A year and two months later…
Name: #9
Power Level: 1,850,000
Name: Vegita
Normal Power Level: 700,000
Power Level at Super Saiyajin: 1,900,000
Name: Krillin
Power Level: 80,000
Name: Kakarotto/Goku
Normal Power Level: 700,000
Power Level at Super Saiyajin: 1,900,000
Name: Gohan
Power Level: 500,000
Name: Piccilo
Power Level: 1,050,000
Name: Teinshinhan
Power Level: 80,000
Name: Yamcha
Power Level: 80,000
Chapter 53
For the past two to three months we've all been preparing for the Tenkai Budokai. Piccilo trained hard as hell and made a lot more progress than I thought possible. Also, for some unfathamable reason, Teinshinhan, Yamcha, and Krillin have decided to participate.
Unfortunately, they don't allow weapons so I had to give my sword to Bulma.
Now we're all there. A simple place. Large enough for several hundred people, but it isn't exactly huge by any means. In the middle is a simple and elevated stone ring.
We walk over to the registration and get our numbers.
"Name?" "#9." "… real name?" "#9." "… here's your number" hmm… I got #9. Real funny. Well, actually it isn't at all. Speaking of names, Piccilo signed in as Ma Junior and Kakarotto of course went with Goku.
So… there are a fair amount of fighters here. But nothing to be really worried about. I'd say there's about twenty fighters here, give or take a few. And, besides from our group, they're weak as hell.
I get the first fight. Some pretty guy named Jewel. He reads about 50. Rather strong for a human, but he's still a joke to me.
"I'm going to tear you up!" he tells me. "Don't make me laugh…" he leaps at me and punches me right in the face. I don't even twitch. "Huh?" I look at him and he flies right out of the ring.
"AND NUMBER NINE IS THE WINNER!" I walk out of the ring as the crowd partially boos and partially cheers.
It seems that the pairings are so that no one from our group fights each other for their first match. Strange. I wonder if Kami had a hand in that?
Half an hour later, the real battles begin. The parings are as shown:
Krillin versus TeinshinhanPiccilo versus #9Gohan versus VegitaKakarotto versus Yamcha
I get to fight Piccilo… at least I'll get somewhat of a challenge. And I'm guaranteed a position for the last fight.
Krillin and Teinshinhan walk into the ring and bow at each other. Then Tienshinhan leaps forward and punches Krillin in the jaw but Krillin then kicks Teinshinhan in the stomach. They engage in a long combination of punches and kicks, some hitting, some not. They're both equal.
After a while of this, Teinshinhan jumps up and screams "TAIYO-KEN!" and a bright light comes. Krillin is blinded and Teinshinhan uses ki beams to fling Krillin right off of the ring.
"RING OUT!" TEINSHINHAN WINS!" the announcer yells.
"NEXT MATCH! MA JUNIOR VERSUS NUMBER NINE!"
Piccilo and I walk into the ring. Right away, Piccilo throws his cape and turban off to the side and his power rises to full. So, he wants to start at all out, huh?
"READY? FIGHT!" Piccilo shoots his arm at me. I sidestep smoothly and it misses. I wait for his next attack. Piccilo fires a beam at me, not very powerful though. It bounces off my chest when I use my telekinesis to move it away. Heh, Piccilo seems pissed.
Then Piccilo flies right in front of me and starts kicking and punching furiously. I dodge every attack. "So… you think it's about time I fight back?" "Give me all you've got!" so be it. I move so fast he can't track me and I punch him in the stomach.
"OOOF!" Piccilo keels over. I smack my elbow into his neck and he drops to the ground. Piccilo tries to uppercut me but I just tilt my head back and the fist misses my jaw. "It's no use Ma Junior, you're strong, but you're no match for me." I say addressing him by his fake name. I then pick him up and throw him out of the ring.
"NUMBER NINE WINS! NEXT MATCH! GOHAN VERSUS VEGITA!"
I walk into the fighter's corner and watch Vegita and Gohan walk into the ring.
