Escalation
Chapter 15: Port of Storm
A/N: Hey everyone. I've been having some thoughts about the first arc of this story and I'd like your thoughts below. Other than that, read on!
Master Roshi arrived home at the end of summer. Kame House was as he left it- beautifully isolated from the world.
He had a week of peace before a boat crashed through his living room.
'Hey!' A yellow-haired woman climbed out the remains of the crash. 'Teach me!'
'What?' Master Roshi yelped, bolting up from a sitting position.
'I said,' she growled, producing two assault rifles out of nowhere, 'teach me!' Master Roshi ducked as the young woman starting spraying bullets all over his living room, ripping holes through his favorite and only sofa set. This is outrageous! The nerve on her! After he heard a sneeze, Master Roshi stood, fuming-
And saw an entirely different person. The assault rifles were on the ground- the blue-haired woman standing over them was horrified, recoiling away from the guns. She looked around, distressed. 'I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to do this…'
'You- you're the same person from before? But your hair...'
She nodded, frowning. 'I'm so sorry… whenever I sneeze I go a bit crazy…'
'Mmm,' Master Roshi grunted, walking over to examine the boat-sized hole in his living room wall. 'So every time you sneeze, you turn into…'
'The woman with yellow hair. And when 'she' sneezes, I turn into… me.'
'But until you sneeze…'
'I'm so sorry! I'll do whatever you need me to do to repay you.'
'Hmm…'
And so it was in that way Master Roshi took in a guest called Launch to live with him. She suffered from the strangest affliction he had ever seen in a human person- she had two completely developed personalities. One was yellow-haired and brazen, the other blue-haired and timid. One remained dormant while the other was expressed until Launch sneezed and 'flipped' them. Needless to say, it could be very exhausting to live with Launch. One day Master Roshi would be enjoying a peaceful time sunbathing on the beach- the next day he would be training someone who was prone to shooting at him when frustrated by a difficult technique. It was lucky that he was immune to bullets. Master Roshi also appreciated what Launch offered as a student- a continual challenge for him to teach his best. It was something he hadn't felt for a very long time.
Two months after Launch showed up, Master Roshi was greeted by a familiar face.
'Krillin! You're back sooner than I expected.'
'Didn't plan to come back so soon, but-' he climbed out of the boat he had rowed onto shore in, revealing a roughly 10-year-old year kid behind him, '-I had to drop someone off.'
Beaming, the kid behind Krillin hurried out of the boat to throw himself on the ground in front of Master Roshi's feet. 'Please, please, please, please, please teach me!' he said.
Master Roshi arched an eyebrow at Krillin.
'Doesn't his clothes look familiar, Master Roshi?' Krillin said, half-grinning.
Master Roshi glanced back at the kid. Those clothes do look familiar. Remarkably similar to what Nam wore actually…
Krillin nudged the kid with his foot. 'You forgot to introduce yourself, Retu.'
Retu swung his head up from the ground. 'Oh! Sorry!' He stood, planting his fist into the palm of his other hand. 'My name is Retu, son of Ami. Do you know my uncle Nam? He competed at the last World Martial Arts Tournament.'
'Ye-' Master Roshi cut himself off, his 'proper' memory catching up with him. Never actually met Nam as Master Roshi… right. '-you know, I saw him compete, but I never met him. But he seemed like a good man.'
Retu nodded enthusiastically. 'He's amazing! He single-handedly saved our village from a horrible drought! We owe him everything. He's the strongest person I know, and I want to be just like him! One time…'
Krillin leaned in to whisper to Master Roshi as Retu continued to excitedly gush. 'Nam found me very soon after the tournament. He said his nephew wanted to be a martial artist and he could think of no one better to teach him than me. Mind you, I'm only 14 years old and I'm never taught someone, so I brought him to the best teacher I know.' Krillin elbowed Master Roshi playfully. 'What do you say, Master Roshi? I've sparred with him a little bit- not only is he enthusiastic, but he's got a lot of potential.'
Master Roshi looked like he had eaten something sour, but then he sighed. 'Fine, Krillin. I'll take him as my pupil. What's one more student, anyway? But you owe me.'
'Of course- but what did you say? Another student?'
