The next day, Kakarrot started her combat training. She spent every day sparring with him, or working on her Chi forms. He taught her to form his attacks, but she was expected to create her own and name them soon. She still spent a few hours in strength training, since the Brat could not be neglected, but she was happy with the change in curriculum. She didn't even mind that the Brat watched her sparring with their Sensei, since she had done the same, and he even rooted for her when she was struggling with the crafty old Kakarrot.BR
P
She improved very quickly, partly due to her intense desire to do so, and partly because she had been trained before, and her body started to remember this training. Kakarrot pretty much confirmed this, telling her that sometimes Saiyans returned from their first assignments with little or no memory of what had happened to them. It was discovered that some of them had indeed been trained before their programming had kicked in, or they saw a full moon. These Saiyans needed what he called "Immersion Therapy", which gave them social skills and knowledge of Vegeta-sei's past and so forth. They could only get the finishing training they needed after this treatment, and some of them always used different combat techniques than the traditional Saiyan moves, no matter what. Raimi showed signs of previous training as well. But to her surprise, Kakarrot claimed that she seemed to have been trained by another Saiyan. She couldn't believe it; the only other Saiyan on Chikyu-sei was Goku, or was he the only one? After all, where was this body born, anyway? It would have to wait; she had too much to learn right now.BR
P
After a month, she was given a free day, and went to the market to find the blonde girl. She found her at the same stall, still blonde. She smiled and the girl smiled back.BR
"I'm so glad you came back, I wanted to give you the Kings purse. I don't really want it." She said. Raimi refused it.BR
P
"No, I can't. I don't see the King that much, but if he does find it on me, well...what's your name?" Raimi asked.BR
P
"Cali. I wanted to thank you. Those men are going wild all over the planet; no one is safe. You were so brave, standing up to Nappa that way; he's one of the strongest Saiyans ever!" She said. Raimi smiled wryly. She knew that she was only saved by the King, but she didn't need to tell Cali that.BR
P
"It was nothing. That do you sell here?" She ended up spending most of the day there, and tried to spend her money, since Cali had lots of nice things for sale, but the girl kept giving her things and refusing payment for them. She laughed when Raimi told her she should dye her hair, as the King had said. She was actually a competent warrior, but didn't like to fight. She was only third class, but she had been on quite a few missions while she was younger. She wasn't really worried anymore anyway. Word was out to not bother her or the King would punish who ever did attack her. Later, as Raimi slowly walked back to the Temple, she smiled, and felt better about things for the first time in months. It was a relief to find that there were good Saiyans after all. Then she remembered something that was bothering her, and took a chance on going to the Palace, hoping to avoid the King.BR
P
She found the Physician easily, and asked him her question. She needed to find out if there was any way to prevent the Ozura transformation, other than the removal of her tail. The doctor surprised her with an affirmative. It seemed that the ladies of the court didn't enjoy transforming into huge ugly apes, and so they had commissioned various doctors to find a way to stop it. He shuffled over to a drawer and produced seven small golden bangles. She took them from him curiously, and stared at the short needles sticking out of them. Who wanted to have needles poking into their wrists, and who had wrists this small anyway? Even her small bones were too big for these. She heard the Physician chuckle.BR
P
"Uh, no...you put these...on your tail!" He said, as she stared at him in horror. He explained that the needles were for acupuncture, and that the bangles each had a small computer in them, that placed them in the right spot to place the needles just so. Once in, the needles put the glands in the tail to sleep, preventing the reaction to moonlight. There were also acupressure points on them for safety's sake; he showed her how to put them on, approximately every 20 cm down her tail. She didn't feel any discomfort, and smiled when he offered her a "ceremonial" set, cast in silver with tiny bells on them. Now she was almost ready to go home! Of course, she thought that Piccolo had destroyed the Moon by now, but it paid to be safe.BR
P