"You cannot beat me child." Vegita says. Gohan remains silent. "READY? FIGHT!" Gohan goes into a defensive stance and Vegita leaps into the air. "FALL!" Vegita yells at Gohan as he kicks at him. His foot goes right through the stone when Gohan dodges. "MASENKO!" "FINAL FLASH!" their beams meet each other. Vegita's 'Final Flash' slowly creeps up on Gohan and finally hits him. Yet, Gohan stays in the ring. Vegita dashes towards Gohan and starts kicking and punching rapidly. Gohan is forced to go on the defensive.
"COME ON GOHAN!" Chichi yells from the stands.
Gohan kicks Vegita in the face but Vegita smiles and hits Gohan right between the eyes while he's left open. Gohan flies backwards and Vegita clasps his hands together, hits Gohan, and then puts out his knee which Gohan hits as he falls.
"OOOF!" Vegita grabs Gohan by the hair and punches him in the face repeatedly and then flings him into the ring. "Uhn…" Gohan starts to get up slowly but Vegita kicks him in the head hard, knocking him out.
Vegita shouldn't have won that easily without going Super Saiyajin. The boy needs some more training.
"VEGITA WINS!" the crowd boos. Yamcha surrenders before he even fights Kakarotto.
"YAMCHA HAS SURRENDERED! NEXT FIGHT! TEINSHINHAN VERSUS NUMBER NINE!" We walk into the ring.
"Surrender." I tell him. "No." I shrug. "FIGHT!" Teinshinhan leaps at me and kicks, but I twist my torso and he misses. Then he punches from behind me, I block without looking. Teinshinhan then splits into four copies and attacks. I block all of their attacks with ease.
"It's time you lost." I say as I kick one clone in the head, rendering it unconscious. I fling another out of the ring, sock one more in the gut, and use a fraction of my telekinetic ki to push the last one out of the ring.
"NUMBER NINE WINS!" the crowd boos as I leave. I guess they liked Teinshinhan. "NEXT FIGHT! VEGITA VERSUS GOKU!" this one will be interesting.
"I will defeat you Kakarotto." "Don't be so sure Vegita." "FIGHT!" they run at each other. Vegita punches, Kakarotto ducks and tries to sweep Vegita off of his feet but he jumps over it and shoots a beam at Kakarotto which is dodged. This continues for a while. Damn, this battle is going to go on forever.
Then, Vegita finds a hole in Kakarotto's guard and punches him right in the jaw, Kakarotto reels back. Now Vegita takes control, he kicks Kakarotto in the chest, moves behind him, and ki blasts him at point blank. He then knocks Kakarotto down and starts machine gun ki blasting Kakarotto in the chest. All of a sudden, Kakarotto vanishes and reappears behind Vegita. "NAN DA?" Kakarotto kicks Vegita at the base of his skull and blasts him.
Vegita leaps out and yells out "BIG BANG ATTACK!" and a spherical beam shoots out at Kakarotto. Kakarotto blocks it but is pushed down unto the ring. Vegita holds out his hand, and lifts two fingers. The ground under Kakarotto explodes and he's flung into the air.
"HA!" Vegita kicks Kakarotto in the stomach and tries to punch him, but he grabs Vegita's hands. They land on the ring and start grappling.
Simutaniously, they turn Super Saiyajin. Kakarotto then drops himself to the ground and slides under Vegita between his legs. "Eh?" Kakarotto kicks Vegita in the back of his head while still holding on to his arms. Vegita flies back, but is then slammed into the ground by Kakarotto.
Two feet shoot up into Kakarotto's stomach and he flies up into the air holding his stomach. Vegita then flies out of the ground and shoots straight at Kakarotto head first. Right before Vegita hits, Kakarotto moves to the side and knees Vegita right under his ribs, knocking the air out of him.
While still clutching his stomach, Kakarotto kicks Vegita in the head, gut, upper torso, middle of the chest, and then in head again.
Then, Kakarotto lets go of his stomach and wraps his arms around Vegita instead. What's he doing? Kakarotto then starts flying straight down into the ground outside of the ring using Vegita as a body shield.
Right before he hits, Vegita breaks free and ki blasts Kakarotto the rest of the way down.
"I… I won!" Vegita stammers. "Huff… huff…" Kakarotto is grasping his heart.
"VEGITA WINS!" the crowd goes crazy. Yeah, it was one hell of a fight.