An incredibly loud sneeze came from inside Kame House.
'You should get out of here,' Master Roshi deadpanned, 'now.'
0o0o0o0
Surprisingly, introducing Retu into the Turtle school normalized things at Kame House. Launch, even when in her yellow-haired rage, acted kindly towards Retu and went out of her way to help guide Retu through training. She became a bit more conversational. Master Roshi picked up bits and pieces of her background- she had been a drifter and a petty thief for as long as she could remember before she found herself locked up in jail in some city far to the west. She was going to go to prison for a long time before she was abruptly let go- apparently, there was some sort of management change that included amnesty for everyone imprisoned in the town jail. Launch thought nothing of it until later on when she heard what had actually happened- a group of people had deposed the town dictator Oolong! Interested, yellow-haired Launch made faltering progress tracking them down until she overheard in a bar a drunk Red Ribbon Army loudly gripe about a botched mission against a very similar sounding group of people. After some 'convincing', the man divulged their location- these people were far away on an island to the south-east. It took Launch a long time, but eventually, through sheer strength of will, she reached the island. While she was coasting towards it full-speed, she recognized the house as the legendary Kame House of the Turtle Hermit. At that moment she connected the dots- those people were able to do all those crazy things because they trained under the Turtle Hermit. She decided to make the best impression possible. So she throttled the engine and plunged the boat straight into Kame House. She didn't quite have all the facts straight, nor have the proper execution, Master Roshi reflected, but her heart was in the right place.
Retu's full story was, by comparison, wonderfully straightforward. He had grown up while his village suffered from drought- like his uncle, he was motivated by a righteous cause to fix it. He had continuously petitioned Nam to train him. Retu didn't realize he couldn't 'fight' a drought away. When Nam successfully came back from the 21st World Martial Arts Tournament, Retu's passion to learn martial arts increased to the point of hysteria. Nam and Retu's father Ami felt they had no choice but to find him a fully willing master. Using ki sensing, it was relatively easy for Nam to find Krillin again. From there, Krillin led Retu to Master Roshi. Retu didn't mind being passed around- he was just happy to learn. His form was a mess- he struck in exclusively ineffective ways- but he soaked up whatever Master Roshi taught him. For as young as he was, Retu was making exceptional progress. Though Master Roshi would never admit to toning down his regiment somewhat for Retu- the turtle shells still hadn't come out for either him or Launch when Chi-Chi unexpectedly showed up, a year and a couple months after Krillin had left Retu.
'Master Roshi? Are you in- oh. Hi.' Chi-Chi had slowly opened the door to Kame House to see Master Roshi, Retu, and (blue-haired) Launch sitting in meditation. She was clothed in the multi-colored ceramic plates she had worn before donning the Turtle gi for the tournament. 'Didn't mean to interrupt…'
'No student of mine can interrupt my training,' Master Roshi joked as he stood, stretching his back as he did. 'It's been a while Chi-Chi.'
Chi-Chi had grown somewhat- she now stood roughly as tall as Master Roshi- and looked to be leaving her childhood behind her. She bent her head downwards in respect as she fully entered Kame House. 'I hope I didn't return too early- I know the tournament is still roughly a year and a half away. To be honest, I had meant to come earlier than this, but I got held up.'
'Oh? With what?'
Chi-Chi paused.
0o0o0o0
Home to Chi-Chi was comforting- it had been all she had ever known. Fire Mountain, however, was less than accommodating to Rayne. Fire raged around the Ox-King's castle, and had been raging unending for years. It was 'cursed', or something like that. Chi-Chi and her father had grown used to it- but Rayne had other ideas. She convinced Chi-Chi to try something crazy with her.
One morning Chi-Chi and Rayne stood side-by-side at the base of Fire Mountain, facing off against a whole landscape consumed by inferno. Focusing just as their master taught them, they both summoned their ki and brought two full strength Kamehamehas to bear down on the flames encasing the mountain. The flames wavered, then erupted in ferocity, before being pulled free from their fuel and forced away into the sky. The mountain began to clear. For the first time in ten years, Chi-Chi's home was free of fire.
