DBZ Story #4: "Berter Beginnings: A Ginyu Force Outlook"

Part 20



"I'm the last person you'll be training with. I hope you're as good as the guys say."

"I'll do my best."

"As a Ginyu, you'll need to give 110%! Do you think you can use all that you've learned so far against me?"

"Yes."

"Good! Your fight training begins today!"

"Posing: It's what we Ginyus are famous for, besides the whole 'deadliest fighting squad' thing. Not only does posing help us to have great balance, it looks awesome, too!"

"…What?"

"Here I'l show you. First thing, you shout the name of the faction you're in. 'Ginyu Special Force!' Then, pose." Jeice stood on his left leg, drew his right up, stuck his right arm in the air, and held the left one across his chest. "And to finish up, you shout your name. 'Jiizu!!' Like that. Now, you try it. To save time, do the same pose I just did."

"Um… Alright. Er… Ginyu Special Force…"

"No no no! That's all wrong! You've got to shout it with pride! Let them know who you are!"

"'…Ginyu Special Force..!' Like that?"

"That was a little better. Just imagine you're fighting someone you particularly dislike or someone who had wronged you in the past, maybe a bully from your schoolin' days or something..."

Jerin… "'Ginyu Special Force!!'" The Tokage barked angrily.

"That was great!! Captain Ginyu would be proud! Now, do the pose. Like this." The Kaijin re-performed his pose in case Berter had forgotten. Nodding, the blue male attempted to do the same, but reversed limbs.

"Almost, but it's your right arm that's supposed to be up. Your left leg, too."

"Oh." Berter corrected himself immediately. Jeice nodded in approval. "All that's left is to shout your name. Remember, with pride!"

"Berter!!"

"All right! Now putting all three together smoothly is the key, which brings us to a little thing called 'style'…"

"What is this 'style'?"

"Style, in this case, is the ability to perform your rolecall and poses so that they connect smoothly with those of the rest of the team. For instance, if we were to perform rolecall at the same time, we'd have to be sure to start and finish at the same time, so it's like a big choreography. That usually won't be the case most of the time, so I'll just move on to turns. We form a 'V' and go in order from left to right, outside to inside. That's height-dependent, by the way, so unless Ginyu just puts you where our old guy used to be, you'll be starting off."

"Mm-hmm."

"Let's do a practice run so you can really get the feel of it. Do the same pose as last time. After me, now. 'Ginyu Special Force!'" Jeice got down on bended knee and held his arms up to form a 'V'. "'Jiizu!!"

"'Ginyu Special Force! Berter!!'"

"Louder! 'Ginyu Special Force! Jiizu!!'"

"'Ginyu Special Force!! Berter!!'"

"Once more! 'Ginyu Special Force!! Jiizu!!'"

"'Ginyu Special Force!! BERTER!!'" The last part came out as a partial roar and echoed across the landscape.

"Woah… I think that last one was a bit much…" The Kaijin chuckled nervously.

"That was… amazing," said a psyched Berter. "I feel powerful, as if I could wrestle Rahzer dinos."

Assuming that what he spoke of was a somewhat difficult task, Jeice nodded in agreement. "That the power you get from posing and rolecall. Our poses show off the peak physical conditions of our bodies, and our loud shouts scare the fear of death into our enemies. That's what the Captain told me. You seem to be really into it. That's good. Our last guy didn't take it as enthusiasticaly as you. Said it was downright silly, he did."

"Well, I know not of this person, but I do know that this 'posing' is something to be regarded highly of."

"Good man!" The Kaijin cheered. "You'll make a great Ginyu, yet! But now I suppose we should move on the fighting part of your fight training. You already know how to fight, right? Show me what you've learned and come at me."

"Yes." Pushing off, Berter rushed and swung at Jeice, who, despite the speed of the assault, dodged it effortlessly. That last one unsuccessful, the Tokage sent a jab flying toward the Kaijin's face. Jeice ducked under the large blue fist and countered with a hard straight to his opponent's abdomen. Berter, growling from the force of his blow, lifted his leg to deliver a sharp kick, but was knocked off his feet by a sweeping kick from the other man.

"Hey! Care to continue this in the air?" The Kaijin called out while ascending.

"Quite!" The blue one wasted no time. Advancing from below, he came at Jeice with great speed. He extended his leg, hoping to get him with a flying kick. In spite of him barely managing to dodge that one, Jeice chuckled at his opponent's efforts, then powered up and launched a sizable ki ball at him. Berter crossed his arms in front of himself and blocked the hot energy ball, receiving a slight burn, then assaulted the smaller man with a flurry of kicks and punches, all easily dodged or blocked. Suddenly, Jeice tried for a quick jab, but unfortunately for him, extended it too far. The Tokage decided to take advantage of his opponent's miscalculation by grabbing his arm and swinging him around by it, sending him hurtling toward the earth.

"There ya go!" Jeice acclaimed, then halted his speedy descent. "That was pretty good for your first mid-air fight. Come on down." Jeice touched down on the ground below. Berter shrugged and did as told.

"You seem to be a better fighter in the air than on ground. I think our height difference had a lot to do with that, but nevertheless, we'll have to build up your terra combat skills. Probably should've gone it longer, though."

"If I may, who was the person here last? The 'old guy' you mentioned several times today?"

"He's an Azureman. You've probably seen him before. Humanoid, 'bout ye taller than me." He raised his hand a few inches above his head to demonstrate. "He's got powder blue skin and long, green, braided hair…" The smaller man sighed wistfully.

"Yes. He delivered a message to me once. Were you friends, you two?" The Kaijin nodded.