"What's wrong with you Kakarotto?" "Uh… ah… nothing Vegita." "Don't lie to me!" "I'm really fine Vegita! You won! Good fight!" Vegita still seems skeptical. I don't fully believe that either.
"NOW THE FINAL FIGHT! NUMBER NINE VERSUS VEGITA!" Vegita doesn't drop out of Super Saiyajin mode, and I walk into the ring while discarding my trench coat. Vegita's power hasn't dropped at all, that Super Saiyajin thing sure is something.
"What do you have in store for me, tin can?" he asks me. "Enough to keep you busy Vegita." I respond. We both fall into offensive fighting stances.
"FIGHT!" we fly at each other. Vegita punches at me, I duck and kick at his stomach, he dodges and I fling an elbow at his face which he blocks. Leaping into the air I shoot off several quick ki beams and dash back at him. None of the beams do damage, but my shoulder slams into his jaw. Then I take a knee into my stomach in return, but then I punch Vegita several times in his face, knocking him away.
Vegita flies straight up into the air and starts his machine gun attack again. All of the beams are weak, since he's firing them so rapidly. They all bounce off of me and into the air.
"KISAMA!" Vegita shoots a stronger beam, but his aim was off and it hit's just at my feet and does no damage. Wait… his aim wasn't off. A cloud of smoke obscures my vision and Vegita's foot slams into my chest. I grab the foot as I fall and slam him into the ground. Vegita leaps up as quickly as he hit and shoots a beam right where my head was half a second ago.
I kick him in the back and he goes flying up into the air. Giving chase, I charge up ki in both of my hands. Vegita and I both start a machine gun attack at the same time. Unfortunately, Vegita is more adept at the technique than I am and some of his beams break through, but I use my telekinesis to keep those ones at bay.
Finally, I just take a few of those beam and concentrate on a bigger one. "BLOODY ERASER!" my beam swallows all of Vegita's smaller beams and hits Vegita.
The smoke clears, and I see Vegita with his arms crossed in cracked armor and a tattered jumpsuit. He glares at me. "So ka…?" Vegita vanishes and I feel his fist slam into my jaw. I just backhand him. But then his foot hits my back, I kick him in the head. "HA!" Vegita and I start a rapid series of punches and kicks. But Vegita slowly overcomes me. Damnit.
Vegita's knee hits my jaw and his fist goes wrist deep into my stomach. I ki blast him in the face, but he then head butts me. I kick his ribs, breaking a couple, but Vegita grabs my throat and slams me into the ring, making yet another crater in it.
Before I retaliate, Vegita lifts me up and throws me off to the side. I stop myself, but then Vegita clasps his hands together and hit's me on the back, making my fly straight down. And out of bounds.
"VEGITA IS THE WINNER OF THIS YEAR'S TENKAI BUDOKAI!" the announcer yells out.
Vegita walks off with a limp. Well he better, after the fight Kakarotto gave him and then the one I gave him.
As Vegita nears the exit, he grins and then falls out of Super Saiyajin. He drops onto the ground face first.
I get up as if I weren't injured and walk towards the exit.
Kakarotto still seems to be tired. I wonder what the hell is wrong with him? Paramedics pick up Vegita and carry him out in a stretcher. Bulma stops them. "I'll take him from here." and I walk over and pick Vegita up before they can argue. "Shall we all go then?" I ask everyone. They agree and we go to Capsule Corporation to celebrate.
Chapter 54
We're all in the living room. Well, except Vegita and Kakarotto. Bulma made up another tank some while ago, and now Vegita and Kakarotto are both in their respective tanks.
"You look pretty torn up, why don't you go in a tank next?" Bulma asks. "Nah. I can't feel pain anyway. Time will heal my body." I respond. Besides, Gohan should get it before I do.
Krillin hands me a drink, and I thank him and take a swig. He and Yamcha seem to be staring at me. "What?" I ask. Now they seem surprised. Hey… I feel a bit woozy. "What the hell is this?" "Alcohol." "… how strong?" "180 proof…" they mutter. "WHAT!" the others yell out.
"Damn, no wonder I feel slightly tired…" I say. Krillin and Yamcha's jaws drop. "Only SLIGHTLY tired!" they exclaim. "Alcohol has little effect on me." "But…" man, the looks on their faces is worth them trying to trick me like this. I finish the drink.