After their success, Rayne spent a few more months with Chi-Chi, training together and meeting the people who lived under the Ox-King's rule. Rayne was fascinated with every person she talked to. Eventually, however, Rayne had to leave to attend to other tasks- though what tasks exactly, Rayne didn't specify. Around the six-month mark of staying with Chi-Chi, Rayne departed.
While Rayne was staying at Fire Mountain, Chi-Chi had told her father about their adventures. She was relieved when her father told her that there were no more attacks after she had left to pursue Kakarot. Chi-Chi described breaking into the Red Ribbon base, tracking down Kakarot, battling to secure the last dragonball, and their summoning of Shenron to resurrect Master Roshi. She regaled her father with how strange and demanding her training as a Turtle student was- and he assured her that his wasn't much different. Finally, Chi-Chi recounted her tight fight against Rayne in the World Martial Arts Tournament. The Ox-King couldn't have been happier to hear that his daughter was able to compete to be the World's Strongest- he himself had never had the chance to fight in the World Tournament.
Chi-Chi enjoyed being home again- but the world seemed a lot bigger than before. Chi-Chi had planned to leave as soon as possible but she had a responsibility to help her father protect their people. It was only after months of pleading, and a gradual realization from the Ox-King that his daughter was growing up, did he reluctantly let Chi-Chi leave again. She promised she would be safe, and return home whenever possible.
Coming here, to Chi-Chi, seemed to be another bright opportunity to progress…
Chi-Chi realized she had zoned out. Master Roshi was passively awaiting a response.
'Nothing important,' Chi-Chi said after a moment, smiling.
Master Roshi nodded, then said, 'Let's get you settled in, then. There's an empty room upstairs for you to sleep in, if you don't mind the small size…'
0o0o0o0
Chi-Chi fell into step perfectly with Launch and Retu. She served as an older sister to them with her prior experience and familiarity with the frustrating pace of Master Roshi's teaching style. Chi-Chi would accompany them to train with Master Roshi during the day- Master Roshi called it 'brushing up on her knowledge'- while at night she would have private instruction from Master Roshi. She learned a lot of useful skills- skills that would have been very useful at the World Martial Arts Tournament- but Master Roshi made her promise she wouldn't share any of what he had shown her with the others, unless he had already shown them these techniques. He stressed that last part especially. Chi-Chi didn't expect to see anyone else for a long while, so she doubted that she would break the promise anytime soon.
Overall Chi-Chi spent a month with Master Roshi at Kame House. It passed too quickly. She wished she could have spent more time, but she was out of excuses. She knew exactly where Kakarot was now. And she needed answers.
0o0o0o0
During Chi-Chi's stay, Master Roshi realized the disservice he was doing to his current students. They had both trained under him longer than his first class. Though, to be fair, he hadn't expected either of them to stay this long. Launch seemed continuously on the verge of angrily quitting, but every morning she dragged herself outside for whatever exercise Master Roshi decided for the day. Retu never left- he always said something along the lines of 'Nam wants me here', and so he remained.
They both steadily improved the more Master Roshi pushed them. Their introduction to the shells was rough, and getting them used to their weight took time, but in a few months time they were living and breathing with them as if they weren't there. Master Roshi was on the verge of teaching Launch and Retu the Kamehameha when Krillin and Yamcha arrived on the island. About a year had passed since Chi-Chi's stay. Yamcha had grown a bit taller- though by most accounts he seemed to be fully grown. Surprisingly, Krillin hadn't grown much at all- though he had become muscular. They both still wore their Turtle gis- though it was obvious Yamcha's gi needed some adjustments. Yamcha introduced himself to Retu, and both of them were pleased to meet blue-haired Launch. They were both unaware of Launch's quirk until she sneezed halfway through their tea sitting with Master Roshi. 'Tea?! Hrauuugh!' she screamed as she pulled out an assault rifle and completely decimated Master Roshi's tea set. 'Why aren't you teaching me, old man!'
Yamcha and Krillin both gave horrified, confused looks to Master Roshi, who merely shrugged. 'It happens from time to time,' he stated matter-of-factly.
It took some time, but Yamcha and Krillin learned to live with Launch's chaotic behavior. It helped that they were stronger than her, of course.
