Chapter 5: Jin's dilemma
Jin
"One more time, Aren. This time do the whole thing," I instructed. The kid looked at me impatiently.
"Jin, how long do I have to do this stupid kata?" he asked.
"'Till you get it right. Aren, this kata helps you to concentrate your ki into a visible form," I explained, "Niki's already mastered her ki manipulation." I glanced over to the other side of the training area where Jeran and Nikita were sparring. I smiled. She had been training for only a week, but with such enthusiasm and discipline that she had already developed into an average martial artist. Joel and Furion were maintaining a hyperfight far above our heads.
"When am I gonna learn how to fight like that?" asked Aren, following my gaze.
"Okay kid, let's do the kata together one last time. If you get it right, I promise that you'll be hyperfighting in no time. Let's go!" I stated. We moved in sync with each other. Aren knew the slow movements of the kata very well; all he couldn't do was manifest his ki. We slowly brought our hands over her heads in what looked like some weird stretch and then, to complete the kata we rotated our arms in a clockwise direction until our hands were cupped.
"This is it Aren! Concentrate!" I shouted. Already my green aura encompassed me and I zanzokened a few metres away so that I faced Aren, my hands still cupped. "Concentrate kid! Feel the power flowing through you! Use your willpower to make it visible!" I instructed, gathering ki into my cupped hands. Aren's whole body began to tremble.
"I can...I can feel it!!" he cried, a crimson aura covering his body. His cupped hands were a bit unsteady, but sure enough a small ball of ki became visible.
"Then let it out!" I screamed, "...Makou..." Aren and I both threw our beams forward.
"...Sen!!!" the kid finished. There was a flash of light when our beams collided.
"Good Aren. Keep at it!!" I shouted. Jeran and the others had ceased their fights to view our blast duel. Aren began to push harder and his beam slowly began to cut through my own. I smiled as I upped the intensity of my beam as well. I remembered when I was in Aren's shoes, when I had first learned to use ki and my first blast duel against Master Trump after he taught me the kata. Pretty soon, it became obvious that Aren couldn't hold on any longer so I let go of my beam and smacked the red beam away before I could hit me. Aren collapsed after a few seconds and Nikita ran up to help him up.
"You did it kid, see it wasn't too hard, was it?" I asked him. Aren sucked his teeth.
"I can't move and I feel weak...what the hell do you think!!?" he cried, as Nikita helped him out of the training area. I was about to comment but the ship's computerized voice interrupted me. It announced an incoming message from the headmaster. "I guess this cuts training short. Everyone meet in the bridge in ten minutes," I ordered, "Computer return gravity controls to 1G." I felt as I as if a weight had been lifted off of my shoulders. I stretched my limbs to loosen up and made my way to the bridge. I punched a few buttons on the console and the headmaster's face came on screen.
"Yes, sir?" I asked, taking a seat.
"Jin, everything going okay? No problems with Joel?" he asked. I shook my head and sat down. "You seem different? Stronger somehow. What's your powerlevel now?" he continued.
"6500 when I last checked, sir," I replied, "We've gotten three new recruits, so far." He nodded.
"I can only assume that this young lady is one of them," he stated, looking past me. I took a glance backward and noticed that Nikita was also there.
"Hi!! I'm Nikita!" she said, bowing slightly. A large sweatdrop graced the side of my head. "Pleased to meet you, sir," she finished.
"Same here," the headmaster replied, "anyway, where're the others? I need to speak with you all." Fifteen minutes later all six of us were assembled in the bridge. After I introduced Furion and Aren, Red got down to business.
"Jeran, your father, the mayor of the human city on Planet Nedan, has asked for the academy's assistance in a very important matter," he started. Planet Nedan's human city? That's where I came from! "Two weeks ago, a large spacecraft landed there outside of the city. The aliens are hostile and threatened to destroy the entire planet. The general public is completely oblivious to the peril they're in. Jeran's father made sure not to let it leak. There'd be mass hysteria," continued Red.
"If these aliens are so hostile, why isn't Nedan just a pile of space dust by now? I mean, they've been there for two weeks," said Joel, folding his arms. He waved his tail around and skillfully whipped it around his waist. There were mixed reactions when my comrades found out that I had become a Saiyan. Jeran was confused that I should choose to become that which I hated. Truth be told, I had no idea that what I wished for would turn me into one. Joel had been enraged, at first, as he was supposed to be the last full blooded Saiyan left, but eventually he eased into the idea. In fact, he even appeared honoured.
"I was getting to that, Joel. They're giving the mayor some time to get some 'worthy fighters' to challenge them," said Red. I had to admit that it was a bit strange of those aliens to do that, but I kept it to myself.
"And let me guess, we're those worthy fighters?" I asked.
"Correct. Jeran, I think your father would be pleased to see you again. You haven't been home in like, what, two or three years?" Red stated. Jeran nodded. "So I've decided to send you guys. The fight should give you all necessary experience. Good luck to you all," he finished. Jeran appeared to be ecstatic. Red nodded again and signed off.
"It would be great to see my family again," she stated. I nodded absently.
"Same here," I said softly. Everyone turned toward me.
"I didn't know that you lived on Nedan, Jin," said Jeran. Joel gave a snicker and leaned against a chair. "What's so funny?" the blonde asked.
