~~The Next Day~~
Usagi walked into class about an hour late the next day. The class became quiet of its activities and turned its attention onto her as she stiffly walked to her seat with dark bags under her eyes, which made her turn red with embarrassment. The teacher noticed Usagi's struggle to even walk back to her seat and frowned. "Usagi, this is unacceptable. You have just walked into class exactly fifty-seven minutes late. What have you go to say about this?"
Without much movement at all, Usagi let herself drop down in her chair as she stared up at the angry face of her teacher. "I don't have anything to say at all, sir, except that I was training with my dad last night and…"
"Ms. Usagi, would you please explain to your father that he should try to control how much training you do during the week? It is slowing up your performance in school." The teacher looked around the class, who still had their eyes planted back on Usagi, who looked as if she were about to drop off into a deep sleep. "Let us continue with our discussion class."
Usagi let her head slam against the table as the lecture continued. Letting her head drop was probably the worst thing that she could have done. It only caused her to want sleep even more. The sound of her teacher's boring voice didn't help much either. "Must…stay…awake."
Hearing Usagi's whisper, her friends turned their heads in her direction and wondered what could have possibly been keeping their friend so tired. They wondered why type of training she could have gone through the night before. "Usagi, are you ok? You look like you're about to crash." Rei set her head on the table so she could talk quietly enough to where Usagi could hear her, but none of the other students around.
"That's what I feel like doing. Dad made me walk six and a half miles home last night with twenty times earth's gravity. It took forever to get home. We didn't even get in until 11:00. Now every single muscle in my body aches, it hurts to move anything, I just want to sleep, but I can't because I'm in school. Then we have to work with Hotaru after school and I wont be able to sleep then. It would be a lot easier if I could turn this gravity off."
Minako sympathetically looked down at her worn out friend, half in shock. "You have it on right now? That's amazing. I would never be able to walk as much as you did with twenty times gravity and then be able to come to school. You didn't fly here, did you? We didn't feel your energy coming."
Usagi buried her face into her arms. "No. Dad let me sleep in late and then teleported me here. He felt sorry for making me stay up that late and making me work that much. I hope you guys are watching my stiffness closely and make sure you remember how I look when you turn your little amulets on today."
"WHAT?!" The four of her friends cried out, disrupting the whole class and causing the teacher to turn around and glare at them. They quickly shut their mouths and lowered their heads in embarrassment.
Usagi couldn't help but let out a tired giggle at her friend's outburst. "Yeah, he wants us to work with Hotaru for just a little bit today as a group. He's going to come by and pick you guys up to get you all used to the gravity change. Be prepared, he's probably going to make you guys walk a nice hike to do it." She closed her eyes and smiled with comfort. "Don't worry…you can sleep when you get it…done…" Without realizing it, Usagi had begun to fall asleep.
~*~*~
After school, the girls set out to meet Hotaru at her school so they could train with her before Goku came to train them with using the amulets, the hard way. They felt a bit of envy towards Hotaru since Usagi was going to train her more easily. They wished that Goku would be as easy on them, as Usagi was easy on Hotaru, but they knew that that was not possible.
When the five arrived at Hotaru's school, she was no where in sight. Usagi found it odd that Hotaru wouldn't be waiting for her at the fountain as she had for the past two days. "That's odd. I wonder where she could be."
'Usagi!?'
Usagi, as well as the rest of the gang, perked their heads in one direction. That would be the direction in which they were feeling a sudden increase of power coming from behind the school. "Hotaru! She's in some sort of trouble I think. We need to help her."
"Wait!" Before Usagi had a chance to aide her friend, Makoto reached out and grabbed the back of Usagi's Gi. "Don't interfere. This is just like what happened with Haruka and Michiru. Your dad was there the whole time but he let YOU triumph over them by yourself. We can go and watch, but Hotaru is strong enough to show them what she's made of."
Usagi ripped away from Makoto. "I know what you're saying, Makoto, and, I guess you're right. But we should at least let Hotaru know that we're there for her. Can we at least go and see what she does? The other kids don't have to know that we're there. We can watch from a far and use the link to communicate."
Makoto's face stayed serious as she stared into Usagi's eyes. "Well…" She couldn't hide her smile any longer. "Sure we can. I think it would make her feel a lot better if we did, right girls?" Makoto looked around the her friends to agree with her, which they did without a second thought.
~*~*~
Hotaru let out an almost silent 'eep' when she felt her back hit against a cold brick wall as her classmates walked toward her, taunting at her with every step they took closer to her. "Why are you being mean to me? I'm just like any of the rest of you." Before Hotaru had met Usagi, she would have been terrified to say anything to her bullies. She feared that they would have beaten her up, like they had done so many times without reason at all.
The students of the school picked on her for more than just reason. There were three major reasons why they always picked on her. They were jealous of her father's financial status, which made them hate her. They thought that she was too much of a baby because she was always, in their words, 'feeling sorry for herself' because of her mother. And then there was the third and most important reason why they hated her, the one reason that made them want to keep away from her. They could sense her evil and what she stood for, though her evil feeling was only the half of it. They knew of her special secret and found her to be a freak for it.
A boy who was in sixth grade at the Infinity College school approached Hotaru as he shoved his fist in her face. "Hey kid, you think you're all tough now, don't you? My little brother told me that you flew yesterday." A series of gasps filled the air. "You aren't anything more now than you were before. You ain't shit. And that freak you were flying with, she has a tail."
"Usagi is not a freak! You're the freak! Usagi is the nicest person in the world. You're just a pile of doggy doo-doo compared to her." 'Usagi, guys, where are you?'
~*~*~
Usagi and Minako peeked over the edge of the roof to find themselves directly over Hotaru's head. 'We're on the roof, right above you. Don't look up though. We don't want the other kids to know that we're here.'
~*~*~
The boy reached out and grabbed Hotaru by her Gi, pulling her up into his face. "What did you call me? Did you just call me shit? No one, not even little loner girls will get away with that." He raised his hand and slapped Hotaru across the face. He then let her drop to the ground in tears. "That's more like it. Get on the ground where animals belong."
A girl about the same age as the boy pushed her way to the front of the crowd and sneered down at Hotaru. "Look at that, she's too weak to fight back, just like her mother was. That's why she died. She couldn't block the attackers."