Kakarrot stepped up her training, sparring with her every minute he wasn't training the Brat, and making the Brat spar with her too. Sometimes they teamed up on her, giving her the experience she needed to face many opponents at once. Still, she worried that this wasn't enough to prepare for the Saiyans on their way to Chikyu-sei. All she could do was hope in that regard. Then one day, she felt fate start to laugh at her.BR
P
She was sweeping the Temple, singing an old blues song to herself. She wasn't paying attention, so when the Brat popped up next to her she wasn't prepared for it. She glared at him as he kicked dirt out of the neat pile she had made. He looked at her challengingly.BR
P
"Hey, Chibi, wanna spar?" He asked. She shook her head.BR
"Kakarrot said no sparring unless he's here. He's at the Palace, so, no sparring, got it?" He was now taller that she was, having had a massive growth spurt in the last year that had left him still much shorter than his father. Though Raimi had also grown a little, he was now able to lean over her, intimidating with his height.BR
P
"Oooooooooohhhhhhhhh, you're scared? We both know that you have outgrown his teaching, same as me. I say, spar now, or I'll just beat on you. And no one will care if I do." He sneered. She looked up at him, trying to control her temper. He had made no secret of his dislike for her, but she had never really figured out why.BR
P
"Well?" He said, just before he swung at her. She countered the swing with her broom, and then jumped back, pulling off her loose outer garments to leave herself in the stretch suit she wore underneath. He had an advantage in that he wore armor, but she didn't care. It was time to fight back, and she was going to make him pay for all the bruises, cuts and curses. They went at it like tigers, not bothering to follow the rules of sparring. This was a fight, and they were going all out.BR
P
The battle had raged for a half-hour by the time Kakarrot returned. He heard them, the sounds of fists on flesh and grunts of effort and pain unmistakable. He ran into the main chamber and stared in amazement at the damage they had done to each other. Both were hunched over, indicating cracked and broken ribs to him, and both limped slightly, their legs probably badly bruised, or even broken with hairline fractures. The Prince had one eye swollen shut, and Raimi's mouth had a trail of blood running down her chin. They panted like they had run a marathon, and he could see that they were tired, but refused to give in to each other. He opened his mouth to call them off, when the Brat swung at Raimi's face. She caught the fist in her palm, and then smiled wickedly.BR
P
"Try again!" She hissed painfully. It was hard to breathe with broken ribs, but she was pleased with herself so far. She had been able to ignore the pains in her body, and focus on the fight, on staying alive. And The Brat sure did seem to be trying to kill her. The floor was littered with debris from all the Chi blasts he had sent at her. She had held back for the most part, but had used a few as well. Now, she wondered if that reaction that had happened with Tien would happen here too.BR
P
"I...Hate You!" The Brat growled and swung again. Again she caught the fist in her palm, and pushed at him. They stood like that, pushing with all their strength. Sure enough Raimi felt it start, the heat and the pain, but it was less, easier to bear somehow. She bared her teeth, playfully growling at him as her Chi exploded around her in huge blue-violet flames.BR
P
"What the! What are you doing?" The Brat gasped, realizing that she was getting stronger somehow. Kakarrot punched his scouter and stared in shock as her level shot up past the Princes in less than thirty seconds.BR
P
"That's enough! Stop!" He roared, but they didn't heed him; he realized that he didn't have the power to make them obey him anymore. He had to try anyway, for the Princes sake at least. The King would kill him if the Prince was hurt or killed. He powered up, but Raimi pushed the Prince away violently. They panted, then he blurred out. Kakarrot saw that she actually Iclosed/I her eyes, and turned to block the blow aimed at her back, as if she knew where he'd be. He still had tricks up his sleeve, though, and swept her feet out from under her, causing Raimi to fall onto her back, cursing. He leapt onto her, and held his hand palm forward in her face.BR
P
"Yield bitch, or else!" He snarled. Raimi had no intention of doing so, and put her hands together behind his neck. It almost looked like she was going to pull him close for a kiss, but she began to whisper instead.BR
P
"Forgive me, Roshi, but I need this! IKameI/..."BR
"What?" Kakarrot murmured as he saw the readings on his scouter. He didn't understand what was going on.BR
P