"It was Justin who lived on Nedan, Jeran. Justin the human is dead!" he replied, pointing at me, "This is Jin, a mighty Saiyan warrior!" Instantly I picked up his meaning and I felt a pang of emotion go through me. However, I kept my cool, barely, and remained silent. Nikita confronted me.
"Jin, what're they talking about? Who's Justin?" she inquired.
"Someone who died a while back," I answered, "enough of this. It'll take three days to reach Nedan and we'll need to be ready for anything. Till then, train at your own discretion." Without giving them any time to respond I turned and left the bridge. I headed back to my room and dropped onto my bed in fatigue.
"Nedan," I whispered to myself, sitting up suddenly. Thoughts of my life there, my friends and my family, came to me and I fished out a photograph from one of my bed head drawers. It was a picture of my family, friends and I taken six years ago, just before I entered the academy. Most likely, if I had deciphered Joel's hidden message efficiently, everyone in this photograph, everyone who I cared about and who cared about me, thought I was dead.
I hadn't been in touch with my family much during my first four years at the academy and when Joel sold me off, he had told my family that I had died, probably in battle alongside former headmaster Razz. That would have been the most convenient and believable story. I wanted to cry. I felt the hurt, but I couldn't bring myself to cry. All the tears had been shed during my year in captivity. I just stared hard at the photograph. It was then I felt Nikita's ki just outside my room.
During the week that I had known her, Nikita kept acting like an overprotective girlfriend. She would constantly fret over the extremely long hours that I trained and she'd also stay up late to train with me if I decided to put in some late exercise. Despite the fact that she cooked and watched me eat, she'd always ask if I ate well. The girl even bought me a full wardrobe of clothes on one of our stops when she found out that I only possessed one outfit other than my gis and uniforms. I didn't complain, however, I enjoyed her company. She was the only person who I could really talk to on this ship.
I quickly pulled myself together and told her to come in.
"Hey, you," she greeted me cheerfully, sitting beside me, "How is everything going?"
"Cool, so far...how's the training going with Jeran?" I asked. Nikita turned to me, her brown hair trailing after her. She instantly started chatting away; about how hard it was and so on, but I soon stopped listening. I loved her voice, the way she rolled her r's and the way her small body could project such an amazing voice, but right at that moment I just stared at her. She was very beautiful and, to me, there seemed to be some divinity in her face. She was an avatar, a goddess in human form, and the only person who could possibly understand the turmoil I was going through emotionally.
"Jin...are you listening?" she asked, suddenly wrenching me out of my thoughts. I turned my gaze to the photograph once more and didn't respond. "Jin...?" she queried, "something's bothering you. I've noticed it since we were in the bridge. Come on, you can tell me." I handed her the picture and gazed into her cerulean eyes.
"We look happy, don't we?" I asked her, "My mom, sister and I? Not to mention my two friends."
"This kid is you?" she asked. I nodded. "You're chubby," she giggled. I stared silently at her smiling face and it was then I realized that I would do anything to keep that smile on her face, absolutely anything. I permitted myself to smile slightly at this personal revelation, realizing that I cared for her more than anything, and I turned my head back to the picture. Nikita gasped when a teardrop landed on it and she hastily watched me. Tears fell down my cheeks, feeling a bit strange to me, as I still had the small smile on my face.
"Niki," I said, as more teardrops followed the first, "Remember when I said that Justin was dead..." I told her everything, about my past ordeals and, as I did, visions of my torture invaded my mind. The poking, the prodding, it all came back to me. The constant carving of my flesh, cutting without even using anesthesia to numb the pain. Visions of me being strapped up to machines, being tortured for hours on end, were all there, and finally visions of me crying; shedding tears over my greatest pain of all. The fact that Joel, my best friend, my 'big brother', had been responsible for putting me there in the first place.
As I talked I felt a strong wave of lividity pass through me. I saw Joel's taunting smirk in my mind and I hated it. I rose to my feet suddenly, startling Nikita, and let out an antagonistic roar as I sped out of my room, angrily tracking my rival's ki.
"Jin!!" cried Nikita, racing after me. My anger increased steadily and my tail swayed around as if it somehow felt it too. I found Joel in the training area sparring with Furion. He was totally oblivious to the peril he was in until my fist found it's way to his abdomen. He was caught completely unawares and couldn't even get over the shock of my initial attack. My blow sent him crashing into the lead wall, cracking it five metres in all directions. I was on him instantly, hammering away at his face with my fists and then some. Each blow sent him deeper into the wall. Finally I did a crescent kick, which connected with his chin and made him break through the wall. Ignoring the pleas of Niki and Furion to cease my seemingly unprovoked assault, I pounced on his body before he could land on the floor of the next room I guided my punches to his face once again, reducing it to a mass of blood and bruises. Joel only now seemed to recover from his shock, but was in too much of a bad condition to protect himself. Eventually I rose off of my prey and peered down at him with a grin of satisfaction.
"Now, Joel, now I see why you beat on people weaker than you are!" I yelled, kicking his downed, bloodied form. The Saiyan in me was finally rearing its ugly head. "It's like you said. I'm Jin, a mighty Saiyan warrior," I said, my smile suddenly being replaced by a hateful frown, "that's right Joel, I'm even mightier than you!!" I raised my right hand, palm facing Joel, and poured all of my ki into it. Just then, I felt someone's arms wrap around me from behind.