Hotaru frowned as she crushed a rock in her hand, scaring the crowd of kids behind her. "It wasn't HER fault. She wasn't a fighter!" One of the only things that would ever turn Hotaru was the subject matter of her mother. "She told me herself that she wasn't a FIGHTER!" She let herself float off of the ground so she could turn herself right side up again and landed on her feet. "Don't you get it!?" She grabbed the girl and looked her in the eye. "Don't EVER talk about my mom like that AGAIN!" She violently pushed the girl into the boy, who had verbally beaten her. "I'm not an animal, I think YOU need to get on the ground!" She closed her eyes and let a light purple aura radiate off of her body as she built up to power punch the boy.
~*~*~
Usagi gasped with shock as she looked down to Hotaru, almost in complete fear. "Gu…gu…guys? That's not Hotaru's energy…is it?" Usagi couldn't keep from trembling at what she was feeling. From Hotaru, she was feeling a Ki energy so dark, so full of death that she could hardly try to even THINK about figuring out what was going on.
Rei poked her head over the side of the roof and looked down to Hotaru. "Whoa…you're right, Usagi. Hotaru's power is in that, but not like we know it. I'm sensing almost pure hatred coming from that power. But, not so much as an evil hatred, more like a sense of protection kind of hatred. This is unusual."
Makoto held onto the edge of the roof so she would be able to lean further out to see what Hotaru was doing. "This is kind of freakin me out here."
Usagi could have cried right then and there for Hotaru. What those kids had said and done to her had driven the poor girl to her current state. Slowly, she raised her own power level to open a link with her. 'Hotaru, calm down. Please, if you hit him while you're powered up, you could kill him and then dad wont let me train you anymore.'
~*~*~
Hotaru calmed very little at the sound of Usagi's comforting voice. 'This boy…he is weak.' Hotaru's thirst for teaching him a lesson increased as did her light purple Ki aura.
~*~*~
Ami was too busy trying to figure out what was different about Hotaru to even listen to what her friends were saying all around her. She scanned Hotaru's body from top to bottom, she even tried to sense what was different about her and all she could come up with was that her energy had a hateful feel to it. She jumped to her feet when she noticed it. "That's it! Girls…look at her aura! It's not its usual dark purple. Something is wrong."
Usagi looked more closely at her friend. "I see it, Ami. You're right…it is a lot lighter. But what do we do? She seems so…"
"Savage?"
"Yes. She does. She's reminding me of someone…Vejita. It's like she is going to enjoy dominating over someone weaker than herself. She knows that he's weak, like she said in the link." Usagi jumped into the air. She had had enough. She turned to look down at her friends, who shortly joined her. "Hotaru! Don't do this!"
~*~*~
Hotaru looked up to her best friend with a scowl. She was too blinded by her anger to realize who it was and shot up a light purple ball of energy. "Stay out of this!"
Usagi dodged to the side, but her added gravity didn't allow for much speed. As a result, she was hit in her leg. "Hotaru!" At that point, she had lost her concentration and fell to the ground, causing the crowd of kids to run away, screaming, in all directions.
The boy and girl who had made fun of Hotaru didn't get very far before she was in front of them, ready to attack. "Don't you EVER make fun of me and my mom again! You got that!?" She grabbed the boy by his arm and pulled him closer to him. Once he was in her grasp, she let her hand hover over his chest as she smiled down at him, but all of a sudden, she dropped him right before she was going to make her move, also letting herself drop to the ground as her light purple aura disappeared. "Mommy helped me…" She whispered just as her tiny body was hitting against the ground.
Minako landed by Hotaru and kneeled to her side while the others tended to the fallen Usagi as well as the frightened group of kids, who Hotaru had terrorized. "Hotaru, Hotaru…what was that? Are you all right? Hotaru?" She slipped her hands under the girl's body and placed her on her lap. "Hotaru?"
Hotaru groaned as she looked up into Minako's eyes. "Minako? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to loose control like that. But Mommy helped me get better."
"How did she help you? I thought she was…" Minako hesitated to go on in fear of hurting the child even more.
"Dead? Yes she is dead, but her spirit is still here, with me. I remembered her words that she spoke to me right before she died. She told me that I was a special girl and she was special too. She said to always remember what she taught me."
"What did she teach you, Hotaru?"
Right before Hotaru was about to speak, she looked up and saw Usagi limping towards her with Rei. "Usagi! I'm SO sorry!"
Usagi smiled as she kneeled down to Hotaru, who lunged out and gave her a hug. "Don't worry about it. I'll be fine. We were just worried about you, that's all. But now that you're ok, we can get on with it. We all loose control sometimes. We should get going though, before it gets too late."
Hotaru smiled as she stood to her feet and helped Minako stand up. She was glad that no one really asked questions about her sudden outburst. They just thought that it was a loss of control, yet, it was much more than that.
"Ok, why don't you guys go ahead and go to the lake. I have something I need to do before I get there, ok?" Usagi pressed her fingers to her forehead and teleported home to consult her father about what just happened.
~*~*~
~~Capsule Corp.~~
Usagi appeared just outside the gravity room, where he father and mother were sparring inside. She knew better than to walk in for the fact that they would have had the gravity up higher than her body, and especially muscles could have handled.
She lightly knocked on the door to let them know that she was standing outside. She didn't want to waste her valuable training time with Hotaru, but she wanted to see if they had felt her power. And if they had, she wanted to know why they hadn't come to help.
Usagi backed away from the door when she heard it opening. Behind the door stood her mother, more beaten up than she had ever seen with bruises all over and cuts to go with them. "Mom?"
Chi-Chi panted heavily as she motioned for he daughter to come in. "The gravity is turned off." She walked to the center of the room and leaned against the console as she took this much needed break.
Goku picked up a towel and wiped the sweat from his face as he walked towards his daughter, who appeared to have some urgent news. "What's up?"
"Umm…is it normal for someone to get really mad and then change the way their energy feels because of it?"
Goku looked to his wife in confusion and got pretty much the same reaction from her. "What do you mean?" He looked back to his daughter.
"I guess you didn't feel it then." Usagi looked down at the floor in disappointment. "This would have been so much easier if you would have felt it."
"Would you care to explain, or is this not THAT big of deal?"
Usagi looked up with wide eyes. "Oh it's big. Hotaru was being picked on after school and when they made fun of her mom she totally blew up. She powered up, but not normally. Her energy had the feeling almost of destruction. Her aura was LIGHT purple, instead of DARK purple like it normally is. She was acting like Vejita in the sense of wanting to 'get back' at the kids. And worst of all, she didn't seem to have any control over herself because she attacked me."