A lot stronger, actually. 'You boys,' Master Roshi said one day during a training session, 'have gotten a lot stronger since the last time I've seen you. I'm impressed.'
Krillin scratched his head shyly. 'Well, I didn't want to waste a single moment out in the world when I could be getting stronger. I met a lot of interesting people on my travels. Did you know an old tournament winner by the name of King Chappa? He's set up a whole school for people to train under him. I don't think he's as talented as you but I actually learned a few interesting techniques while I was there-' Krillin stopped, considering whether to say something. '-Yamcha, though-' he ventured.
'Okay, okay! You don't have to rub it in.' Yamcha quickly replied.
'Rub what in?' Master Roshi asked, curious.
Yamcha frowned, then looked down at the ground. 'I haven't been super productive with training…'
'West City, eh?' Krillin smirked, trying to elbow Yamcha. Yamcha swatted his arm away.
'Whatever…' Yamcha muttered, blushing.
Master Roshi smiled. Ah, so they're not as young as they used to be. 'Tell me,' Master Roshi said, changing topics, 'have either of you in your travels come across ki sensing?'
Krillin and Yamcha exchanged blank looks. 'No, I don't think we have,' Yamcha said.'What… even is that?'
'As the name suggests, ki sensing enables you to sense another person's ki, i.e. determine where another person is based on feeling their ki, though not in the way you would expect- It feels like a light sensation external to the body.'
'So, if, basically… it's like a sixth sense? Like sight, smell, whatever?' Yamcha asked skeptically.
'Yes- though stronger and more acute than the ones you've just named, given enough training.'
They had paused from their sparring to sit cross-legged on the beach. Krillin leaned forward, concern plain in his eyes. 'Master Roshi, if you're saying- if ki sensing works as you've described it- then you do know we could have found-'
'Yes, yes, I know.' Master Roshi said, sighing. 'There was a reason I never taught you this. There's a reason why I didn't tell you a lot of things about Kakarot…'
Master Roshi removed his shades and rubbed them with his shirt. Yamcha opened his mouth to speak but Krillin elbowed him, urging Yamcha to wait. After several seconds, Master Roshi began speaking again. 'Let me start from the beginning. You two, and Rayne and Chi-Chi, deserve to know what when through my mind- why I did what I did. I'm not trying to justify my decisions, nor excuse them. I only want to be honest.' For a moment Master Roshi stared beyond them towards the sea, gathering his thoughts.
'When I was revived, I was extremely concerned about Kakarot- his appetite for destruction seemed insatiable, as he wandered from village to village, slaughtering innocent people. It had seemed nothing had changed about his behavior before and after killing me- he remained the murderous lunatic he was before.' Master Roshi had his walking stick laid across his lap, his knuckles white from gripping it. 'It took every ounce of self-control I had to not immediately chase him down and kill him. To avenge his victims. However, the memory of my death was still fresh- while I was certain that I was stronger than him, in the heat of battle anything unlucky or unplanned could happen. These intangibles went against me in my first battle with Kakarot- who's to say they couldn't have done the same in a second? I decided that training a class of students to help me- possibly surpass me if they were talented and trained hard enough- would guarantee my success in ending Kakarot, once and for all. Thus, your class came into existence. I had not trained anyone in several decades. The act itself of taking on new students for me was an extraordinary event.'
Krillin seemed to internally debate whether to say something, then resumed listening.
Master Roshi relented in his grip, letting the stick loosen in his hands. 'Something changed, though. During your training, I noticed a shift in Kakarot's behavior. He became… less destructive. He wasn't killing as many people. Less senseless and random killings. Mind you, he still killed people, but it was nothing compared to the scale that forced me to try and stop him the first time. Then, at the World Martial Arts Tournament, he confronted me-'
'Wait, what!' Yamcha shouted, sitting forward. 'Kakarot was at the tournament!'
Master Roshi nodded gravely. 'I don't know how long he was there. All I know for sure is that he flared his ki to draw me towards him- which makes me think that Kakarot has somehow learned ki sensing. Though that's something to ponder another time. Kakarot- the way he spoke- it seemed to confirm his behavior. He did not seem interested in aimless killings. It seemed that he was interested in fighters that could challenge him. So odd…' Master Roshi tailed off, muttering.