"What the hell were you two thinking!" Bulma screams. "Well, alcohol never seemed to bother him, so we wanted to know how much he can take…" Yamcha says sheepishly. I start laughing. "HAHAHA! Good luck trying to drug me! I was MADE to not be effected by drugs of any sort!" I inform them. Now everyone looks at me. "Damn straight!" I confirm for them.
After the small party, everyone who doesn't live here leaves. Well, except for Kakarotto, Chichi, and Gohan. Kakarotto and Vegita are still in their tanks, and Chichi and Gohan won't leave without Kakarotto.
I walk in and check up on the two Saiyajins. Well, at least they're awake. Kakarotto doesn't seem to mind too much, but Vegita has the look of 'let me out or I'll rip your head off' plastered all over his face.
They look healed, so I pull them out. These tanks don't have timers. "Are you going to explain what was wrong with you?" I ask Kakarotto. "What? Nothing was wrong with me." he responds. Kakarotto is a horrible liar. "Whatever. Chichi wants to take you home, so get your clothes on." I inform Kakarotto. Vegita already dressed in his torn up armor.
As Kakarotto leaves, Vegita stares after him. After a bit, Vegita leaves off to who knows where. I exit the room as well.
Strange, Kakarotto's power remained the same while Vegita's went up to a maximum of 2,000,000.
"Here's your sword." Bulma hands me my sword. Almost forgot she was holding on to that. Almost.
"Hey, #9?" "What?" "Why does the blade have 'Hachigou' inscribed on it?" "Nothing I'll tell." I respond to her question.
She looks at me for a second, as if demanding an answer, but instead she asks "What metal is used for that sword?" "It's not of this planet. The metal is very strong and is a good conductor for ki. I forgot the name, but it's not pronounceable in English anyway." I tell her.
I then leave and go over to Kami's Palace.
"Why hello #9." "Hello Kami." I greet him. "Hey, Kami, know what was wrong with Kakarotto?" "Kakaro- oh! You mean Goku?" "Yes." "Well, really, I don't know." Damn. "So even the God of this planet can't figure it out." "Hey, I haven't been able to read into your mind either." he reminds me.
"I'd like to know what was wrong with Goku as well." Piccilo says from behind Kami. "I really have no idea…" Kami says. "There really is something wrong with him." I state. "First, for whatever reason, he tired out and remained so for the rest of the tournament until he came out of the regeneration tank. Second, he didn't get a power increase." "He didn't? I never noticed." "I did. Not even a single point." I confirm. "Nothing we can do but wait…" Kami says. Sometimes even Gods can do nothing but watch…
Chapter 55
I wake up the next morning and stretch. Soon as I get a clean set of my usual clothing on, I go into the living room.
Hmm… Bulma isn't up yet. And Vegita isn't in the gravity chamber. Whatever…
I'll just go over to Kakarotto's house. Maybe if I bother him enough, I'll get an answer.
Soon as I land, Gohan spots me and walks over. "Is Kakarotto here?" "Oh, my dad?" "Yeah." "Yes, but don't bother him." "Why not?" "He's not feeling well." Gohan tells me. I lift an eyebrow in skepticism. "Saiyajins rarely get sick. Now that I think about it… I've NEVER seen a Saiyajin who's sick." well, except for whatever happened to Bardock. Gohan shrugs. I leave and go back to Capsule Corporation.
"Hi #9." Bulma greets. "Hello." "Where are you coming back from?" "Kakarotto's house. He's sick." I tell her. "Sick?" "Yeah." "I've never seen Goku sick in my life." "Yeah, I thought it was strange too. Up until now, I hadn't ever seen a sick Saiyajin." I inform her.
"Kakarotto's ill?" Vegita asks from somewhere behind me. "Yeah. Any idea how?" "Bakana." Vegita says. "Saiyajins never become ill." Vegita tells us. "Then it has to be serious…" I say.
"We'll pay him a visit then." Bulma says. "BRRRIINNG!" Bulma picks up the phone. "Hello?" "…Really? Ok, we'll be right over." she hangs up.
"What was that about?" I ask. "And what do you mean 'we'?" Vegita asks as well. "That was Chichi. She says Goku is very sick and wants us over." I shrug.
