Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, or Dragon Ball Super. If I did I would be rich and not here, all rights belong to Akira Toriyama's and Co. Please support the official release.
A/N: It's time to finally get this story underway! Thank you to everyone who has submitted their wonderful characters, I'll do my best to do them justice. And for everyone still wondering, submissions are still open so feel free to submit! Now let's get on with chapter 1.
Age: 774
"Ahahahahaha!" A certain purple eyed young boy could be seen running throughout a dense forest, ducking and dodging the terrain of low hanging tree branches and bushes.
"HIROOOOO!" Hidei's voice echoed through the very same forest, causing birds to flee out from their nests into the safety of the sky, as well as any other animal who values their safety. The older male's angry yelling only caused for Hiro to laugh even harder. With a book underneath his arm, he dove over a bush, rolling back to his feet before continuing his sprint.
Hiro had been bored, a constant mood for him growing up in a forest with only him and his caretaker. So what was the solution you may ask to boredom? Doing everything he was not supposed to do.
Finally he had slid to a stop, letting out a deep breathe as he collapsed underneath a tree. Despite his chest rising and falling as if he had run a 20 mile marathon, there was a big, in Hidei's words, shit eating grin on his face.
He had definitely rubbed off on the boy, one way or another. Mostly in the ways of his jokester personality. Whether that was good or not was still to be determined.
The white haired boy sat up, leaning back against his tree. "Time to see what this is all about!" He opened up the book, scrolling through the pages before stopping on one.
The books were filled with images and content he had never seen before. Weird looking guys in different types of clothes, some even no clothing.
And not single one of them looked like Hidei or Hiro, it was strange.
"He looks kinda weird." As he turned the the book to get a better look, he couldn't help but noticed a shadow above him. Hiro slowly looked up and was greeted by the side of Hidei crouched on a branch above him, staring down at him and looking far from happy.
Maybe he shouldn't have stole his books after all.
"...Do you have round things on your chest like him?"
"I could've sworn I told you to not touch those books!" Hidei walked out of the tree line, his book in one hand and a child dangling in the other.
"I was just wondering! How come he didn't have dangly pa-
"Shut it! We are not having that conversation!" Not now, not ever, not in a million years.
Hidei kicked opened their front door and carried Hiro through the wooden structure, up the stairs and all the way to the boys bedroom. "Sit down you little bastard." He said, tossing him onto the bed.
Hiro bounced a couple of times before sitting up and crossing his arms. "Old geezer."
"I'm not even that old!" Plus he felt like he looked great for his age.
The redhead grumbled something inaudible and rubbed his temples. "Why cant you just relax like a normal kid? Play with your toys or something." The boy had an unnatural amount of stamina and was as fast as a damn feather in the wind. It was a damn mission keeping up with him all the time.
"Toys? You mean the sticks?" Hiro asked, snickering once he saw his caretaker's steamed reaction.
"Hey you have rubber ball too! Just-grhhhh-" Hidei turned around, taking a deep breathe. "You're a grown ass man Hidei, stop arguing with a child." Albeit a weird alien child. "Alright just...stay here and relax or something. Uh, you're grounded? Yeah that's right." He walked out of the room and closed the door behind him.
The redhead sighed, running some fingers through his hair, not moving an inch from the door.
Raising a kid...may have been just as hard as a lot of people had said. Maybe those single mothers were right about it being the hardest job in the world because it sure felt like it.
Hiro let out a long groan and flopped back onto his bed. "Why's he so mad that I read his stupid book." He grumbled, scooting up to the top of his bed.
The boy grabbed his rubber ball that sat on the nightstand and began tossing it up and down, his eyes fixated on the small openings and cracks in the ceilings while he let his hand mindlessly toss and catch the ball.
This was going to cause him to lose his mind. Was everyone's life this boring? Sitting around all day with nothing but a rubber ball to occupy them?
He didn't know how much time had passed, a couple of minutes or maybe even an hour but eventually boredom caught up.
"I'm boreddddd!" Hiro sat up, scratching the back of his head. "He can't keep me locked up in here forever."
He threw his legs off the side of the bed and pushed off and silently crept out of his room, giggling to himself the entire way out.
Trying to make as little noise as he possibly could, he tiptoed through the upstairs halls, peeking around every corner to make sure Hidei wasn't around being his usually old and grumpy self. Before long he had made it to the older male's door. Hiro grabbed and slowly turned the handle, peering through the small gap he made.