"Jin, please stop it!" pleaded Nikita, "I will stop you. Please don't make me do this!" I used my free hand to rip off my upper gi, revealing my viciously scarred and tainted torso. Nikita's grip relaxed as she took a step backward and stared at it in horror. "Oh...my...oh my god!!" she cried, tears welling up in her eyes.
"You won't do it," I said, softly. I knew that she sure as hell had the power to. Recovering from her shock, she rested her head on my back, embracing me once again.
"Jin, I think I've figured out this feeling," she told me, "I do love you Jin. Don't make me do this...don't become like him..." What she said made me hesitate a bit, and I even considered giving in, but then Joel had to go and open his big mouth.
"Go ahead, Jin," he taunted, staring directly into my open palm, "do it!!" I was more than happy to oblige. I fired the beam in my hand at him and almost immediately a blinding light came from Nikita's hands, which lay on my chest. I felt her force at once and lost consciousness, just before whispering these words to a sobbing Nikita, "I love you too..."
"Justin!! Please don't go!!" cried the little girl behind me. I glanced
back at her and noticed the tears trickling down her cheeks.
"I've got to go, Julia. Don't worry, I'll be back before you know it,
"I consoled. My little sister watched me eagerly.
"You mean it?" she queried, drying her eyes. I nodded and opened my
arms to her
"Sure do. C'mon give your big brother a hug. The next time you see me
I'll be a strong fighter!" I exclaimed. Julia started running up to me,
but before she reached me, she tripped herself and fell flat on her face
in front of me.
"Y' know, you really are a clumsy seven year old," I observed, helping
her up, "twit."
I don't know for how long I floated in that Rejuv tank before I realized that I was still alive. I opened my eyes, removed the oxygen mask from my face and kicked the door to the tank open. As the bioliquid poured out, I began to feel my limbs again.
"Nikita wasn't kidding," I muttered as I crawled out of the tank, "I think she hit me at full power!" My body ached all over, but otherwise I seemed alright. I made my way to my quarters, groping the walls for support, took a shower and donned my blue uniform armor. A quick ki trace made me realize that only Aren, Furion and I were on the ship.
"Where'd everyone go?" I asked myself. If they weren't on the ship where were they? They couldn't have gone outside...unless. A quick trip to the bridge confirmed it. "What the...? We're on Nedan already!? How long was I out for?" I exclaimed.
"Four days," came Furion. He was seated in one of the passenger seats, "your estimation was correct. We arrived here yesterday." I took a seat at the pilot's console.
"Where are the others? Did the fight begin?" I inquired. The Namekian shook his head. Just then, Aren burst into the room, a scared look on his face.
"Furion, Jin's gone!!" he cried. It was then he noticed me at the pilot's console. "Oh...never mind then," he stated, sitting next to Furion.
"Jeran, Joel and Nikita went to the city hall to meet up with Jeran's father. We finally got Nikita to come out of the Med room. She didn't want to leave your side," began Furion, "I had to promise to look after you for her, though."
"Are you mad at Niki?" Aren asked suddenly. The question caught me off guard.
"NO!!...No! Of course not!" I exclaimed, "Why would you even ask?"
"She's been afraid you would be," said Aren. I took this all in.
"I'm going outside," I said, attaching a scouter to my ear, "You guys go on ahead to the city hall. I need some time to think." I left the ship and set foot on my home planet for the first time in six years.
Although the human area of Nedan was considered a city, it was in fact, the size of a continent. In order to get to different side of the city, one had to take a series of shuttles. It was big alright, but I still knew it like the back of my hand. After a few hours I found myself in my old neighbourhood. Nothing had really changed much. I sat down on a bench for a while, just taking it all in.
Suddenly, I was thrown off my feet and sprawled out over the sidewalk. A small gray and white dog, a pug to be precise, had jumped me. It now stood on my chest wagging its stump of a tail and licking me furiously on the face.
"Ugh...dog drool," I said, lifting the dog off of me, "Hey I know you! You're..."
"Iggy! Get back here!" shouted a guy who was running up to me. He had long, flowing platinum hair and his face had a weird kind of feminine look to it. He was of average height and build and wore a white sleeveless jersey and jeans. There was a strange S shaped mark on his upper arm and over his shoulder hung a rather large duffel bag. "Sorry about that," he apologized as I handed him the dog, "Should have kept him on a leash." I knew this guy!
"No problem," I told him, "Hey...uh, aren't you Ken Haman?" The guy gave me a confused look.
"Yeah...It's strange, I'm sure that I know you from somewhere," he answered. I smiled and removed my scouter from over my eye. Ken squinted for a second, and then a grin of realization crossed his lips.
"Justin Senga!" he cried, dropping the dog and the duffel bag to the floor, "man! It's sure been a long time. I noticed the uniform. So, you came back from the academy, huh?" Now it was my turn to be confused. This wasn't the reaction I was expecting from someone who should be thinking that I was dead.
"Uh...yeah, that's right. What about you? You look as though you're coming from somewhere yourself," I observed. The grin quickly left my old friend's face.
"Yeah...Right after you joined the CC Nexus academy, I entered the CC Lunar academy," he explained. That explained a great deal. If Ken was away at school he wouldn't have heard of my 'death'.