Chi-Chi frowned as she stood up. "She WHAT?! She ATTACKED you?!" Usagi nodded. "Well, did you get hit?!"
"My leg, but I'm ok. It didn't hit too hard."
Goku looked at his wife with great concern and the quickly turned back to his daughter. "Don't worry about it. The subject of her mother is probably a hard thing to talk about. When people make fun of you over a loss, it's hard to keep control, that's just one thing that you're going to have to teach her though, how to keep control."
"Are you sure?"
Goku nodded. "Yes. Now get outta here so we can train some more. Tell your friends that I'll be there in a couple of hours to pick them up and do a little bit of training with them."
"Ok." Usagi backed up and left the room, letting the door slam shut behind her.
Chi-Chi walked to her husband and slapped him in the back of the head. "Are you nuts!? Your daughter just told you that she was attacked by her student and you allow her to go and train her MORE?! Obviously that child has some things to sort out before she learns to fight! She could be a danger to us all."
Goku raised his hand to quiet his wife as he continued to stare at the door. "I've got a hunch about that kid. I've been watching he closely ever since Usagi first brought her over on Monday. That kid is not what she seems. She'll be fine. Right now a friend is what she needs to bring her out of her shell. Don't worry, Hotaru posses no threats to us. Especially Usagi."
~*~*~
Usagi appeared at the lake, where her friends had already started in with her training. "Hey guys! What's up?" She yelled as she ran to where everyone was training. "I have an idea on a new way of training!" Everyone turned their attention to Usagi in wonder of what she could have had in mind. Usagi stopped just before she was about to run into Hotaru, who was currently using Rei as a punching dummy. "Remember yesterday when we were chasing Hotaru and how much fun we had?" Everyone nodded. "Well, I was thinking, that could be a good way to train, sort of. But not quite like that. You see, we can make our training a game. Three on three now that there are six of us. What we do is hunt for the people on the other team. First team to capture all of your enemies, wins."
"But that's too easy. All we have to do is search for everyone's power level."
Usagi deviously smiled as she turned her attention over to Ami. "Always wanting a challenge, aren't you? Well I knew you would say something like that. I'm already one step ahead of you. To make it more interesting is we don't raise our power levels at all and we don't try to sense out for each other. Then, when we do find each other, we duke it out with only using physical attacks and no Ki energy and no flying either. It will help us get better with physical attacks, like mom likes us to do, and it will also help us to not ALWAYS rely on sensing for our enemy, but it's also more fun that just regular training."
Hotaru brightly smiled as she latched onto Usagi's arm. "Cool! I want to be on Usagi's team!"
"That sounds like fun, Usagi. Let's try it. But let's make it more interesting. Let's make a base that is kind of like our protection zone that on one from the opposite team can come into. This is where we can keep our 'prisoners'." Minako jumped to Hotaru and Usagi. "I'll be on this team."
"Good, now then, everyone lower your power levels and DON'T cheat." Rei playfully glared at Minako and Usagi. "I'm glad you two are on the same team. That way there wont be any rivalry between the two of you."
"Yeah, now if one of you looses, you both loose. We don't have to go through that whole 'you cheated' thing like you guys did on Friday at the arcade." Makoto looked down to her watch. "I guess we better get started before we run out of time. Usagi, when is your dad supposed to come and get us?"
"He said in a couple of hours." Usagi grinned. "By then we will have dominated over your team."
Makoto snickered. "Yeah right. We'll beat AND capture you before you even have a chance to know what's going on."
"Bring it on, Makoto." Usagi reached down and grabbed Hotaru's hand. "Let's get this show on the road, shall we? We only have two hours." She looked down to a puzzled Hotaru. "You're coming with me. You need to learn how to fight without really using your Ki. I'll show you." She tugged on the child's hand and proceeded to lead her away from the group, which was now dispersing into their separate ways.
~*~*~
As Usagi and Hotaru walked around the woods and hunted for members of the opposite teams, Usagi explained some key tips to playing a game like they were. "Well, in a game like this, Hotaru, you have to be very quiet if you don't want to alert members of the opposite team. You're just lucky that you're on my team. Because I'm a Saiyan, I can hear things a lot better than everyone else, which makes it harder for people to sneak around me. Something else you should watch for and listen for is any kind of unnatural movement."
"What do you mean by 'unnatural movement?'" Hotaru watched the ground carefully and stepped lightly so as to not create very much sound.
"Well, by that I mean, let's say that you were walking and you heard footsteps. That could be considered unnatural since it's not the sound of trees rustling. When you hear those kinds of sounds, you want to find cover as soon as possible and hope that the other person didn't see you. But also, be on the lookout for colors other than tree and plant colors moving around."
"What do I do if I get attacked?"
"I'm sure the other girls will go easier on you and not go all out, but you have to watch their movements carefully and make sure you don't miss any of their oncoming attacks. I always try to keep moving so they don't have time to really do anything, but that's me. You may want to find your own style. But pretty much just fight back to the best of your ability. If you don't feel that you can do it or if you're being double teamed, don't be afraid to run away and find help."
Hotaru held her head high with pride. "I'm not a baby. I don't need help. I can take care of myself."
"That's the spirit. Now then, why don't we split up and have us some fun?"
Hotaru smiled as she nodded with joy. "Yeah! Let's catch us some people!" She looked up to Usagi, who looked down at her and nodded with approval for her to leave. "I'll do my best, Usagi."
"I know you will, Hotaru." At that point, the two friends split and went their separate ways in search of their opponents.
~*~*~
~~Meanwhile~~
Makoto sat high in the tree tops as she carefully, and quietly watched Minako creep around the forest floor below. 'Heh…now I've got you, Minako.' She calmly so as to not let the girl below hear her movements, and waited for just the right moment to jump down, right when Minako was exactly below the branch that she was on.
Minako turned around when she heard a creek in the tree behind her. She was probably more alert to the noises around her, now, than she had ever been before. She was not about to let herself be captured. Though, when she turned around, she only saw a pile of vines fall to the ground to create a thump. "Whew, just my imagination. Get a hold of yourself girl."
Makoto poked her head out of a rose bush, now with tiny cuts all over her body. 'It's a good thing I grabbed the vine when I saw her turning around. She would have dodged my attack and gotten one me instead if I hadn't have moved. I better be more careful around her.'