There seemed to be no sign of the male in the room. "The coast is clear." With a grin he entered the room, shutting the door behind him silently. He then proceeded to make a beeline for the closet where he knew Hidei hid his pride and joy.
He proceeded to open it up and then leap up to the top shelf scooping up a shoebox before landing on the ground. He laughed the entire way over to the bed where he put said shoebox down.
"Hahaha! Hiro one, Hidei zero!" Now it was time to extensively study the redhead's so called treasures.
He slowly reached over and grasped the lid of the box. He let out a deep breathe and slowly began lif-
"HYAH!
Hiro blinked at the sudden loud yell. "Huh?"
That sounded like Hidei but why would he be yelling? Well there was only one choice. "Investigation!"
He hopped back to his feet and moved closer to the sounds of the noises and it seemed like he didn't have to go far at all. He slid open Hidei's sliding door that led to a balcony, one that oversaw the entire front of the large clearing their home was built into.
Down below in the grassy plains was one certain redhead.
Hidei stood in one spot, sending numerous fast paced strikes into the air. Elbows, kicks, jabs, each blitzing through the air at speeds that Hiro could barely keep up with.
"HUAH!" He sent a strong uppercut into the air before speedily flipping away. As soon as his feet touched the ground, he began blitzing around the battlefield, appearing all over the place in a matter of seconds.
Hiro watched the man, absolutely mesmerized but what he was doing. A billion awe inspired questions ran through his little mind.
Eventually Hidei came to a stop near the center of the field. His chest was rising and falling slowly from what was clearly a very tiring workout but he had a smirk on his face despite it.
"HIDEIIIIII!" Before he knew it, there was a hyper active six year old jumping off his balcony.
The redhead's eyes widened and he quickly turned to him. "Hiro no!" He raced over towards the boy. Attempting to catch him but it was too late...But there was no splat? Hiro landed squarely in front of his caretaker with a large grin on his face.
"Hidei!" The boy repeated, not missing a step of of enthusiasm in his voice.
Hidei simply stared at him with a expression of mixed confusion and shock. "How di-" Ah he had forgotten. Hiro was a space pod kid. "You raise my blood pressure everyday kid. Now why are you here, aren't you supposed to be in your room."
Hiro laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "I was bored! And then I saw you doing that cool stuff and moving so fast! What was that?"
With a roll of his eyes, Hidei crossed his arms, debating whether or not to tell the boy. "That was martial arts." He finally said. "I was just training, It's something that I don't do as often as I used to. Something I don't do much at all anymore."
Hiro began bouncing up and down. "I want to do that too! It looks fun!"
"Oh no," Hidei quickly shook his head. "Definitely not, kids your age shouldn't be fighting." His words were not enough to deter Hiro from bouncing around him in circles like a rabbit.
"Come on pleaseeeeeee!"
"No! You should be playing games or watch tv!"
"Whats a tv?"
Hidei groaned, grabbing Monty by his head and holding him above the ground so he would stop bouncing around. "NO."
As expected the child groaned, hanging limply like a stuffed animal. "Come on I have nothing to do around here, it'll be fun! I promise to stop trying to read your really weird books!"
The redhead's eyebrow twitched, "My books aren't weird!" Resisting the urge to launch Hiro to the moon, he closed his eyes.
"Martial arts isn't a game Hidei." He stated calmly. "It's an art, a lifestyle. More importantly than that it's dangerous. It's a full time commitment. You'll have to work everyday at it."
"Come on please! I'll practice everyday!" Hiro rigorously nodded his head...Well the best that he could considering his current position.
"Did you just ignore the other parts that I just said?"
"Uh...no. Lo-look I'm ready Hidei!"
"Don't just say it, really think about it Hiro." It was painful and long and it might take him some time before results were shown. Not something your average kid would or maybe even should be doing.
"I'm ready, I promise! I'll work at it every day until I'm the best!" He was brimming with confidence and enthusiasm. What he saw from his caretaker had truly lit a fire underneath him. Hidei opened his eyes, staring at the boy. He had never seen him so excited about something like this in his life. There was a passion burning in those little bright orbs of his. One that he found hard to just dismiss.
Suddenly his grip on Hiro's head loosened and he landed on the ground, not taking his eyes off the taller, watching him with hope and anticipation.
"Fine I'll train you." Hiro let out a triumphant tell and jumped as far as he could into the air, cheering loudly. "I don't want to hear anything about the training being too hard!" Despite his serious no nonsense words, Hidei couldn't help but crack a small smile at his enthusiasm.