"And you came to visit as well." I concluded. Ken lowered his head.
"Actually, um...I was expelled," he corrected, causing me to gasp, "See, there's this tournament on Earth in just under a year and when I wasn't chosen to participate I complained, and well here I am." I put on my scouter and read Ken's powerlevel.
"Ken, you're a solid 10,000!!" I exclaimed. He nodded.
"I know. They didn't choose me because I was too weak," he said, giving a shrug, "I wonder what I'll tell my parents." I was bedazzled by this piece of info. If the Lunar academy considered a powerlevel of 10,000 too weak...
"Ken, why don't you join our team?" I suggested, "I'm searching for strong fighters to participate in that same tournament. You could join the Nexus' team and just tell your parents you got a transfer or something." Just by the look on his face I could tell that he was ecstatic about the idea.
"R-really!?" he cried, "Sure, man...of course I'll join!!"
"It's a deal then," I stated, "C'mon, let's go see Cris and everyone else."
As would be expected, we each had a great deal to talk about. While we searched for our friend Cris at his usual haunts, we chatted non-stop. Cris was nowhere to be found but there was still one place we hadn't checked.
The Budokan dojo was the only place I knew of that could train fighters as good as the academy. Ken, Cris and I had frequented the dojo when we were kids. It was just a one-tiered building, painted in red, with a large sign that displayed the word 'Budokan' in Japanese.
As we came up to the place, a great feeling of nostalgia consumed me for a moment, but then my mind was ripped out of the past when my scouter activated.
"What's this?" I queried, my hand hovering over my ear, "Furion, and Aren too. What are they doing here?" Ken glanced at me curiously.
"Who're they?" he asked. I began to walk toward the entrance of the dojo before I answered him.
"Your new teammates," I replied, opening the door. It was like walking into a church during a funeral service. A sudden hush fell over the room that, quite rightfully made me nervous and all eyes fell on us. It was then that I saw Aren. His uniform was tattered and he knelt on one knee. On the other side of the room I sensed my green companion's ki. Furion was in his trademark stance, breathing heavily and sweating profusely. Facing him was a blue haired guy, who was also in a fighting stance, breathing heavily.
"You're good," commended Furion, still maintaining his stance.
"So are you," said his opponent, "It's pointless to continue. No one will win." With that, they both stood up and relaxed. Suddenly, a dark skinned girl in an all white gi stepped forward and rebuked the blue haired guy.
"You give up too easily, Cris. You can beat him if you try!" she cried. She didn't even give the bewildered Cris a chance to reply. She gracefully assumed a stance in front of Furion and beckoned him to attack. I stepped in front of Furion, facing the girl.
"I'll handle this, Furion, you go help Aren," I instructed. The Namekian nodded in reply and went to the kid. I began to stretch and then dropped back into my fighting stance.
"You academy punks can't even protect your own. What makes you think you can beat me?" the girl asked with a hint of bitterness in her voice.
"Let's just say that I have some confidence in my abilities," I answered with a wry smile.
"I am Julia Senga of the Budokan!" she shouted, causing me to gasp, "you're going down!" I stared at this girl from head to toe in surprise. This was my sister! I didn't have time to think about it, because she rushed at me just then. I leaned backward just in time to avoid a punch sent my way. I parried another punch and retaliated with a sidekick to her stomach. She put her arms up in a cross block but the force of the blow caused her to skate backwards for a few seconds. I shot a kick into empty air and fell back into my fighting stance. She darted across the room at me again. Her fist met with mine as we went at it. I didn't want to hurt my sister so I decided to hold back, a decision which earned me a kick to my cheek. Julia followed up with two punches, which I dodged easily, and she surprised me by shooting a small ki blast at me. I did a backflip to avoid being hit and fired one, much larger, back at her. It hit her in the chest and sent her flat on her back. I folded my arms as Julia picked herself off of the floor.
"Is that all you can do Julia?" I queried with a smirk, "cause if it is..." I trailed off and shrugged.
With a shout of anger she came at me a third time. I prepared myself for an attack, but I didn't have to. Before she reached me, she tripped herself and fell flat on her face in front of me. A reminiscing smile crossed my lips as I held out my hand to help her up. She rudely ignored my hand but I hoisted her up regardless.
"You're still a clumsy twit," I commented. That got her attention. She slowly backed away, staring at me in shock and disbelief.
"W-what did you say?" she asked, closely scrutinizing my face.
"I called you a clumsy twit Julia, you know, that's what I called you the last time I saw you," I said.
"C'mon Julia!" cried Ken, "don't tell me you don't even recognize your big bro!" Cris and Julia both turned toward him for a second. My sister took some more steps backward.
"You can't ...be Justin," she whimpered, creeping closer, "can you?"
"The academy lied, Julia. I'm still very much alive and I came back, just like I promised," I said, opening my arms to her, "aren't you gonna give your big brother a hug?"
"By Kami!!" exclaimed Cris, running a hand through his blue hair, "It is you!" Tears trickled down my sister's cheeks as she inched herself closer to me.
"Justin?" she called. Before I could even nod a reply she jumped into my arms, sobbing uncontrollably with joy.
"That's right, Jules. I'm back...Justin's back.
CHARACTERS RECRUITED INITIAL P/LVL
KEN 10,000
SOUNDTRACK: INSIDE OUT by Eve 6.