"...IHa...Me-Ha/I!" Raimi said, yelling the last as the brilliant white light erupted in her cupped hands, and then she let it fly. It soared up to the ceiling, making the Brat turn to look at it, then descended back at them both. He jumped up, pulling free from her arms and blocked, instinct telling him that this beam was big trouble. He inadvertently blocked for Raimi as well, who had lost control of the beam. It hit the Prince's crossed arms and went off...BR
P
She improved very quickly, partly due to her intense desire to do so, and partly because she had been trained before, and her body started to remember this training. Kakarrot pretty much confirmed this, telling her that sometimes Saiyans returned from their first assignments with little or no memory of what had happened to them. It was discovered that some of them had indeed been trained before their programming had kicked in, or they saw a full moon. These Saiyans needed what he called "Immersion Therapy", which gave them social skills and knowledge of Vegeta-sei's past and so forth. They could only get the finishing training they needed after this treatment, and some of them always used different combat techniques than the traditional Saiyan moves, no matter what. Raimi showed signs of previous training as well. But to her surprise, Kakarrot claimed that she seemed to have been trained by another Saiyan. She couldn't believe it; the only other Saiyan on Chikyu-sei was Goku, or was he the only one? After all, where was this body born, anyway? It would have to wait; she had too much to learn right now.BR
P
After a month, she was given a free day, and went to the market to find the blonde girl. She found her at the same stall, still blonde. She smiled and the girl smiled back.BR
"I'm so glad you came back, I wanted to give you the Kings purse. I don't really want it." She said. Raimi refused it.BR
P
"No, I can't. I don't see the King that much, but if he does find it on me, well...what's your name?" Raimi asked.BR
P
"Cali. I wanted to thank you. Those men are going wild all over the planet; no one is safe. You were so brave, standing up to Nappa that way; he's one of the strongest Saiyans ever!" She said. Raimi smiled wryly. She knew that she was only saved by the King, but she didn't need to tell Cali that.BR
P
"It was nothing. That do you sell here?" She ended up spending most of the day there, and tried to spend her money, since Cali had lots of nice things for sale, but the girl kept giving her things and refusing payment for them. She laughed when Raimi told her she should dye her hair, as the King had said. She was actually a competent warrior, but didn't like to fight. She was only third class, but she had been on quite a few missions while she was younger. She wasn't really worried anymore anyway. Word was out to not bother her or the King would punish who ever did attack her. Later, as Raimi slowly walked back to the Temple, she smiled, and felt better about things for the first time in months. It was a relief to find that there were good Saiyans after all. Then she remembered something that was bothering her, and took a chance on going to the Palace, hoping to avoid the King.BR
P
She found the Physician easily, and asked him her question. She needed to find out if there was any way to prevent the Ozura transformation, other than the removal of her tail. The doctor surprised her with an affirmative. It seemed that the ladies of the court didn't enjoy transforming into huge ugly apes, and so they had commissioned various doctors to find a way to stop it. He shuffled over to a drawer and produced seven small golden bangles. She took them from him curiously, and stared at the short needles sticking out of them. Who wanted to have needles poking into their wrists, and who had wrists this small anyway? Even her small bones were too big for these. She heard the Physician chuckle.BR
P
"Uh, no...you put these...on your tail!" He said, as she stared at him in horror. He explained that the needles were for acupuncture, and that the bangles each had a small computer in them, that placed them in the right spot to place the needles just so. Once in, the needles put the glands in the tail to sleep, preventing the reaction to moonlight. There were also acupressure points on them for safety's sake; he showed her how to put them on, approximately every 20 cm down her tail. She didn't feel any discomfort, and smiled when he offered her a "ceremonial" set, cast in silver with tiny bells on them. Now she was almost ready to go home! Of course, she thought that Piccolo had destroyed the Moon by now, but it paid to be safe.BR
P
Kakarrot stepped up her training, sparring with her every minute he wasn't training the Brat, and making the Brat spar with her too. Sometimes they teamed up on her, giving her the experience she needed to face many opponents at once. Still, she worried that this wasn't enough to prepare for the Saiyans on their way to Chikyu-sei. All she could do was hope in that regard. Then one day, she felt fate start to laugh at her.BR