Instead of flying with her plane, Vegita carries Bulma. That's weird. Damn, what's up with this world? We make it to Kakarotto's house shortly.
A grim Chichi opens the door. "Come in…" we walk in and go to Kakarotto's room.
To see him is almost nauseating. Very pale, like he's Super Saiyajin, yet he's not. Sweating profusely and clutching his heart. Kakarotto is very ill. And his power has spiraled down to almost nothing.
"What the hell is wrong with you Kakarotto?" Vegita asks, well, more like demands. "M… must be something I got from… Yardrat…" "Why not get some of those senzu beans?" I ask. Kakarotto weakly holds up a bag of those beans. "They don't help much…" shit.
"I think… I think I might die…" "Don't speak like that Goku!" Bulma says in horror. Vegita scowls.
"What's wrong with you?" "It's… m…my heart… hurts…" Kakarotto barely says. Bulma walks out of the room in tears.
I stand over Kakarotto. "You've accomplished much in your life Kakarotto. It's very sad to see you go out this way." Kakrotto grins in his usual goofy manner. Heh, least that will always remain.
"Your father, your real Saiyajin father, would be proud of you." I tell him. Kakarotto looks up at me "Really…?" "Yes. Avenging the Saiyajin race by defeating Freeza. Becoming one of the strongest. And, unlike most Saiyajin, he'd probably also be proud of you being able to gain a family and live happily." I respond. Vegita grunts.
"W…who was my father…?" "His name was Bardock. Only a first class soldier, nothing that special. But he was also a technician. A very smart man he was. He looked just like you. I don't know what went wrong, but he became mentally ill or something. He was convinced that Freeza would kill all of the Saiyajins. So Bardock gathered all the warriors he could and attempted an attack on Freeza himself. He lost, and Vegitasei was destroyed. Even if he was insane, he was very brave to do that foolish thing." I explain. Even Vegita seemed interested. Kakarotto smiles.
Gohan walks in. "Daddy, you'll get better, right?" Gohan asks. Nobody says anything. Chichi walks in as well. "I'll… miss you all…" Kakarotto says as the last of his energy dwindles to nothing.
He is now dead. "DADDY!" Gohan cries. Chichi follows suit.
"It'd be time we leave Vegita." I tell him. He follows me out.
"What happened?" a red eyed Bulma asks me. "He's dead." I respond. She cries some more. Vegita just keeps walking and leaves the house. I think crying annoys him. Nothing left in here. I leave as well.
"What's happening?" Krillin asks as he, Yamcha, Teinshinhan, and Chaozu land. "Kakarotto died." Vegita says coldly. "What!" they rush in.
Vegita seems pissed. Even he's affected. "I will never have the chance to best him…" "You beat Kakarotto at the Tenkai Budokai." "No, he was weakened by his sickness. I was cheated." Vegita leaves. Now Vegita has to face the same problem I did, and still do to an extent. Lack of direction.
Bulma walks out. "Where's Vegita?" "He left, probably to relieve frustration." I inform her. "He seemed so healthy…" Bulma says, reffering to Kakarotto. "Yes, that's how disease works. It's a horrible way to die. Kakarotto at least deserved a warriors death." I respond.
Bulma looks at me "Why do you keep calling him 'Kakarotto'?" "It's his birth name." I say. "Why aren't you affected?" she asks me. "I am affected, I just don't show it." "Why?" "Why should I?" I throw back.
Vegita comes back. "Let's get out of here Vegita." I say. He grabs Bulma and we all head back to Capsule Corporation.
It is a sad day indeed. The word spreads fast and everyone is morose. At one point, I find I nice rock formation and destroy it. Just to let out some steam. I fly up to Kami's Palace. Piccilo's there too.
"I assume you two know." "Yes…" Kami says. "Now we know what was wrong with Goku." Piccilo says. Nothing is said for a long while.
A few days later…
We all attend the funeral. Some are in black suits, others are just in plain clothing. I'm one of the people in their usual clothing. But nobody really cares about the clothes. The funeral is what you'd expect, family members and friends weep while others like Vegita and I show no emotion whatsoever.