Jin
"One more time, Aren. This time do the whole thing," I instructed. The kid looked at me impatiently.
"Jin, how long do I have to do this stupid kata?" he asked.
"'Till you get it right. Aren, this kata helps you to concentrate your ki into a visible form," I explained, "Niki's already mastered her ki manipulation." I glanced over to the other side of the training area where Jeran and Nikita were sparring. I smiled. She had been training for only a week, but with such enthusiasm and discipline that she had already developed into an average martial artist. Joel and Furion were maintaining a hyperfight far above our heads.
"When am I gonna learn how to fight like that?" asked Aren, following my gaze.
"Okay kid, let's do the kata together one last time. If you get it right, I promise that you'll be hyperfighting in no time. Let's go!" I stated. We moved in sync with each other. Aren knew the slow movements of the kata very well; all he couldn't do was manifest his ki. We slowly brought our hands over her heads in what looked like some weird stretch and then, to complete the kata we rotated our arms in a clockwise direction until our hands were cupped.
"This is it Aren! Concentrate!" I shouted. Already my green aura encompassed me and I zanzokened a few metres away so that I faced Aren, my hands still cupped. "Concentrate kid! Feel the power flowing through you! Use your willpower to make it visible!" I instructed, gathering ki into my cupped hands. Aren's whole body began to tremble.
"I can...I can feel it!!" he cried, a crimson aura covering his body. His cupped hands were a bit unsteady, but sure enough a small ball of ki became visible.
"Then let it out!" I screamed, "...Makou..." Aren and I both threw our beams forward.
"...Sen!!!" the kid finished. There was a flash of light when our beams collided.
"Good Aren. Keep at it!!" I shouted. Jeran and the others had ceased their fights to view our blast duel. Aren began to push harder and his beam slowly began to cut through my own. I smiled as I upped the intensity of my beam as well. I remembered when I was in Aren's shoes, when I had first learned to use ki and my first blast duel against Master Trump after he taught me the kata. Pretty soon, it became obvious that Aren couldn't hold on any longer so I let go of my beam and smacked the red beam away before I could hit me. Aren collapsed after a few seconds and Nikita ran up to help him up.
"You did it kid, see it wasn't too hard, was it?" I asked him. Aren sucked his teeth.
"I can't move and I feel weak...what the hell do you think!!?" he cried, as Nikita helped him out of the training area. I was about to comment but the ship's computerized voice interrupted me. It announced an incoming message from the headmaster. "I guess this cuts training short. Everyone meet in the bridge in ten minutes," I ordered, "Computer return gravity controls to 1G." I felt as I as if a weight had been lifted off of my shoulders. I stretched my limbs to loosen up and made my way to the bridge. I punched a few buttons on the console and the headmaster's face came on screen.
"Yes, sir?" I asked, taking a seat.
"Jin, everything going okay? No problems with Joel?" he asked. I shook my head and sat down. "You seem different? Stronger somehow. What's your powerlevel now?" he continued.
"6500 when I last checked, sir," I replied, "We've gotten three new recruits, so far." He nodded.
"I can only assume that this young lady is one of them," he stated, looking past me. I took a glance backward and noticed that Nikita was also there.
"Hi!! I'm Nikita!" she said, bowing slightly. A large sweatdrop graced the side of my head. "Pleased to meet you, sir," she finished.
"Same here," the headmaster replied, "anyway, where're the others? I need to speak with you all." Fifteen minutes later all six of us were assembled in the bridge. After I introduced Furion and Aren, Red got down to business.
"Jeran, your father, the mayor of the human city on Planet Nedan, has asked for the academy's assistance in a very important matter," he started. Planet Nedan's human city? That's where I came from! "Two weeks ago, a large spacecraft landed there outside of the city. The aliens are hostile and threatened to destroy the entire planet. The general public is completely oblivious to the peril they're in. Jeran's father made sure not to let it leak. There'd be mass hysteria," continued Red.
"If these aliens are so hostile, why isn't Nedan just a pile of space dust by now? I mean, they've been there for two weeks," said Joel, folding his arms. He waved his tail around and skillfully whipped it around his waist. There were mixed reactions when my comrades found out that I had become a Saiyan. Jeran was confused that I should choose to become that which I hated. Truth be told, I had no idea that what I wished for would turn me into one. Joel had been enraged, at first, as he was supposed to be the last full blooded Saiyan left, but eventually he eased into the idea. In fact, he even appeared honoured.
"I was getting to that, Joel. They're giving the mayor some time to get some 'worthy fighters' to challenge them," said Red. I had to admit that it was a bit strange of those aliens to do that, but I kept it to myself.
"And let me guess, we're those worthy fighters?" I asked.
"Correct. Jeran, I think your father would be pleased to see you again. You haven't been home in like, what, two or three years?" Red stated. Jeran nodded. "So I've decided to send you guys. The fight should give you all necessary experience. Good luck to you all," he finished. Jeran appeared to be ecstatic. Red nodded again and signed off.
"It would be great to see my family again," she stated. I nodded absently.
"Same here," I said softly. Everyone turned toward me.
"I didn't know that you lived on Nedan, Jin," said Jeran. Joel gave a snicker and leaned against a chair. "What's so funny?" the blonde asked.