"Hey you!"
Makoto turned cautiously turned her head around to the voice of Hotaru. "Hotaru." She quickly jumped out of the vines that held down her body.
Makoto's struggles weren't fast enough as she soon found out after Hotaru had planted a firm fist in her face. "Makoto, did I hurt you?"
Makoto grinned as she ripped the vines away from her body. "Another rule, never feel sorry for hurting your opponent." She reached out and grabbed Hotaru's arm, twisting it as she pulled her in closer.
"Hey!" Hotaru tried desperately to free herself from Makoto's grasp, but the girl in green seemed to be stronger than her. "Let go!" Now against Makoto's body with her arm twisted behind her back, Hotaru raised her leg and swung it back behind her to hit Makoto's thigh, leading to her release. "Ha! Beat that!"
On the ground from not expecting Hotaru to react the way she did, Makoto grabbed the girl's ankles and with one swift pull of her arms, she too was on the ground. "I just did."
Both girls scrambled to their feet, not wanting the other to get the next attack in. Hotaru looked around for anything useful that she could have used and let her eyes stop on a small pointed stick. "Hey! It's Minako! She's come to help me!"
Makoto smirked as she wiped some dirt away from her mouth. "Yeah right. I'm not falling for that."
"I'm serious. She's right there behind you." Hotaru pointed to Minako, who she claimed to be standing behind her opponent. "Fine. If you don't want to look, that's your problem." She bent down to pick up the stick that had caught her eye.
"You shouldn't take your eye…" Her words were cut off by a swift kick to the back of the head.
"Actually, Makoto, she was telling the truth." Minako stood, quite confidently, over Makoto, who was now fallen to the ground with pain. "Whatcha got there, Hotaru?"
Hotaru reached down and pulled out what she thought was just a stick, but it turned out to be a rusted metal spear of some sort. "Cool! Look you guys! Can I keep it?"
Makoto rubbed her aching head as she sat up and looked at what had the girl amazed. "Why would you want that? It's all rusted."
"I bet if we sand the rust off, it would be a pretty cool fighting tool. What do you think Minako?" Hotaru turned her attention to Minako for her answer.
"Hey, that would be pretty cool. I've never fought against anyone with a weapon before. But look at that thing, it's double your size when you hold it up right." She walked to Hotaru and grabbed the spear from her, holding it up by the girl's side to see just how much taller than her it would be. "Yep, just about double your size."
"Can I keep it, guys? Can I, can I, can I? Huh? Huh? Huh? Pleeeese?" Not only did Hotaru think it was cool, but for some reason, she felt that it was right for her to have it.
Makoto gave the spear one more close look and then looked back at Hotaru's anxious face. "Well, I don't see why not. I mean, it's obviously been here for a long time so no one's going to be looking for it. It would be kind of cool to have a weapon user and specialist in the group, though none of us know how to use something like that. You would have to ask someone who did."
"Maybe Goku knows someone who could teach her. He knows lots of people who fight. Maybe that turtle hermit guy who lives on that island would know how to use it. He's the guy that taught Goku."
"I don't see why we couldn't give it a try." Makoto turned to Hotaru, who was getting herself excited. "Well Hotaru, as long as your dad says that you can keep it, I don't think any of us mind."
"COOL!"
~*~*~
~~Two Hours Later~~
Usagi and Rei were engaged in a serious battle. They had been for at least an hour. Neither of them would give up as they didn't want to become a prisoner for the other team. Usagi was probably more badly beaten than Rei, though, as a result of her new gravity. Though, she was finding it easier to move in now, than when she had first started her battle. But her increased gravity had slowed her down tremendously, which gave Rei the upper hand and made it easier for her to get in hits.
Now the girls stood face to face with each other as they stood about 100 meters apart. They were both terribly tired and out of breath, but still, they would both persist until there was only one left standing. Usagi scanned her surroundings to see if there was any flaw in the land that she could use to her advantage. Unfortunately, she was unsuccessful.
"Usagi! Let's raise the stakes. It's obvious that we are going to keep beating each other up with no victor. So I say let's do this, let's give it one last attack to each other, using all of our left over energy. Whoever is left standing or is still conscious will take the other as their prisoner."
Usagi grinned. "You're on. But I must worn you, I wont loose."
"Sure, sure. That's what you said Monday and look where that got you. You still lost."
Usagi frowned as she prepared herself for her last attack that she was sure would claim her victory. "Bring it on, Rei."
"All right, you asked for it!" With not a single word more spoken, both girls set out at their maximum speed, without feeding themselves even more energy than what they already had. Had they have done that, they would have been cheating and forfeited their victory as a lose for the team.
They tore through the area as if they were a heard of wild bores, both with the same ambition as the other. Just as their fists were about the meet, an interruption took place and their fists met with something much more hard, and much more large than the other's fist.
Seeing what they had hit, both Rei and Usagi jumped back in fear. "AAHHOWWWE!" Goku had teleported between the girls without even knowing what they were doing. When he had begun teleporting, they hadn't quite gotten into their attack.
He fell to the ground and grabbed his chest in pain. Their hit had not been expected and had therefore, hurt him much more than he would have if he were to have known that the attack was coming on. At least then he could have tried to block it. "What were you guys doing!?"
Usagi ran to her father and kneeled down to his side. "Daddy, are you all right? We're sorry, we didn't know you were coming!"
"Yeah, Goku. Are you ok?" Rei held her hand out to Goku, who accepted her kindness and allowed himself to be helped up by her. "You look ok."
Goku rubbed the sides of his chest, where he had been hit. "I'll be ok. I've been through worse. What were you guys doing coming at each other with such force at a low power level anyways?"
"We were playing a game, daddy. We were hunting each other and we wouldn't go down without a fight. We couldn't raise our power level to make it more fun."
"Cool. Sounds like a fun way to train."
"It is."
Goku looked around the area. "Where are the rest? We have to get going if you they want to learn to use their gravity amulets."
"They're probably out playing the game still. Just a sec." Usagi slightly raised her power level just enough to once again open the link. 'Ok you guys, we have to stop now. Dad's here to take everyone but Hotaru so they can use the gravity amulets. Have fun with your workout you guys.'
~*~*~
Everyone could just see her grinning as the groaned. 'We'll remember to thank you for rubbing it in, Usagi.'