I end up spending a lot of time at Kami's Palace. It's a good place to think and just kill time. This one though, wasn't much more than another person. I'm sad that Kakarotto died, of course, but I don't feel as bad as when it was #8. I guess it's just that I was a lot closer to #8. More like when I found out the death of Radditz or when I watched Bardock die. But it's slightly stronger than that. Kakarotto is just a man who sticks with you.
"Are you going to live here?" Kami jokes lightly, trying to heighten my mood. I grin half-heartedly. "Not yet." I respond. "What bothers you so greatly? I know it isn't just Goku alone." "Kakarotto's death just has me thinking of other things." "Like?" "The deaths of other people I knew." "So that's why you hadn't shown any emotion." I stare at Kami. "Yeah. I guess you can say that, watching friends die and clearing hundreds of planets makes you immune to breaking down in tears." I reply after a little bit.
"Is that what's been bothering you all this time you've been on Earth?" I get up. "Ja na, Kami." I leave.
At least Bulma isn't crying when I arrive at Capsule Corporation. "Where were you?" "At Kami's Palace, thinking. Why are you always curious about my whereabouts?" "Just curious. It also gives me something else to think about." I shrug. That pisses Bulma off.
"Why the hell are you and Vegita taking this so damned casually!" she screams. ARGH! Nobody may notice, but this has been really annoying me! Fine, she wants to know why! I'll tell her why. "You want to know why?" "Yes." "We have experience. That's why." I say harshly. "What?" Bulma now seems confused. I continue in a harsh manner.
"First of all, Vegita was brought up to not pay attention to the emotions you do. Of course, I'm different. But another thing, do you have any idea how familiar we are with death?" Bulma shudders. "Not only have we killed millions with our very own hands, we have watched comrades die. I've watched friends die, I've been forced to kill friends. And Vegita, who doesn't show those feelings anyhow due to his upbringing, lost his home planet. And pretty recently I might add. Does that answer your question?" I ask Bulma. She nods. I start to leave, but Bulma stops me.
"Does it get easier each time?" Bulma asks meekly. "What?" "When you watch someone die. Especially a friend, does it get easier to deal with each time?" "Not really." I respond. I leave again and Bulma doesn't stop me.
I enter my room and lock the door. Well… this has turned out just dandy! I sigh and lay on my bed. Well, this is the price of being a mercenary, seeing everyone die. But I'm not a mercenary anymore, and Kakarotto didn't die at the hands of the enemy.
This is actually impacting me greatly. I've watched millions of people die, and killed millions of people myself. I've seen comrades fall, I've killed comrades. But to see the impact of death on the victim's friends and family… That, is what is truly saddining.
Chapter 56
One month later…
Everyone's gotten out of their state of moroseness. Sure, they'll never fully recover, but at least they aren't moping around everyday.
Also, this has to be the most shocking announcement. Bulma is pregnant. Which in itself, isn't too surprising. But the father is Vegita! That even I found surprising. I simply had no clue of that happening.
Vegita is still a bit morose though. He has no direction. I commonly see him sitting on the roof of Capsule Corporation, just thinking.
Chichi and Gohan seem to have the most problems getting over Kakarotto, which makes sense. I don't see Chichi often, but whenever I see Gohan, he doesn't have that cheerfulness he had before. No trace of it at all. That kid took it hard.
Bulma, while she still misses Kakarotto, has the future to look too. She has gotten on with her life.
Yamcha is pissed as hell. He's gotten on with his life completely, and is now pissed at Vegita. Heh. Well, you snooze you lose.
Krillin is still saddened over Kakarotto's death. He's become rather quiet and shy now.
Piccilo seems to be just fine. Then again, it's hard to tell since he has a poker face that even rivals Vegita's. And Kami is busy at work being God.
But I never see Teinshinhan or Chaozu. Nor so I see Roshi often either.
Overall, things are pretty much back to normal. Of course, I have as much direction as Vegita does. And I'm running out of things to occupy myself with quickly. I find myself looking over the edge of Kami's Palace more often as each day passes by.
What have I left to do? There's nothing to fight. Only Vegita rivals me but he's not really interested in a fight anymore. It's almost as if he's lost his will to live. But he still exercises in the gravity chamber at least. And if I leave this planet, where would I go? After the demise of Freeza the market for mercenaries has slowed down greatly. At least I have a home here.