"It was Justin who lived on Nedan, Jeran. Justin the human is dead!" he replied, pointing at me, "This is Jin, a mighty Saiyan warrior!" Instantly I picked up his meaning and I felt a pang of emotion go through me. However, I kept my cool, barely, and remained silent. Nikita confronted me.
"Jin, what're they talking about? Who's Justin?" she inquired.
"Someone who died a while back," I answered, "enough of this. It'll take three days to reach Nedan and we'll need to be ready for anything. Till then, train at your own discretion." Without giving them any time to respond I turned and left the bridge. I headed back to my room and dropped onto my bed in fatigue.
"Nedan," I whispered to myself, sitting up suddenly. Thoughts of my life there, my friends and my family, came to me and I fished out a photograph from one of my bed head drawers. It was a picture of my family, friends and I taken six years ago, just before I entered the academy. Most likely, if I had deciphered Joel's hidden message efficiently, everyone in this photograph, everyone who I cared about and who cared about me, thought I was dead.
I hadn't been in touch with my family much during my first four years at the academy and when Joel sold me off, he had told my family that I had died, probably in battle alongside former headmaster Razz. That would have been the most convenient and believable story. I wanted to cry. I felt the hurt, but I couldn't bring myself to cry. All the tears had been shed during my year in captivity. I just stared hard at the photograph. It was then I felt Nikita's ki just outside my room.
During the week that I had known her, Nikita kept acting like an overprotective girlfriend. She would constantly fret over the extremely long hours that I trained and she'd also stay up late to train with me if I decided to put in some late exercise. Despite the fact that she cooked and watched me eat, she'd always ask if I ate well. The girl even bought me a full wardrobe of clothes on one of our stops when she found out that I only possessed one outfit other than my gis and uniforms. I didn't complain, however, I enjoyed her company. She was the only person who I could really talk to on this ship.
I quickly pulled myself together and told her to come in.
"Hey, you," she greeted me cheerfully, sitting beside me, "How is everything going?"
"Cool, so far...how's the training going with Jeran?" I asked. Nikita turned to me, her brown hair trailing after her. She instantly started chatting away; about how hard it was and so on, but I soon stopped listening. I loved her voice, the way she rolled her r's and the way her small body could project such an amazing voice, but right at that moment I just stared at her. She was very beautiful and, to me, there seemed to be some divinity in her face. She was an avatar, a goddess in human form, and the only person who could possibly understand the turmoil I was going through emotionally.
"Jin...are you listening?" she asked, suddenly wrenching me out of my thoughts. I turned my gaze to the photograph once more and didn't respond. "Jin...?" she queried, "something's bothering you. I've noticed it since we were in the bridge. Come on, you can tell me." I handed her the picture and gazed into her cerulean eyes.
"We look happy, don't we?" I asked her, "My mom, sister and I? Not to mention my two friends."
"This kid is you?" she asked. I nodded. "You're chubby," she giggled. I stared silently at her smiling face and it was then I realized that I would do anything to keep that smile on her face, absolutely anything. I permitted myself to smile slightly at this personal revelation, realizing that I cared for her more than anything, and I turned my head back to the picture. Nikita gasped when a teardrop landed on it and she hastily watched me. Tears fell down my cheeks, feeling a bit strange to me, as I still had the small smile on my face.
"Niki," I said, as more teardrops followed the first, "Remember when I said that Justin was dead..." I told her everything, about my past ordeals and, as I did, visions of my torture invaded my mind. The poking, the prodding, it all came back to me. The constant carving of my flesh, cutting without even using anesthesia to numb the pain. Visions of me being strapped up to machines, being tortured for hours on end, were all there, and finally visions of me crying; shedding tears over my greatest pain of all. The fact that Joel, my best friend, my 'big brother', had been responsible for putting me there in the first place.
As I talked I felt a strong wave of lividity pass through me. I saw Joel's taunting smirk in my mind and I hated it. I rose to my feet suddenly, startling Nikita, and let out an antagonistic roar as I sped out of my room, angrily tracking my rival's ki.
"Jin!!" cried Nikita, racing after me. My anger increased steadily and my tail swayed around as if it somehow felt it too. I found Joel in the training area sparring with Furion. He was totally oblivious to the peril he was in until my fist found it's way to his abdomen. He was caught completely unawares and couldn't even get over the shock of my initial attack. My blow sent him crashing into the lead wall, cracking it five metres in all directions. I was on him instantly, hammering away at his face with my fists and then some. Each blow sent him deeper into the wall. Finally I did a crescent kick, which connected with his chin and made him break through the wall. Ignoring the pleas of Niki and Furion to cease my seemingly unprovoked assault, I pounced on his body before he could land on the floor of the next room I guided my punches to his face once again, reducing it to a mass of blood and bruises. Joel only now seemed to recover from his shock, but was in too much of a bad condition to protect himself. Eventually I rose off of my prey and peered down at him with a grin of satisfaction.
"Now, Joel, now I see why you beat on people weaker than you are!" I yelled, kicking his downed, bloodied form. The Saiyan in me was finally rearing its ugly head. "It's like you said. I'm Jin, a mighty Saiyan warrior," I said, my smile suddenly being replaced by a hateful frown, "that's right Joel, I'm even mightier than you!!" I raised my right hand, palm facing Joel, and poured all of my ki into it. Just then, I felt someone's arms wrap around me from behind.