"Yes. Good partners and better friends…We used to find grassy areas like this and talk, just like we're doing now."

"You must miss him, then."

"I do. I loved him." The Kaijin covered his mouth, though the other didn't seem to pick up on it and continued on the topic.

"What happened?"

Jeice sighed, not really wanting to unearth bad memories. "Lots of things go on between us guys of the Ginyu Force- some good, some not so good. You're better off not knowing, but for your own safety, I advise you not to do anything to get the Captain angry."

"Hm. I see… Perhaps you and I could be friends, then."

He looked up at that blue man, who was staring off into space, stern looking as ever, and smiled. "Thanks, man."

"You're welcome."

Feeling a bit more relaxed, the Kaijin eased back and laid in the grass. "This place is nice. Let's come back here and talk again when we return to this planet."

Berter raised a bumpy brow. "What do you mean 'return'?"

"Didn't Ginyu tell you? In another 21 of your days, you'll be coming into space with us to carry out the rest of your training."

"The outer space?!"

"That's right."

Berter couldn't believe his audibles. He had to leave the planet—his planet—to travel amongst the stars in 21 days time? The weight of it hit him like a fist to the face. Suddenly, he didn't feel so well. "Is this the end for today..? I… feel ill."

"Well, we still have a few more things to work on, but if you're not up to it, I guess we can call it quits a little early."

"Many thanks… I'll be departing, then. Farewell."

"Bye. Hope you feel better."

All that mattered to him now was knowing home. He wanted to see his nurturers, wanted to see the Zipan tree grove for which he named his saurian steed. He wanted… to scoop his mate up in his arms and … and…

He didn't want to leave. It was as simple as that. And who knew if he would ever be able to return? The red mammalian said they would, but how long until then? The dull background buzz he had gained upon hearing the sudden news had turned into a full-blown migraine, and all he could think about was getting home to his mat on the floor and sleeping his stress away. His stress would continue to climb, it seemed, as Neizu had been the first thing in his sights with the opening of his homestead's door.

"What are you doing back so soon?" She asked, more annoyed than curious. But her feeling of annoyance was soon dissipated upon the sight of his face. His expression seemed desperate, pained… She felt a string of compassion tug at her, but quickly worked to harden her heart and wait for his reply.

"Neizu…" Even his voice sounded desperate. "I need to speak with you." He closed the door behind him and pulled up a chair next to her. "I was brought a bit of bad news not too long ago, though to you, it may be music." He smiled sadly and continued, "At this month's end, I'm leaving the planet."

"'Leaving the planet'?!" She reiterated in disbelief. Berter nodded.

"Yes, with those Freeza people to the outer space."

Neizu said nothing. Frankly, she thought he was lying. She had heard of cases of abandonment. He had finally had it with her, it seemed, and planned to leave, making up some wild story for his cover. It was insulting, really- the thought of carrying on with the title of a jilted mate, but if it got him out of her hair, metaphorically speaking…

"…I was told we'd return, but as to when? That is unknown to me. I'm sorry… for not having as good of a relationship as I had hoped for us. I'll try to do for you all I can while I'm still on-planet, yourself permitting."

What was all this now? He was apologizing for their current mess? It wasn't his fault; he hadn't done anything but what she demanded of him. The blame was squarely on her shoulders. She who had been so cold and harsh like the peaks of the Mountainous Region…

"You may do as you please," she said, being colder, still. "Are you finished?"

"I suppose so… If it's all right with you, I'd like to retire."

Neizu crossed her arms. This affair was awfully elaborate for an abandonment case. "As you like. Just be off by the time I return. The hunt calls... "

"Bring back a big one," he joked, then made his way to the bunk. Neizu sighed exasperatedly and started for the door. She extended her arm to push it open, but slowly brought it back to her person. The young woman turned in the direction of the bunk and made her way to that, instead. She opened the bedroom door a tiny crack, just enough to peer through. She found in there her mate to be undressing himself, his back turned to her. It hadn't been the first time she had seen him do this for retirement, but it was usually dark and she didn't care. It was the first time, however, that she had actually watched…

And it was also for the first time she had seen his scar.

There is something about scars that is very appealing to Tokage females. This one couldn't have been self-inflicted, she knew. He had to have gotten it in battle or with a larger animal. She wondered what it felt like, and imagined her hands feeling, roaming all over his cicatrix…

She rushed out the door and scolded herself for having such thoughts, though all the self-reproach she had could do little to dismiss the blush on her face.

Fight, fight, get along. Fight, try some more… Twenty-one days had passed like the fleeting wind. On the morning of the departure…

"Neizu, I'm taking leave…"

"Mm." She didn't even look up.

"Um… Please mind my Marzipan."

"Uh-huh."

"And if you could, please send my letter to the courier today."

"I shall."

"……I love you."

Neizu shot right up. She looked at him with widened eyes and was struck silent. It wasn't a commonly uttered phrase between Tokage couples. The mentality was, if one had love for his or her mate, it was understood. There wasn't a need to express it in words. He was never out to harm her in any way. He was just doing what he was supposed to do: being her mate. She had misunderstood, then, and was realizing it all too late.

"Well, until the latter day…" Berter smiled warmly, then turned his back to exit.

"Berter…"

It was his turn to be surprised. He spun around to meet her, but she chose to keep her back to him. "…You're not… abandoning me, right..?"

The young man gaped. Abandonment of a mate? He had never heard of such a thing. Was she afraid that…? He encircled his strong arms around her in a loving embrace and said softly, "I would never. I'll just be away for a time, that's all."

"…Be careful. It's quite dangerous in the outer space."


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