(Ok, that's that. There's another part out. What did you think? Was it ok? Gotta go. See ya! ^_~ )
Usagi walked into class about an hour late the next day. The class became quiet of its activities and turned its attention onto her as she stiffly walked to her seat with dark bags under her eyes, which made her turn red with embarrassment. The teacher noticed Usagi's struggle to even walk back to her seat and frowned. "Usagi, this is unacceptable. You have just walked into class exactly fifty-seven minutes late. What have you go to say about this?"
Without much movement at all, Usagi let herself drop down in her chair as she stared up at the angry face of her teacher. "I don't have anything to say at all, sir, except that I was training with my dad last night and…"
"Ms. Usagi, would you please explain to your father that he should try to control how much training you do during the week? It is slowing up your performance in school." The teacher looked around the class, who still had their eyes planted back on Usagi, who looked as if she were about to drop off into a deep sleep. "Let us continue with our discussion class."
Usagi let her head slam against the table as the lecture continued. Letting her head drop was probably the worst thing that she could have done. It only caused her to want sleep even more. The sound of her teacher's boring voice didn't help much either. "Must…stay…awake."
Hearing Usagi's whisper, her friends turned their heads in her direction and wondered what could have possibly been keeping their friend so tired. They wondered why type of training she could have gone through the night before. "Usagi, are you ok? You look like you're about to crash." Rei set her head on the table so she could talk quietly enough to where Usagi could hear her, but none of the other students around.
"That's what I feel like doing. Dad made me walk six and a half miles home last night with twenty times earth's gravity. It took forever to get home. We didn't even get in until 11:00. Now every single muscle in my body aches, it hurts to move anything, I just want to sleep, but I can't because I'm in school. Then we have to work with Hotaru after school and I wont be able to sleep then. It would be a lot easier if I could turn this gravity off."
Minako sympathetically looked down at her worn out friend, half in shock. "You have it on right now? That's amazing. I would never be able to walk as much as you did with twenty times gravity and then be able to come to school. You didn't fly here, did you? We didn't feel your energy coming."
Usagi buried her face into her arms. "No. Dad let me sleep in late and then teleported me here. He felt sorry for making me stay up that late and making me work that much. I hope you guys are watching my stiffness closely and make sure you remember how I look when you turn your little amulets on today."
"WHAT?!" The four of her friends cried out, disrupting the whole class and causing the teacher to turn around and glare at them. They quickly shut their mouths and lowered their heads in embarrassment.
Usagi couldn't help but let out a tired giggle at her friend's outburst. "Yeah, he wants us to work with Hotaru for just a little bit today as a group. He's going to come by and pick you guys up to get you all used to the gravity change. Be prepared, he's probably going to make you guys walk a nice hike to do it." She closed her eyes and smiled with comfort. "Don't worry…you can sleep when you get it…done…" Without realizing it, Usagi had begun to fall asleep.
~*~*~
After school, the girls set out to meet Hotaru at her school so they could train with her before Goku came to train them with using the amulets, the hard way. They felt a bit of envy towards Hotaru since Usagi was going to train her more easily. They wished that Goku would be as easy on them, as Usagi was easy on Hotaru, but they knew that that was not possible.
When the five arrived at Hotaru's school, she was no where in sight. Usagi found it odd that Hotaru wouldn't be waiting for her at the fountain as she had for the past two days. "That's odd. I wonder where she could be."
'Usagi!?'
Usagi, as well as the rest of the gang, perked their heads in one direction. That would be the direction in which they were feeling a sudden increase of power coming from behind the school. "Hotaru! She's in some sort of trouble I think. We need to help her."
"Wait!" Before Usagi had a chance to aide her friend, Makoto reached out and grabbed the back of Usagi's Gi. "Don't interfere. This is just like what happened with Haruka and Michiru. Your dad was there the whole time but he let YOU triumph over them by yourself. We can go and watch, but Hotaru is strong enough to show them what she's made of."
Usagi ripped away from Makoto. "I know what you're saying, Makoto, and, I guess you're right. But we should at least let Hotaru know that we're there for her. Can we at least go and see what she does? The other kids don't have to know that we're there. We can watch from a far and use the link to communicate."
Makoto's face stayed serious as she stared into Usagi's eyes. "Well…" She couldn't hide her smile any longer. "Sure we can. I think it would make her feel a lot better if we did, right girls?" Makoto looked around the her friends to agree with her, which they did without a second thought.
~*~*~
Hotaru let out an almost silent 'eep' when she felt her back hit against a cold brick wall as her classmates walked toward her, taunting at her with every step they took closer to her. "Why are you being mean to me? I'm just like any of the rest of you." Before Hotaru had met Usagi, she would have been terrified to say anything to her bullies. She feared that they would have beaten her up, like they had done so many times without reason at all.
The students of the school picked on her for more than just reason. There were three major reasons why they always picked on her. They were jealous of her father's financial status, which made them hate her. They thought that she was too much of a baby because she was always, in their words, 'feeling sorry for herself' because of her mother. And then there was the third and most important reason why they hated her, the one reason that made them want to keep away from her. They could sense her evil and what she stood for, though her evil feeling was only the half of it. They knew of her special secret and found her to be a freak for it.
A boy who was in sixth grade at the Infinity College school approached Hotaru as he shoved his fist in her face. "Hey kid, you think you're all tough now, don't you? My little brother told me that you flew yesterday." A series of gasps filled the air. "You aren't anything more now than you were before. You ain't shit. And that freak you were flying with, she has a tail."
"Usagi is not a freak! You're the freak! Usagi is the nicest person in the world. You're just a pile of doggy doo-doo compared to her." 'Usagi, guys, where are you?'
~*~*~
Usagi and Minako peeked over the edge of the roof to find themselves directly over Hotaru's head. 'We're on the roof, right above you. Don't look up though. We don't want the other kids to know that we're here.'
~*~*~
The boy reached out and grabbed Hotaru by her Gi, pulling her up into his face. "What did you call me? Did you just call me shit? No one, not even little loner girls will get away with that." He raised his hand and slapped Hotaru across the face. He then let her drop to the ground in tears. "That's more like it. Get on the ground where animals belong."
A girl about the same age as the boy pushed her way to the front of the crowd and sneered down at Hotaru. "Look at that, she's too weak to fight back, just like her mother was. That's why she died. She couldn't block the attackers."