Hiro punched his palm, absolutely beaming. "Okay when do we start?" He looked up only to see a sadistic grin on his face. "Uh, Hidei?" He asked, chuckling nervously.
Lashing out quickly, Hidei kicked Hiro's feet from underneath him. "Drop and give me one thousand runt!"
To say that his first training was rigour would have been putting it lightly. The older hadn't been joking when he said he wouldn't be taking it easy.
"Ha...ha...ha...So...many...push-ups." With a dark sky and moon hanging over head, young Hiro was laid out in a starfish position, eyes closed as he attempted to regain his breathe.
Hidei stood above him, laughing, "Not as fun as it looks is it. You have to build up your muscles before you can start fighting."
The exhausted boy slowly raised a hand up, gently waving it. "N-no...I'm good. Just lemme..." His arm fell down and he couldn't even.
"Come on tike, we'll camp outside tonight. I'll set up the fire, go and get some sleeping bags when you." Hiro just gave Hidei a nod from the ground as he walked off.
Chances were that he was going to be there for a little while.
Hidei made his way over to a tree and looked it over, giving it a quick look over before deciding that it would do nicely.
The man took a stance and he reeled his fist back, sending it right for the base of the tree with a small grunt. As if the worlds sharpest axe had connected with it, the tree slid right off, falling towards the rusty martial artist. With his fingers together and his hand flat, he chopped the wood into pieces, letting them fall down in front of him in a pile, in log form.
Hiro had finally opened his eyes a bit ago to watch Hidei work on the wood. The little flame inside him flickered once again, regardless of how small the task happened to be.
"Alright, get the sleeping bags Hiro." With a grunt he pushed himself up to his feet. He was still tired but forced him to stay up on his feet.
With a nod to motivate himself he went into their wooden home in search of the sleeping bags.
Inconveniently it seemed like the bags didn't exactly want to be found. He poked around the living room, some of the rooms down stairs, and closets until he eventually had to move upstairs to continue his search.
He searched every room and eventually was left standing in Hidei's room, annoyed and tired. "Ughhhh! Where are they!" He went to peak underneath the bed but stopped, saying something out the corner of his eye. What were the odds...
"He really likes this closet." The sleeping bags had been the same place where he had frequently gone to snatch at Hidei's collection. He put one under each of his arms and ran out the room, eagerly blitzing through the house until he was back outside.
By the time he had made it out, Hidei had already finished constructing a makeshift little fire pit. Once he noticed his brand new protege back out, he set down a final long piece of log. "Look who's still alive. Thought you passed away."
Hiro gave him a tired grin and tossed a sleeping back his way, which the male catch with one hand, laying it out on the ground. While Hidei took a seat on one of the logs he had set down, Hiro fell back onto his sleeping bag, a relieved sigh escaping him.
Some time had passed, of just the two relaxing in the silence. Occasionally the fire would crackle and embers would jump, filling the air with noise on the otherwise quiet night.
But the noise was pleasant, peaceful.
"Hey Hidei..."
At the sound of his name, black eyes shifted from the fire, over to the source.
"Still awake? You really have to much energy. Well what's up kid?"
There was a bit more silence from the boy's end. He started up at the sky, finally finding the words. "How come you don't train anymore? How come you didn't want to train me...I don't really know much about you."
All these years and they never had an origins talk of sorts.
The question, the statement, made the man in question click his tongue. He tapped his fingers against the log, turning his attention back to the fire.
"I never knew my parents." He began after a couple of moments, "I grew up on my own, spending the first little bunch of my life just scraping by to survive with the other street kids of my city. Stealing from people always seem to be the best way to go. One day there was this man, he didn't look like much but he might have had some cash on him. So I swiped his wallet and made a dash for it. I got away too, hit the old bastard faster than he knew what hit him." He let out a laugh, reminiscing after the thought.
"Or that's at least what I thought. See I stopped in an alley to check the wallet, and before I even knew what hit me, the old man turned me around and beat my scrawny ass unconscious...When I came to I was at his house, he made me tell him my sob story and I guess...I guess he saw something in me. Took me under his wing, taught me how to fight the whole shebang. After a couple of years he passed away, leaving me on my own."
Hidei slid down off the log, so he could sit on top of his bag and lean back to stare up at the stairs. "Before long I was traveling, using my talents as a mercenary...I did a lot of things. But the important thing at the time was that I was getting by, making money. But I was still young and impressionable you know, still chasing after purpose with nowhere to find it."
