Year : 771

A little more than 3 years after the Cell Game

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

A shrill cry resounded across the sky. Ruri did not expect to be in the air at all. 17 had suddenly grabbed her by the waist (very delicately, however) and immediately flew off in the direction she had just indicated. Within seconds he reached the place where the herd had been gathered.

Landing in the middle of the herd was sure to panic everyone. So he chose to land a few meters away, in a more discreet place. He then gently put down Ruri.

"Well, here we are" he said to her, while the young woman tried to catch her breath. "That should have calmed her down a little," he thought. 17 pretended to look around, but discreetly he observed her. She was silent, obviously stunned. Her disheveled hair gave her a very comical look that really contrasted with the confident attitude she had just a few seconds before.

But to 17's surprise, a big smile suddenly lit up Ruri's face. In an instant, she was already ok, turned to him and exclaimed:

"But this is HYPER COOOOOOOOOOL what you just did ! Olalalalalala I can't believe it ! That's why you came out of nowhere earlier, you actually FLY ! No but wait, you realize, you were FLYING ! Well I admit, you could have warned me anyway, but WOOOOOOW ! "

Truly, there was nothing to do, she did not have at all the reactions that 17 expected. However, he could not help but find a certain "guts" in this human that nothing seemed to be able to intimidate.

He had no particular hatred for humans, but he didn't think much of them either. Weak, whining, fearful, boring...that's what he thought of humanity in general. But he had to admit that this Ruri intrigued him (a lot), and that she even started to amuse him (a little). It was useless to continue this little game, she was not so impressionable after all. 17 came closer to her, and answered with a touch of malice:

"You told me to be quick, I do quickly".

Ruri was an animal specialist. And the basic rule for a zoologist was to have a great sense of observation. So she immediatly noticed the change in 17's tone and the slight smile on his face. "And there you go," she thought. She had done well to take it upon herself. When he had grabbed her and taken her into the air, she had been so frightened that she had thought she was going to have a heart attack. She couldn't help but cling to his clothes as if her life depended on it. When he had dropped her to the ground, she could hardly breathe, her legs were as limp as gum and her heart was beating so fast that it seemed to want to leave her chest.

But she hadn't wanted to let it show. "He's testing me, that's for sure," she had thought when she saw the discreet look on 17's face, "if I want to have a chance that he'll listen to me about my expedition, I have to show him that I'm not a coward. "

How could he fly? How did he stop the bullet? Who was he anyway? Ruri wanted to ask him, but she felt that it was not the right way. And by the way, they couldn't waste too much time anymore.

- Good, now that the flight « 17 express » has landed, let's work before the poachers come!

- Yeah, and more now because with the cry that you pushed, it is very likely that they know where we are " replied 17, smiling at her.

Stung but more amused than offended, Ruri smiled back at him.

- Sir is being ironic, I see? I confess and I recognize that ... I was a bit... Surprised. You agree that it is not common to see someone flying?

- Yes.

- But now it's okay, I'll learn my lesson for the next few times.

- What do you mean by next time?

- It's an expression, relax. So, ready to see some really, really big stuff?

- Yes, I am.

- Just to be sure: you are able to say something other than "yes" and "no", right?

- Yes.

- ... Great! Follow me, it's not far.

Both of them started walking, with 17 slightly behind. After a few minutes, they arrived at their destination. It was another clearing, much smaller than the previous one. The trees around it were really tall and bushy, so much so that even from the sky you couldn't really see it. A good hiding place indeed.

About ten men were present. As he saw them, 17 thought to himself that they were all dressed in the kind of clothes that 18 had called "hillbilly stuff" during their trip to find Goku. Vests, hats, plaid shirts and boots. "Is that a ranger's uniform? " he asked himself. He was still thinking about it when suddenly there was a loud and powerful roar, immediately followed by a shout:

"WATCH OUT, HE'S CHARGING ! "

The crash that followed was so loud that the surrounding trees began to tremble, and a myriad of birds suddenly flew off in all directions. 17 immediately turned around in the direction of the noise. And there, in front of him, stood an absolutely gigantic deer, perhaps 2 or 3 meters high. Its antlers seemed to have an infinite span, and its coat was a dark gray with silver highlights. 17 was amazed, he had spent a lot of time in forests, but he had never seen such an animal, with such proportions. This deer was simply magnificent and gave the impression of having colossal power. Instinctively, 17 moved closer to him when he suddenly felt a hand on his chest.

