workout. At the beginning level, one was focused on retaining memory of the various techniques in the style. Repetition was key. Today, they would focus on the self-defense form.
He kept his eyes open for all the students that day to make sure they were performing adequately, but he found his eyes often straying to Malachi. He didn't seem to have much problem at all. After a few goes, he was able to perform the move sufficiently. He taught five different techniques of self-defense that day. There were more, but he chose to focus on that for today and then for the next before moving on to more techniques. In fact, he planned to focus on self-defense for the next few weeks before testing everyone's retention. Midway through the lesson, he would group up the students so that they could practice their techniques on others. At this point, he and Chiaotzu would demonstrate how it's supposed to look like being performed on someone else and the students would take it from there. Trial and error was a good way to learn so as they attempted to dish out these techniques, Tien went around to tweak their forms and give advice on how to do it better. He tried not to hover over Malachi, but he found it difficult. Malachi was easily taking people down and occasionally being too rough. Sometimes he'd even stray away from what was taught that day. Clearly, Malachi had developed some inexperienced techniques of his own and it was probably a bit trying to ignore his own instincts and rely on new ones.
There were a few things that Tien knew he would teach Malachi once break began—how to properly fall from being thrown down. His partner was going easy on him much to Tien's surprise. It was probably obvious that Malachi was new, but he didn't expect them to be so accommodating especially after snagging a spot in the front. Tien found Malachi's partner informing Malachi of many tidbits of useful information. He taught that they should be kind to others so he supposed he shouldn't be too surprised, but Dominick, Malachi's partner at the moment, wasn't exactly known for exemplifying that characteristic.
For the last leg of the class, he continued teaching them technique and had them repeat the motions. He returned to the ones taught earlier and the new ones he'd just showed them. From experience, he knew such activities to be tiring. Malachi, however, didn't seem too winded by the time the first class came to a close.
Usually, everyone would leave promptly, but a few stayed behind to speak with Malachi including Dominick and a few of his friends. Tien hoped this was a good thing. They left as soon as the other students for the next class began coming in. Malachi stayed for this one too as he taught essentially the same lesson. This one moved a bit slower than the first one, however, so they did not get to do as many techniques, but they were equally as exhausted as the first class.
The same phenomenon happened in this class: Malachi found a spot in the front and he seemed to have made some friends by the end of it. The only difference was that Malachi was quite ready to take a break after the class was over—Tien had judged his stamina correctly. He disappeared with the other students after the class and Tien found him later in the practice hall along with many others. On his own he was going over what was taught today and he seemed to have retained quite a bit—4 out of 5 of the techniques.
Tien pulled Malachi to the side and began instructing him on other useful things. Malachi seemed all too eager to learn. Tien was encouraged by this and took his time explaining and demonstrating. Midway through the mini-lesson, however, Malachi's cellphone rang and he answered it without question before excusing himself abruptly. Tien couldn't be sure how important the call was, but barring that information, it vaguely irritated him. He waited for a few minutes only to realize that the call would likely take some time. He was forced to move onto others—and Malachi effectively missed out on valuable training time.
He didn't see Malachi again for the duration of the break much to his disappointment. He'd only requested that he do the beginner classes so he didn't expect to see him until he got home that day. However, that was not to be true as he walked into the next class to find Malachi there, but painfully noticeable without his green gi. He wore his usual dark garb and appeared to be mingling with the students. Tien didn't know what to make of it. As soon as Malachi noticed him there, he made his way over to him much to his relief.
"Would it be alright if I watched?" Malachi asked.
"I don't think that would be a good idea," Tien began slowly. It was an odd request that had caught him off guard. "It may hinder your own training by seeing too much at one time."
"It won't," Malachi said simply. "But if you're so worried, you're free to test me to your heart's content afterwards. Then you can judge for yourself."
Tien stayed silent for a moment watching the other. If this was something he really wanted to do, which it did seem that way, then it would be probably be less friction in the future if he simply allowed him to do it. "You can watch," Tien said finally, "But don't disrupt the class."
"Of course," he replied with a grin.
Tien stood apart from everyone on a dais and Chiaotzu stood up there with him. Malachi sat off to the side on the dais where one would not likely look if they were paying attention to his instruction. Tien began this class as he did the others with a warm-up and then went right into teaching technique. This class was focused on forms of throwing and there was quite a bit of people being thrown to the ground, but in a controlled manner. They were partnered off quickly as such techniques were better taught this way. He drilled them continuously for an hour and then repeated the entire affair in the next class with entirely different students. These classes weren't as big as the beginner ones since it sometimes took some work to get to this level.