Hotaru frowned as she crushed a rock in her hand, scaring the crowd of kids behind her. "It wasn't HER fault. She wasn't a fighter!" One of the only things that would ever turn Hotaru was the subject matter of her mother. "She told me herself that she wasn't a FIGHTER!" She let herself float off of the ground so she could turn herself right side up again and landed on her feet. "Don't you get it!?" She grabbed the girl and looked her in the eye. "Don't EVER talk about my mom like that AGAIN!" She violently pushed the girl into the boy, who had verbally beaten her. "I'm not an animal, I think YOU need to get on the ground!" She closed her eyes and let a light purple aura radiate off of her body as she built up to power punch the boy.
~*~*~
Usagi gasped with shock as she looked down to Hotaru, almost in complete fear. "Gu…gu…guys? That's not Hotaru's energy…is it?" Usagi couldn't keep from trembling at what she was feeling. From Hotaru, she was feeling a Ki energy so dark, so full of death that she could hardly try to even THINK about figuring out what was going on.
Rei poked her head over the side of the roof and looked down to Hotaru. "Whoa…you're right, Usagi. Hotaru's power is in that, but not like we know it. I'm sensing almost pure hatred coming from that power. But, not so much as an evil hatred, more like a sense of protection kind of hatred. This is unusual."
Makoto held onto the edge of the roof so she would be able to lean further out to see what Hotaru was doing. "This is kind of freakin me out here."
Usagi could have cried right then and there for Hotaru. What those kids had said and done to her had driven the poor girl to her current state. Slowly, she raised her own power level to open a link with her. 'Hotaru, calm down. Please, if you hit him while you're powered up, you could kill him and then dad wont let me train you anymore.'
~*~*~
Hotaru calmed very little at the sound of Usagi's comforting voice. 'This boy…he is weak.' Hotaru's thirst for teaching him a lesson increased as did her light purple Ki aura.
~*~*~
Ami was too busy trying to figure out what was different about Hotaru to even listen to what her friends were saying all around her. She scanned Hotaru's body from top to bottom, she even tried to sense what was different about her and all she could come up with was that her energy had a hateful feel to it. She jumped to her feet when she noticed it. "That's it! Girls…look at her aura! It's not its usual dark purple. Something is wrong."
Usagi looked more closely at her friend. "I see it, Ami. You're right…it is a lot lighter. But what do we do? She seems so…"
"Savage?"
"Yes. She does. She's reminding me of someone…Vejita. It's like she is going to enjoy dominating over someone weaker than herself. She knows that he's weak, like she said in the link." Usagi jumped into the air. She had had enough. She turned to look down at her friends, who shortly joined her. "Hotaru! Don't do this!"
~*~*~
Hotaru looked up to her best friend with a scowl. She was too blinded by her anger to realize who it was and shot up a light purple ball of energy. "Stay out of this!"
Usagi dodged to the side, but her added gravity didn't allow for much speed. As a result, she was hit in her leg. "Hotaru!" At that point, she had lost her concentration and fell to the ground, causing the crowd of kids to run away, screaming, in all directions.
The boy and girl who had made fun of Hotaru didn't get very far before she was in front of them, ready to attack. "Don't you EVER make fun of me and my mom again! You got that!?" She grabbed the boy by his arm and pulled him closer to him. Once he was in her grasp, she let her hand hover over his chest as she smiled down at him, but all of a sudden, she dropped him right before she was going to make her move, also letting herself drop to the ground as her light purple aura disappeared. "Mommy helped me…" She whispered just as her tiny body was hitting against the ground.
Minako landed by Hotaru and kneeled to her side while the others tended to the fallen Usagi as well as the frightened group of kids, who Hotaru had terrorized. "Hotaru, Hotaru…what was that? Are you all right? Hotaru?" She slipped her hands under the girl's body and placed her on her lap. "Hotaru?"
Hotaru groaned as she looked up into Minako's eyes. "Minako? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to loose control like that. But Mommy helped me get better."
"How did she help you? I thought she was…" Minako hesitated to go on in fear of hurting the child even more.
"Dead? Yes she is dead, but her spirit is still here, with me. I remembered her words that she spoke to me right before she died. She told me that I was a special girl and she was special too. She said to always remember what she taught me."
"What did she teach you, Hotaru?"
Right before Hotaru was about to speak, she looked up and saw Usagi limping towards her with Rei. "Usagi! I'm SO sorry!"
Usagi smiled as she kneeled down to Hotaru, who lunged out and gave her a hug. "Don't worry about it. I'll be fine. We were just worried about you, that's all. But now that you're ok, we can get on with it. We all loose control sometimes. We should get going though, before it gets too late."
Hotaru smiled as she stood to her feet and helped Minako stand up. She was glad that no one really asked questions about her sudden outburst. They just thought that it was a loss of control, yet, it was much more than that.
"Ok, why don't you guys go ahead and go to the lake. I have something I need to do before I get there, ok?" Usagi pressed her fingers to her forehead and teleported home to consult her father about what just happened.
~*~*~
~~Capsule Corp.~~
Usagi appeared just outside the gravity room, where he father and mother were sparring inside. She knew better than to walk in for the fact that they would have had the gravity up higher than her body, and especially muscles could have handled.
She lightly knocked on the door to let them know that she was standing outside. She didn't want to waste her valuable training time with Hotaru, but she wanted to see if they had felt her power. And if they had, she wanted to know why they hadn't come to help.
Usagi backed away from the door when she heard it opening. Behind the door stood her mother, more beaten up than she had ever seen with bruises all over and cuts to go with them. "Mom?"
Chi-Chi panted heavily as she motioned for he daughter to come in. "The gravity is turned off." She walked to the center of the room and leaned against the console as she took this much needed break.
Goku picked up a towel and wiped the sweat from his face as he walked towards his daughter, who appeared to have some urgent news. "What's up?"
"Umm…is it normal for someone to get really mad and then change the way their energy feels because of it?"
Goku looked to his wife in confusion and got pretty much the same reaction from her. "What do you mean?" He looked back to his daughter.
"I guess you didn't feel it then." Usagi looked down at the floor in disappointment. "This would have been so much easier if you would have felt it."
"Would you care to explain, or is this not THAT big of deal?"
Usagi looked up with wide eyes. "Oh it's big. Hotaru was being picked on after school and when they made fun of her mom she totally blew up. She powered up, but not normally. Her energy had the feeling almost of destruction. Her aura was LIGHT purple, instead of DARK purple like it normally is. She was acting like Vejita in the sense of wanting to 'get back' at the kids. And worst of all, she didn't seem to have any control over herself because she attacked me."