'Is that it?' Krillin asked. 'Is there anything else Kakarot said?'
Master Roshi thought on the ultimatum Kakarot had issued to him and by extension his students. What good would it do for them to know? This is my burden… but still, a burden that I have failed in carrying. 'He hinted that he would be at the next World Martial Arts Tournament.' he pronounced gravely.
'I- but-' Yamcha tried to speak, dumbfounded, '-why didn't you tell us sooner?' Yamcha looked over to Krillin, who looked profoundly hurt by this revelation. 'We could have found Kakarot, together, after the tournament. We could have stopped him then, instead of… letting him do whatever he's doing now.'
Master Roshi stared down at the stick in his hands. He couldn't look up back at them- he shut his eyes. 'I had a change of heart. The more time I spent with you all, the more I saw all of you as my own pupils. It felt… wrong to rope you all into a campaign of pure destruction- the destruction of Kakarot. The whole idea of training you all as allies was always against my ideals of the Turtle School, anyway. I believed and still believe every word I said about what it means to be a martial artist- defend the innocent and defenseless, use power judiciously. Fight for good. Premeditated killing, even against someone as vile as Kakarot… it's not right. So I decided that I wanted to handle Kakarot myself. I still want to. I never taught you ki sensing because I was worried you would all run off towards Kakarot at the first opportunity and get yourself killed.'
'I tried to take on too much. I didn't want to burden any of you- you all seemed so young…'
Master Roshi opened his eyes, looking up at Yamcha and Krillin. 'I see now that I was wrong. You two, Chi-Chi, and Rayne have all grown into fine warriors. And we cannot choose the times we live in. Every generation has its adversaries, those strong to the point of pushing everyone and everything beyond their limits. Kakarot is, for all intents and purposes, the challenge of your time. So I say to you now- when you are done here, redouble, then quadruple your efforts.'
Master Roshi chewed his lip, again considering whether to reveal a potentially unsettling detail. Full honesty. I've committed to this. 'There is a reason why I didn't try to stop Kakarot when I encountered him at the tournament…'
Those last words hung in the air, heavy with meaning. Krillin and Yamcha grimaced, and understood. Kakarot is at least as strong as Master Roshi, Krillin dreaded. We have a lot of ground to make up in only six months...
0o0o0o0
Yamcha and Krillin stayed with Master Roshi for a time. They were in no hurry to rush- ki sensing and other techniques Master Roshi had shown them proved to be harder to master than they anticipated. It was nice to spend time at Kame House again. Retu was bright and cheery as always- wearing the turtle-shell in no way dampened his mood. Even Launch seemed to be growing fonder of them. Yellow-haired Launch had changed her attitude towards them; minor antagonism was slowly replaced by grudging respect. Krillin and Yamcha learned all that they could, then left Roshi and his students to continue their training. Launch and Retu increased their efforts- Master Roshi had described the World Martial Arts Tournament to them in detail, and at the very least, they knew that they were behind Roshi's earlier class. So it was in the middle of intensive training that Rayne showed up three months before the 22nd World Martial Arts Tournament.
She was clothed as a Red Ribbon officer. 'Eh, Rayne?' Master Roshi asked, 'is there any reason why you're dressed like that?'
Rayne looked down at her clothes and reacted like she had just realized what she was wearing- something strange and weird. 'Sorry! I've been so busy recently, I forgot- I'm not undercover anymore. Do you mind if I go inside and change quickly?'
Roshi nodded. A few minutes later, Rayne emerged from Kame House wearing a tan, plain t-shirt, and a baggy pair of blue slacks that was tied around her ankles. Like Chi-Chi, she had also grown since the tournament. 'Much more comfortable,' she commented, stretching. She walked over to stand next to Master Roshi. They both watched Retu and Launch do a series of strenuous exercises with turtle shells on their backs.
'They'd normally say hi, but I think they're concentrating right now,' Master Roshi said. 'So, what was the reason for that getup?'