The advanced class was much smaller and Tien drilled them the hardest on all forms of the Tienshin-Style. Then he would have them spar for the next half of the class. Sparing was the only real way to gain practical proficiency in the style and some were better than others. Later on in the year, he would begin teaching them ki use. As he'd told Launch before, only one of his students was able to do it to a decent degree, but he would like for that number to increase eventually. When that was the case, he would likely start a new class focusing on this. One advanced class, and another one that went beyond that point.
Malachi asked to sit in on the advanced classes as well and Tien allowed this. As soon as the last class of the day ended, he drilled Malachi on what he'd learned from his class and was quite impressed with the results.
"Do you not like the left-handed version of the lapel hold?" Tien asked when they were finished.
"Why do you ask?" Malachi answered with a question of his own.
"I didn't see you practicing it before," Tien explained.
"It's redundant," he said unabashedly, "And I'm right-handed so it's awkward as hell."
"Bit of a handicap, don't you think? Disregarding it altogether," Tien said unperturbed.
"Maybe, but I don't expect to be facing many left-handed people."
"So you would willingly make that a disadvantage?"
"A slight setback. I would compensate by positioning myself differently."
"What if you couldn't always position yourself differently?"
"Then it's no longer a problem of left-handedness, but of speed."
"You're missing the point," Tien said, "You're decreasing your effectiveness."
Malachi shook his head. "If I can't rely on my instincts, then there's no point anyway."
"Perhaps you rely too much on it," Tien said, "I'm teaching you technique so that you can go beyond that. If you practice long enough than it will become natural."
Tien waited for another comeback from Malachi, but this time he did not have one. Malachi watched him silently for a moment and then replied, "I see."
Tien couldn't be sure if this meant that he would take his advice or that he simply understood what he was trying to say. Either way, they'd reached the end of the day and it was time for them to head home. Chiaotzu came along with them though with not much to add to their conversation. It wouldn't take them long to get back home as the trio took to the air.
Not three minutes into their trip, however, Malachi stopped abruptly to take a call. Tien had heard his phone vibrating and hoped he would ignore it, but that wasn't the case. Instead of continuing on without him, he opted to stop and then Chiaotzu stopped as well.
"We're almost there," Chiaotzu said, "And we're gonna' be late for making dinner."
"I'm sure this won't take long," Tien said, but he really had no idea.
Besides dinner, he was looking forward to seeing Launch once again. It had felt like a particularly long day despite sticking to the same routine he'd had for ages now. Seemed spending time with Malachi for a long span of time was mentally taxing. He was monitoring him closely, making sure he was actually getting something from the lessons and if that conversation at the dojo about technique was any indication, he would probably have many more like it in the future.
The call didn't take long at all and things didn't sound good.
"She's where?" Malachi asked for the second time. He paused before saying something else. "But why so far away?" Another pause. "How is she doing?" A short pause. "Alright, I'm on my way." Malachi ended the call and quickly slid it back into his pocket before looking towards them again. "Sorry, I'll have to take a rain check on dinner tonight."
"What's wrong?" Tien asked before he could take off in a different direction.
Malachi had already turned from him. "It's Lilith. She went to the doctor for her weekly checkup. There were complications and they took her to a bigger hospital."
No sooner had he rattled out this information, he took off at a speed that was anything but leisurely. He couldn't ask any questions or tell the other that he too was concerned. Instead, all he could do was watch him go. He pondered if he should follow, but he was sure Malachi did not want his company at the moment. Otherwise, he would have invited him.
"I hope it's nothing serious," Tien said finally. Only Chiaotzu could hear. His little friend only looked down despondently as a response.
Eventually, they took off to their house in a more somber mood. Chiaotzu began on dinner just as Launch joined them that evening. They sat down on the couch in the living room with a fireplace as the centerpiece and talked for over an hour about their day.
Malachi never came back that night and Tien fell asleep wondering if he'd see him the next day.
AN: TienXLaunch fans, this chapter was for you. Hope you enjoyed. Also, this marks the first day of Malachi's training at the dojo.
WineIXI I'm glad you like Malachi as much as I like writing about him! It's definitely been pretty easy for me. Initially, I didn't think it would be, but DBZ already has a nice variety of quirky characters to work off of so it's been fun.
WildHeart44: That is still pretty dark, though, but don't worry, I already have an inkling of what's going to happen next. And, yeah, he is still possessed, isn't he? (picture me with a devious smile).