"Jin, please stop it!" pleaded Nikita, "I will stop you. Please don't make me do this!" I used my free hand to rip off my upper gi, revealing my viciously scarred and tainted torso. Nikita's grip relaxed as she took a step backward and stared at it in horror. "Oh...my...oh my god!!" she cried, tears welling up in her eyes.
"You won't do it," I said, softly. I knew that she sure as hell had the power to. Recovering from her shock, she rested her head on my back, embracing me once again.
"Jin, I think I've figured out this feeling," she told me, "I do love you Jin. Don't make me do this...don't become like him..." What she said made me hesitate a bit, and I even considered giving in, but then Joel had to go and open his big mouth.
"Go ahead, Jin," he taunted, staring directly into my open palm, "do it!!" I was more than happy to oblige. I fired the beam in my hand at him and almost immediately a blinding light came from Nikita's hands, which lay on my chest. I felt her force at once and lost consciousness, just before whispering these words to a sobbing Nikita, "I love you too..."
"Justin!! Please don't go!!" cried the little girl behind me. I glanced
back at her and noticed the tears trickling down her cheeks.
"I've got to go, Julia. Don't worry, I'll be back before you know it,
"I consoled. My little sister watched me eagerly.
"You mean it?" she queried, drying her eyes. I nodded and opened my
arms to her
"Sure do. C'mon give your big brother a hug. The next time you see me
I'll be a strong fighter!" I exclaimed. Julia started running up to me,
but before she reached me, she tripped herself and fell flat on her face
in front of me.
"Y' know, you really are a clumsy seven year old," I observed, helping
her up, "twit."
I don't know for how long I floated in that Rejuv tank before I realized that I was still alive. I opened my eyes, removed the oxygen mask from my face and kicked the door to the tank open. As the bioliquid poured out, I began to feel my limbs again.
"Nikita wasn't kidding," I muttered as I crawled out of the tank, "I think she hit me at full power!" My body ached all over, but otherwise I seemed alright. I made my way to my quarters, groping the walls for support, took a shower and donned my blue uniform armor. A quick ki trace made me realize that only Aren, Furion and I were on the ship.
"Where'd everyone go?" I asked myself. If they weren't on the ship where were they? They couldn't have gone outside...unless. A quick trip to the bridge confirmed it. "What the...? We're on Nedan already!? How long was I out for?" I exclaimed.
"Four days," came Furion. He was seated in one of the passenger seats, "your estimation was correct. We arrived here yesterday." I took a seat at the pilot's console.
"Where are the others? Did the fight begin?" I inquired. The Namekian shook his head. Just then, Aren burst into the room, a scared look on his face.
"Furion, Jin's gone!!" he cried. It was then he noticed me at the pilot's console. "Oh...never mind then," he stated, sitting next to Furion.
"Jeran, Joel and Nikita went to the city hall to meet up with Jeran's father. We finally got Nikita to come out of the Med room. She didn't want to leave your side," began Furion, "I had to promise to look after you for her, though."
"Are you mad at Niki?" Aren asked suddenly. The question caught me off guard.
"NO!!...No! Of course not!" I exclaimed, "Why would you even ask?"
"She's been afraid you would be," said Aren. I took this all in.
"I'm going outside," I said, attaching a scouter to my ear, "You guys go on ahead to the city hall. I need some time to think." I left the ship and set foot on my home planet for the first time in six years.
Although the human area of Nedan was considered a city, it was in fact, the size of a continent. In order to get to different side of the city, one had to take a series of shuttles. It was big alright, but I still knew it like the back of my hand. After a few hours I found myself in my old neighbourhood. Nothing had really changed much. I sat down on a bench for a while, just taking it all in.
Suddenly, I was thrown off my feet and sprawled out over the sidewalk. A small gray and white dog, a pug to be precise, had jumped me. It now stood on my chest wagging its stump of a tail and licking me furiously on the face.
"Ugh...dog drool," I said, lifting the dog off of me, "Hey I know you! You're..."
"Iggy! Get back here!" shouted a guy who was running up to me. He had long, flowing platinum hair and his face had a weird kind of feminine look to it. He was of average height and build and wore a white sleeveless jersey and jeans. There was a strange S shaped mark on his upper arm and over his shoulder hung a rather large duffel bag. "Sorry about that," he apologized as I handed him the dog, "Should have kept him on a leash." I knew this guy!
"No problem," I told him, "Hey...uh, aren't you Ken Haman?" The guy gave me a confused look.
"Yeah...It's strange, I'm sure that I know you from somewhere," he answered. I smiled and removed my scouter from over my eye. Ken squinted for a second, and then a grin of realization crossed his lips.
"Justin Senga!" he cried, dropping the dog and the duffel bag to the floor, "man! It's sure been a long time. I noticed the uniform. So, you came back from the academy, huh?" Now it was my turn to be confused. This wasn't the reaction I was expecting from someone who should be thinking that I was dead.
"Uh...yeah, that's right. What about you? You look as though you're coming from somewhere yourself," I observed. The grin quickly left my old friend's face.
"Yeah...Right after you joined the CC Nexus academy, I entered the CC Lunar academy," he explained. That explained a great deal. If Ken was away at school he wouldn't have heard of my 'death'.