Chi-Chi frowned as she stood up. "She WHAT?! She ATTACKED you?!" Usagi nodded. "Well, did you get hit?!"
"My leg, but I'm ok. It didn't hit too hard."
Goku looked at his wife with great concern and the quickly turned back to his daughter. "Don't worry about it. The subject of her mother is probably a hard thing to talk about. When people make fun of you over a loss, it's hard to keep control, that's just one thing that you're going to have to teach her though, how to keep control."
"Are you sure?"
Goku nodded. "Yes. Now get outta here so we can train some more. Tell your friends that I'll be there in a couple of hours to pick them up and do a little bit of training with them."
"Ok." Usagi backed up and left the room, letting the door slam shut behind her.
Chi-Chi walked to her husband and slapped him in the back of the head. "Are you nuts!? Your daughter just told you that she was attacked by her student and you allow her to go and train her MORE?! Obviously that child has some things to sort out before she learns to fight! She could be a danger to us all."
Goku raised his hand to quiet his wife as he continued to stare at the door. "I've got a hunch about that kid. I've been watching he closely ever since Usagi first brought her over on Monday. That kid is not what she seems. She'll be fine. Right now a friend is what she needs to bring her out of her shell. Don't worry, Hotaru posses no threats to us. Especially Usagi."
~*~*~
Usagi appeared at the lake, where her friends had already started in with her training. "Hey guys! What's up?" She yelled as she ran to where everyone was training. "I have an idea on a new way of training!" Everyone turned their attention to Usagi in wonder of what she could have had in mind. Usagi stopped just before she was about to run into Hotaru, who was currently using Rei as a punching dummy. "Remember yesterday when we were chasing Hotaru and how much fun we had?" Everyone nodded. "Well, I was thinking, that could be a good way to train, sort of. But not quite like that. You see, we can make our training a game. Three on three now that there are six of us. What we do is hunt for the people on the other team. First team to capture all of your enemies, wins."
"But that's too easy. All we have to do is search for everyone's power level."
Usagi deviously smiled as she turned her attention over to Ami. "Always wanting a challenge, aren't you? Well I knew you would say something like that. I'm already one step ahead of you. To make it more interesting is we don't raise our power levels at all and we don't try to sense out for each other. Then, when we do find each other, we duke it out with only using physical attacks and no Ki energy and no flying either. It will help us get better with physical attacks, like mom likes us to do, and it will also help us to not ALWAYS rely on sensing for our enemy, but it's also more fun that just regular training."
Hotaru brightly smiled as she latched onto Usagi's arm. "Cool! I want to be on Usagi's team!"
"That sounds like fun, Usagi. Let's try it. But let's make it more interesting. Let's make a base that is kind of like our protection zone that on one from the opposite team can come into. This is where we can keep our 'prisoners'." Minako jumped to Hotaru and Usagi. "I'll be on this team."
"Good, now then, everyone lower your power levels and DON'T cheat." Rei playfully glared at Minako and Usagi. "I'm glad you two are on the same team. That way there wont be any rivalry between the two of you."
"Yeah, now if one of you looses, you both loose. We don't have to go through that whole 'you cheated' thing like you guys did on Friday at the arcade." Makoto looked down to her watch. "I guess we better get started before we run out of time. Usagi, when is your dad supposed to come and get us?"
"He said in a couple of hours." Usagi grinned. "By then we will have dominated over your team."
Makoto snickered. "Yeah right. We'll beat AND capture you before you even have a chance to know what's going on."
"Bring it on, Makoto." Usagi reached down and grabbed Hotaru's hand. "Let's get this show on the road, shall we? We only have two hours." She looked down to a puzzled Hotaru. "You're coming with me. You need to learn how to fight without really using your Ki. I'll show you." She tugged on the child's hand and proceeded to lead her away from the group, which was now dispersing into their separate ways.
~*~*~
As Usagi and Hotaru walked around the woods and hunted for members of the opposite teams, Usagi explained some key tips to playing a game like they were. "Well, in a game like this, Hotaru, you have to be very quiet if you don't want to alert members of the opposite team. You're just lucky that you're on my team. Because I'm a Saiyan, I can hear things a lot better than everyone else, which makes it harder for people to sneak around me. Something else you should watch for and listen for is any kind of unnatural movement."
"What do you mean by 'unnatural movement?'" Hotaru watched the ground carefully and stepped lightly so as to not create very much sound.
"Well, by that I mean, let's say that you were walking and you heard footsteps. That could be considered unnatural since it's not the sound of trees rustling. When you hear those kinds of sounds, you want to find cover as soon as possible and hope that the other person didn't see you. But also, be on the lookout for colors other than tree and plant colors moving around."
"What do I do if I get attacked?"
"I'm sure the other girls will go easier on you and not go all out, but you have to watch their movements carefully and make sure you don't miss any of their oncoming attacks. I always try to keep moving so they don't have time to really do anything, but that's me. You may want to find your own style. But pretty much just fight back to the best of your ability. If you don't feel that you can do it or if you're being double teamed, don't be afraid to run away and find help."
Hotaru held her head high with pride. "I'm not a baby. I don't need help. I can take care of myself."
"That's the spirit. Now then, why don't we split up and have us some fun?"
Hotaru smiled as she nodded with joy. "Yeah! Let's catch us some people!" She looked up to Usagi, who looked down at her and nodded with approval for her to leave. "I'll do my best, Usagi."
"I know you will, Hotaru." At that point, the two friends split and went their separate ways in search of their opponents.
~*~*~
~~Meanwhile~~
Makoto sat high in the tree tops as she carefully, and quietly watched Minako creep around the forest floor below. 'Heh…now I've got you, Minako.' She calmly so as to not let the girl below hear her movements, and waited for just the right moment to jump down, right when Minako was exactly below the branch that she was on.
Minako turned around when she heard a creek in the tree behind her. She was probably more alert to the noises around her, now, than she had ever been before. She was not about to let herself be captured. Though, when she turned around, she only saw a pile of vines fall to the ground to create a thump. "Whew, just my imagination. Get a hold of yourself girl."
Makoto poked her head out of a rose bush, now with tiny cuts all over her body. 'It's a good thing I grabbed the vine when I saw her turning around. She would have dodged my attack and gotten one me instead if I hadn't have moved. I better be more careful around her.'