"Not right away, let him calm down a bit."

17 turned his head. It was Ruri who had just spoken to him. He was about to answer her, but then he noticed that her look was completely different. She now seemed very serious, concentrated. Her voice was soft, but firm.

"Don't worry, I'm not giving you any orders. But he is very nervous, our presence frightens him and makes him angry. If you come closer he will charge again and end up hurting himself trying to break the barrier. So wait again" she continued calmly.

A barrier? 17 looked more carefully. But yes, indeed. He had been so focused on the deer that he hadn't realized that there were large black cables in the clearing. They were very thick and were connected by gigantic poles forming a huge open cage. But how could human-made equipment contain an animal of this size?

"These cables don't seem special, but trust me that they are very resistant. A real masterpiece. I know the person who invented them well. You can imagine that monsters like this are not held back with fishing line", said Ruri, as if she could read 17's mind.

- How did you…

- Because it can be read on your face. Your eyes are very expressive, hasn't anyone ever told you that?

17 did not answer. He stopped moving forward, however, and just watched from a distance. The giant deer had indeed run into the cables. It was clearly angry, frantically waving its antlers back and forth, scratching the ground with its front paws while emitting a heavy, ponderous growl.

How could mere humans have captured such a monster?

17 turned again to Ruri, and asked her the question. Without answering, Ruri pointed her finger at the forest.

- Don't you have a little idea?

- ... no.

- Look around you. What do you see?

- ... trees.

- That's right. So what?

- ... you knocked him out with trees?

- Is that how you would have done it?

- Yes.

- ... would you know how to do that?

- What?

- Rip out one of these trees.

- Yes.

Ruri then looked at 17. He was very calm, and there was nothing in his expression that betrayed bragging or joking. He looked perfectly serious. "After all, I just saw it fly, so it doesn't seem far-fetched at all actually... You are definitely VERY interesting," she thought.

After a few seconds of silence, she continued:

- Did you see the size of his antlers?

- Yes, they are very big.

- So do you think it's easy for him to move around in such an environment?

- ... no.

- Why not?

- Its antlers must get blocked?

- Exactly. This animal doesn't live in this part of the park, it lives further out in open spaces, it's not a forest deer at all. So I asked the rangers to move the herd and lure them here. The trees limit the movement of the buck, so it was much easier to immobilize it. No need for brute force, when you have good tactics.

17 listened carefully. He surprised himself by wanting to know more about this animal, Ruri's work and what was to come. He would never have thought that humans were capable of such feats. Defeating a stronger opponent with tactics alone? After all, why not...

- And what are you going to do with him now?

- In fact, it's not for him that I'm here, but for her

Making himself, Ruri made him sign to look behind the giant deer. He then saw several deer, much smaller, and without antlers. They were standing behind the big one, in silence.

- They are females, Ruri explained, and one of them is sick. But you can't approach a female alone, the male here is protecting them all. The herd wouldn't abandon her either. We have to move them all together. Then we find a way to approach the sick female.

- Will the male let you get close?

- Haha no, definitely not!

- And so you need me.

- For this? No, not at all, no need I can manage.

- Can you?

- Yes, me, why?

- ... nothing.

17 remained perplexed. How was this little human going to be able to control this gigantic animal?

But he didn't have time to think about it too much, because suddenly gunshots rang out right behind them. Ruri put herself right next to him, and patted him gently on the back.

- On the other hand, she said to him then by making him a wink, if you could take care of getting rid of these poachers, WITHOUT killing them, that would be WONDERFUL.

- And then you will take care of the giant deer?

- Yes.

- ... and ...

- If you're interested, you can stay and I'll explain to you. But seriously, I am very concerned about the condition of the female. The longer we wait, the more serious her condition will become. So you should do it as soon as possible. How long do you think you'll be?

17 then started walking towards the place where the shots came from. And naturally, he answered:

- 1 minute. I need a little time because it's harder not to kill them.

- ... sorry ?