'In between training and traveling, I'm been trying to gather info on the Red Ribbon Army.' Rayne explained. 'They've done well keeping their headquarters hidden these past few years, but Puar, Oolong, and I think that we're closing in on a location. We agreed that all of us would gather in West City in about a month's time and pool our resources for an attack on the Red Ribbon Army.'
'So you've talked to Krillin and Yamcha? And they've talked to everyone else?'
'Yep. Well, except for Chi-Chi. We haven't been able to get a hold of her for awhile.'
'So did Krillin and Yamcha tell you-'
'Mmm-hmm.'
'Right. They didn't show you any techniques, did they?'
'I haven't actually seen them, so no,'
A few moments passed as they momentarily watched Launch struggle to do a push-up.
'Ah,' Rayne said dryly, 'the elephant in the room rears its head. He's a big part of why we're going after the Red Ribbon Army, you know,' Rayne said, observing Launch succeed in fully pushing off the ground, 'we think they might have information on Kakarot.'
Master Roshi turned his head towards Rayne. 'What kind of information?'
Rayne raised her hands like she was trying to grasp something. 'Any information. Doesn't it seem weird that we've been in on-and-off, direct and indirect conflict with Kakarot for years now and we know next to nothing about him? There are some aspects of him… that we should be able to explain. Why does he have a tail, for example? What, is he some kind of monkey-human hybrid? Is he a runaway lab experiment? The 'why' is important, too. Why does Kakarot cause so much destruction? How can he have such a low opinion of human life… it doesn't make any sense…' Rayne trailed off, letting a low-bubbling frustration release from her voice.
Images of a grave shrine flashed through Master Roshi's mind, in a desert wasteland far away. What was Kakarot doing, before crashing into my life with that one foul act? Master Roshi gently pushed the thought away.
Rayne shook and cleared her head. 'So that's what we're aiming for. I suspect the Red Ribbon Army has had their run-ins with Kakarot- hell, while I was in the Red Ribbon Army, we had a run-in with him.
Master Roshi arched an eyebrow. 'You were in the Red Ribbon Army? Your infiltrating makes a bit more sense now.'
In the past, Rayne would have pushed away intrusive questions into her background. Now, armed with the memory of a dozen good things she had done despite her past, she smiled. 'Long story short, I was born into the Red Ribbon Army. I have no idea who my parents are. So there's also that side-goal to every information hunt within one of their bases. Kakarot, my parentage- just a lot of reasons to break into Red Ribbon Army bases, really,' she said, with a note of sad humor.
'Sorry about that.'
She waved away his concern. 'It's my past. It's made me who I am- for better and for worse. And,' she turned to glance at the rolling ocean behind her, taking in the view, 'it feels good to talk about it now.'
Master Roshi let Rayne gaze uninterrupted. It was a beautiful day, after all.
0o0o0o0
Rayne wished she could have stayed longer. Unfortunately, she was on a deadline. She tried to absorb what Master Roshi threw at her as quickly as possible. With a month's time, she didn't feel totally comfortable with ki sensing, and she hadn't quite gotten the hang of that special combat dodge Roshi had shown her, but at least she had wrapped her head around them. Rayne couldn't shake a vague feeling of disappointment at her lack of progress, but at the same time, she realized she was distracted by the future. While saying farewell to Master Roshi, rowing back to the mainland, and climbing into her jeep to drive westwards, her mind was riddled with anxiety. She had no idea what the next few months before the tournament would hold. The possibility of confronting Kakarot was… unnerving, especially after learning that he, in all likelihood, was stronger than Master Roshi. The hand we've been dealt, I guess… At least, for the moment, the sun shone overhead and the road ahead of her jeep was clear.
A/N: Time jump complete! The next tournament is in sight!
Also, as to what I alluded to in the beginning- recently I've started to consider how the first arc introduces the story. Sometimes I feel that I don't quite like it in its present state, but I also realize that I'm not in the best position to judge this. So instead, I ask all of you- what are your thoughts on the Pursual Arc? Does it need some tweaks, should it be left alone, or should it be totally revamped? Write a review with your thoughts. Thanks.
Reviews:
LWexe: Glad you liked the last chapter! Writing fight scenes is the toughest part of this story for me, but I definitely feel that their overall quality is improving.