"Hey you!"
Makoto turned cautiously turned her head around to the voice of Hotaru. "Hotaru." She quickly jumped out of the vines that held down her body.
Makoto's struggles weren't fast enough as she soon found out after Hotaru had planted a firm fist in her face. "Makoto, did I hurt you?"
Makoto grinned as she ripped the vines away from her body. "Another rule, never feel sorry for hurting your opponent." She reached out and grabbed Hotaru's arm, twisting it as she pulled her in closer.
"Hey!" Hotaru tried desperately to free herself from Makoto's grasp, but the girl in green seemed to be stronger than her. "Let go!" Now against Makoto's body with her arm twisted behind her back, Hotaru raised her leg and swung it back behind her to hit Makoto's thigh, leading to her release. "Ha! Beat that!"
On the ground from not expecting Hotaru to react the way she did, Makoto grabbed the girl's ankles and with one swift pull of her arms, she too was on the ground. "I just did."
Both girls scrambled to their feet, not wanting the other to get the next attack in. Hotaru looked around for anything useful that she could have used and let her eyes stop on a small pointed stick. "Hey! It's Minako! She's come to help me!"
Makoto smirked as she wiped some dirt away from her mouth. "Yeah right. I'm not falling for that."
"I'm serious. She's right there behind you." Hotaru pointed to Minako, who she claimed to be standing behind her opponent. "Fine. If you don't want to look, that's your problem." She bent down to pick up the stick that had caught her eye.
"You shouldn't take your eye…" Her words were cut off by a swift kick to the back of the head.
"Actually, Makoto, she was telling the truth." Minako stood, quite confidently, over Makoto, who was now fallen to the ground with pain. "Whatcha got there, Hotaru?"
Hotaru reached down and pulled out what she thought was just a stick, but it turned out to be a rusted metal spear of some sort. "Cool! Look you guys! Can I keep it?"
Makoto rubbed her aching head as she sat up and looked at what had the girl amazed. "Why would you want that? It's all rusted."
"I bet if we sand the rust off, it would be a pretty cool fighting tool. What do you think Minako?" Hotaru turned her attention to Minako for her answer.
"Hey, that would be pretty cool. I've never fought against anyone with a weapon before. But look at that thing, it's double your size when you hold it up right." She walked to Hotaru and grabbed the spear from her, holding it up by the girl's side to see just how much taller than her it would be. "Yep, just about double your size."
"Can I keep it, guys? Can I, can I, can I? Huh? Huh? Huh? Pleeeese?" Not only did Hotaru think it was cool, but for some reason, she felt that it was right for her to have it.
Makoto gave the spear one more close look and then looked back at Hotaru's anxious face. "Well, I don't see why not. I mean, it's obviously been here for a long time so no one's going to be looking for it. It would be kind of cool to have a weapon user and specialist in the group, though none of us know how to use something like that. You would have to ask someone who did."
"Maybe Goku knows someone who could teach her. He knows lots of people who fight. Maybe that turtle hermit guy who lives on that island would know how to use it. He's the guy that taught Goku."
"I don't see why we couldn't give it a try." Makoto turned to Hotaru, who was getting herself excited. "Well Hotaru, as long as your dad says that you can keep it, I don't think any of us mind."
"COOL!"
~*~*~
~~Two Hours Later~~
Usagi and Rei were engaged in a serious battle. They had been for at least an hour. Neither of them would give up as they didn't want to become a prisoner for the other team. Usagi was probably more badly beaten than Rei, though, as a result of her new gravity. Though, she was finding it easier to move in now, than when she had first started her battle. But her increased gravity had slowed her down tremendously, which gave Rei the upper hand and made it easier for her to get in hits.
Now the girls stood face to face with each other as they stood about 100 meters apart. They were both terribly tired and out of breath, but still, they would both persist until there was only one left standing. Usagi scanned her surroundings to see if there was any flaw in the land that she could use to her advantage. Unfortunately, she was unsuccessful.
"Usagi! Let's raise the stakes. It's obvious that we are going to keep beating each other up with no victor. So I say let's do this, let's give it one last attack to each other, using all of our left over energy. Whoever is left standing or is still conscious will take the other as their prisoner."
Usagi grinned. "You're on. But I must worn you, I wont loose."
"Sure, sure. That's what you said Monday and look where that got you. You still lost."
Usagi frowned as she prepared herself for her last attack that she was sure would claim her victory. "Bring it on, Rei."
"All right, you asked for it!" With not a single word more spoken, both girls set out at their maximum speed, without feeding themselves even more energy than what they already had. Had they have done that, they would have been cheating and forfeited their victory as a lose for the team.
They tore through the area as if they were a heard of wild bores, both with the same ambition as the other. Just as their fists were about the meet, an interruption took place and their fists met with something much more hard, and much more large than the other's fist.
Seeing what they had hit, both Rei and Usagi jumped back in fear. "AAHHOWWWE!" Goku had teleported between the girls without even knowing what they were doing. When he had begun teleporting, they hadn't quite gotten into their attack.
He fell to the ground and grabbed his chest in pain. Their hit had not been expected and had therefore, hurt him much more than he would have if he were to have known that the attack was coming on. At least then he could have tried to block it. "What were you guys doing!?"
Usagi ran to her father and kneeled down to his side. "Daddy, are you all right? We're sorry, we didn't know you were coming!"
"Yeah, Goku. Are you ok?" Rei held her hand out to Goku, who accepted her kindness and allowed himself to be helped up by her. "You look ok."
Goku rubbed the sides of his chest, where he had been hit. "I'll be ok. I've been through worse. What were you guys doing coming at each other with such force at a low power level anyways?"
"We were playing a game, daddy. We were hunting each other and we wouldn't go down without a fight. We couldn't raise our power level to make it more fun."
"Cool. Sounds like a fun way to train."
"It is."
Goku looked around the area. "Where are the rest? We have to get going if you they want to learn to use their gravity amulets."
"They're probably out playing the game still. Just a sec." Usagi slightly raised her power level just enough to once again open the link. 'Ok you guys, we have to stop now. Dad's here to take everyone but Hotaru so they can use the gravity amulets. Have fun with your workout you guys.'
~*~*~
Everyone could just see her grinning as the groaned. 'We'll remember to thank you for rubbing it in, Usagi.'
(Ok, that's that. There's another part out. What did you think? Was it ok? Gotta go. See ya! ^_~ )