P
She was sweeping the Temple, singing an old blues song to herself. She wasn't paying attention, so when the Brat popped up next to her she wasn't prepared for it. She glared at him as he kicked dirt out of the neat pile she had made. He looked at her challengingly.BR
P
"Hey, Chibi, wanna spar?" He asked. She shook her head.BR
"Kakarrot said no sparring unless he's here. He's at the Palace, so, no sparring, got it?" He was now taller that she was, having had a massive growth spurt in the last year that had left him still much shorter than his father. Though Raimi had also grown a little, he was now able to lean over her, intimidating with his height.BR
P
"Oooooooooohhhhhhhhh, you're scared? We both know that you have outgrown his teaching, same as me. I say, spar now, or I'll just beat on you. And no one will care if I do." He sneered. She looked up at him, trying to control her temper. He had made no secret of his dislike for her, but she had never really figured out why.BR
P
"Well?" He said, just before he swung at her. She countered the swing with her broom, and then jumped back, pulling off her loose outer garments to leave herself in the stretch suit she wore underneath. He had an advantage in that he wore armor, but she didn't care. It was time to fight back, and she was going to make him pay for all the bruises, cuts and curses. They went at it like tigers, not bothering to follow the rules of sparring. This was a fight, and they were going all out.BR
P
The battle had raged for a half-hour by the time Kakarrot returned. He heard them, the sounds of fists on flesh and grunts of effort and pain unmistakable. He ran into the main chamber and stared in amazement at the damage they had done to each other. Both were hunched over, indicating cracked and broken ribs to him, and both limped slightly, their legs probably badly bruised, or even broken with hairline fractures. The Prince had one eye swollen shut, and Raimi's mouth had a trail of blood running down her chin. They panted like they had run a marathon, and he could see that they were tired, but refused to give in to each other. He opened his mouth to call them off, when the Brat swung at Raimi's face. She caught the fist in her palm, and then smiled wickedly.BR
P
"Try again!" She hissed painfully. It was hard to breathe with broken ribs, but she was pleased with herself so far. She had been able to ignore the pains in her body, and focus on the fight, on staying alive. And The Brat sure did seem to be trying to kill her. The floor was littered with debris from all the Chi blasts he had sent at her. She had held back for the most part, but had used a few as well. Now, she wondered if that reaction that had happened with Tien would happen here too.BR
P
"I...Hate You!" The Brat growled and swung again. Again she caught the fist in her palm, and pushed at him. They stood like that, pushing with all their strength. Sure enough Raimi felt it start, the heat and the pain, but it was less, easier to bear somehow. She bared her teeth, playfully growling at him as her Chi exploded around her in huge blue-violet flames.BR
P
"What the! What are you doing?" The Brat gasped, realizing that she was getting stronger somehow. Kakarrot punched his scouter and stared in shock as her level shot up past the Princes in less than thirty seconds.BR
P
"That's enough! Stop!" He roared, but they didn't heed him; he realized that he didn't have the power to make them obey him anymore. He had to try anyway, for the Princes sake at least. The King would kill him if the Prince was hurt or killed. He powered up, but Raimi pushed the Prince away violently. They panted, then he blurred out. Kakarrot saw that she actually Iclosed/I her eyes, and turned to block the blow aimed at her back, as if she knew where he'd be. He still had tricks up his sleeve, though, and swept her feet out from under her, causing Raimi to fall onto her back, cursing. He leapt onto her, and held his hand palm forward in her face.BR
P
"Yield bitch, or else!" He snarled. Raimi had no intention of doing so, and put her hands together behind his neck. It almost looked like she was going to pull him close for a kiss, but she began to whisper instead.BR
P
"Forgive me, Roshi, but I need this! IKameI/..."BR
"What?" Kakarrot murmured as he saw the readings on his scouter. He didn't understand what was going on.BR
P
"...IHa...Me-Ha/I!" Raimi said, yelling the last as the brilliant white light erupted in her cupped hands, and then she let it fly. It soared up to the ceiling, making the Brat turn to look at it, then descended back at them both. He jumped up, pulling free from her arms and blocked, instinct telling him that this beam was big trouble. He inadvertently blocked for Raimi as well, who had lost control of the beam. It hit the Prince's crossed arms and went off...BR