"And you came to visit as well." I concluded. Ken lowered his head.
"Actually, um...I was expelled," he corrected, causing me to gasp, "See, there's this tournament on Earth in just under a year and when I wasn't chosen to participate I complained, and well here I am." I put on my scouter and read Ken's powerlevel.
"Ken, you're a solid 10,000!!" I exclaimed. He nodded.
"I know. They didn't choose me because I was too weak," he said, giving a shrug, "I wonder what I'll tell my parents." I was bedazzled by this piece of info. If the Lunar academy considered a powerlevel of 10,000 too weak...
"Ken, why don't you join our team?" I suggested, "I'm searching for strong fighters to participate in that same tournament. You could join the Nexus' team and just tell your parents you got a transfer or something." Just by the look on his face I could tell that he was ecstatic about the idea.
"R-really!?" he cried, "Sure, man...of course I'll join!!"
"It's a deal then," I stated, "C'mon, let's go see Cris and everyone else."
As would be expected, we each had a great deal to talk about. While we searched for our friend Cris at his usual haunts, we chatted non-stop. Cris was nowhere to be found but there was still one place we hadn't checked.
The Budokan dojo was the only place I knew of that could train fighters as good as the academy. Ken, Cris and I had frequented the dojo when we were kids. It was just a one-tiered building, painted in red, with a large sign that displayed the word 'Budokan' in Japanese.
As we came up to the place, a great feeling of nostalgia consumed me for a moment, but then my mind was ripped out of the past when my scouter activated.
"What's this?" I queried, my hand hovering over my ear, "Furion, and Aren too. What are they doing here?" Ken glanced at me curiously.
"Who're they?" he asked. I began to walk toward the entrance of the dojo before I answered him.
"Your new teammates," I replied, opening the door. It was like walking into a church during a funeral service. A sudden hush fell over the room that, quite rightfully made me nervous and all eyes fell on us. It was then that I saw Aren. His uniform was tattered and he knelt on one knee. On the other side of the room I sensed my green companion's ki. Furion was in his trademark stance, breathing heavily and sweating profusely. Facing him was a blue haired guy, who was also in a fighting stance, breathing heavily.
"You're good," commended Furion, still maintaining his stance.
"So are you," said his opponent, "It's pointless to continue. No one will win." With that, they both stood up and relaxed. Suddenly, a dark skinned girl in an all white gi stepped forward and rebuked the blue haired guy.
"You give up too easily, Cris. You can beat him if you try!" she cried. She didn't even give the bewildered Cris a chance to reply. She gracefully assumed a stance in front of Furion and beckoned him to attack. I stepped in front of Furion, facing the girl.
"I'll handle this, Furion, you go help Aren," I instructed. The Namekian nodded in reply and went to the kid. I began to stretch and then dropped back into my fighting stance.
"You academy punks can't even protect your own. What makes you think you can beat me?" the girl asked with a hint of bitterness in her voice.
"Let's just say that I have some confidence in my abilities," I answered with a wry smile.
"I am Julia Senga of the Budokan!" she shouted, causing me to gasp, "you're going down!" I stared at this girl from head to toe in surprise. This was my sister! I didn't have time to think about it, because she rushed at me just then. I leaned backward just in time to avoid a punch sent my way. I parried another punch and retaliated with a sidekick to her stomach. She put her arms up in a cross block but the force of the blow caused her to skate backwards for a few seconds. I shot a kick into empty air and fell back into my fighting stance. She darted across the room at me again. Her fist met with mine as we went at it. I didn't want to hurt my sister so I decided to hold back, a decision which earned me a kick to my cheek. Julia followed up with two punches, which I dodged easily, and she surprised me by shooting a small ki blast at me. I did a backflip to avoid being hit and fired one, much larger, back at her. It hit her in the chest and sent her flat on her back. I folded my arms as Julia picked herself off of the floor.
"Is that all you can do Julia?" I queried with a smirk, "cause if it is..." I trailed off and shrugged.
With a shout of anger she came at me a third time. I prepared myself for an attack, but I didn't have to. Before she reached me, she tripped herself and fell flat on her face in front of me. A reminiscing smile crossed my lips as I held out my hand to help her up. She rudely ignored my hand but I hoisted her up regardless.
"You're still a clumsy twit," I commented. That got her attention. She slowly backed away, staring at me in shock and disbelief.
"W-what did you say?" she asked, closely scrutinizing my face.
"I called you a clumsy twit Julia, you know, that's what I called you the last time I saw you," I said.
"C'mon Julia!" cried Ken, "don't tell me you don't even recognize your big bro!" Cris and Julia both turned toward him for a second. My sister took some more steps backward.
"You can't ...be Justin," she whimpered, creeping closer, "can you?"
"The academy lied, Julia. I'm still very much alive and I came back, just like I promised," I said, opening my arms to her, "aren't you gonna give your big brother a hug?"
"By Kami!!" exclaimed Cris, running a hand through his blue hair, "It is you!" Tears trickled down my sister's cheeks as she inched herself closer to me.
"Justin?" she called. Before I could even nod a reply she jumped into my arms, sobbing uncontrollably with joy.
"That's right, Jules. I'm back...Justin's back.
CHARACTERS RECRUITED INITIAL P/LVL
KEN 10,000
SOUNDTRACK: INSIDE OUT by Eve 6.