He grabbed a nearby piece of firewood, tossing it into the flames, increasing the bright light and the warmth.
"Then I met another man. A visionary he called himself, said he was gathering a following, but it was more like a cult. Said he needed someone like me, said he could give me purpose, something I wanted after so long of drifting." A laugh escaped his lips. "It was like music to my young dumbass ears. That guy had a way with words."
"I worked for him for awhile...did a lot more things...it took me awhile to see him for what he truly was. A satanic monster who would use his own kids for power. So I left. Left that entire life behind me."
And now he was at a loss for words. He hadn't spoke of that foreign life in years and after suppressing it for the longest, they had rushed through his mind, almost as fresh as the days they actually happened.
Hiro sat up, legs crossed and his eyes on the ground while he absentmindedly plucked out pieces of grass. "Sorry for bringing it up."
Hidei gave him no piece of acknowledgment, never taking his eyes off the fire. "And then one fateful day, while living my sad, depressed new life...I found a white haired little devil. Abandoned just like I was. Little did I know that the little bastard would be the source of my smile for years to come."
Hiro looked up, surprised. Never had he heard such a sentiment from the man in their near decade of living together. A big bright smile found its way onto his face.
"I'm not a good person Hiro. I've ruined a lot of lives and have faced no repercussions. When I see you, I feel like I can be better."
Finally he broke his gaze from the fire, looking over to the boy with a roll of his eyes. "Go to bed brat, I don't need you balling your eyes out."
The boy laughed but slipped inside of his sleeping bag grin not leaving his face as he closed his eyes.
"Night Hidei!"
An hour or so passed of Hidei sitting in the silence. He finally looked over to see Hiro's peaceful, sleeping form.
"Night Hiro."
Age: 775
"995...996...997..."
With the sun standing bright in the blue sky, the rising and falling form of Hidei's white haired student can be seen doing push-ups.
Over the past year he had added a bit of muscle to his usually scrawny frame. Not much but a noticeable addition.
"998...999...1,000." Pushing himself into a hand stand position for a moment, Hiro flipped onto his feet, stretching with a grin, beads of sweat rolling down his forehead. "Old man!"
The man looked up from his spot underneath a tree. "What's up little bastard!"
Hiro walked over to him and clasped his hands together. "Sooooo, it's gotta be time now right!?"
Almost immediately Hidei opened his book back up. "No you're not ready."
An exasperated groan left his lips. "I've been working out for a year now! Doing more push ups and sit ups isn't going to help me!
Hidei's opened up his lips to speak again but Hiro loudly clasped his hands once again. "I AM READY. I'm not gonna move until you teach me how to fight." Hiro slid his boots into the ground, shifting the dirt underneath him. He kept a hard glare on Hidei, showing the man he had no intention of moving.
For the past year he had worked in day in and day out to get himself in the right physical shape, but now it was time to learn what he had started all of this for.
The redhead sat there for some time, not taking his eyes away from his book.
"You're ready huh?" His book snapped shut and he set it to the side. Slowly he rose to his feet, staring down at the boy. Before Hiro knew what hit him, Hidei's knee connected with his stomach.
The sheer force of the swift motion caused spit to fly out of Hiro's mouth as he gasped, his form faltering. The knee dug him up from the ground and sent him flying across the field, skidding to a stop.
He was flat on his back, gasping for air while clenching his stomach.
"Are you ready for that?" Hidei took a step from under the tree. "That wasn't even my full power Hidei. And forget me hitting you that hard for training. There are guys out in the world who will hit you five times as hard, with the intent to kill you. To make you feel pain. No, you're not ready for that."
Hidei stared at Hiro's writhing form. 'Just stay down kid. Forget all about this and stay down.'
It would save him from a lifetime of pain to just stay down, heed Hidei's insistent warnings.
Hiro dug his fingers into the dirt below and with all he could muster and rolled onto his side. He placed his fists against the group and struggled, but he managed to rise back up to his feet, putting his fists up to get into a stance even if it was shakey at best. "I...am ready."
"You're not." With a quick stride Hidei was already off onto a run, reaching the boy in a matter of moments. Hiro eye's widened and he attempted to dodge but a fist had connected across his face, sending him tumbling.
He slid across the ground, his cheek being pressed into the dirt. He laid in a fetal position, pain shooting through his entire form.
His entire life, Hidei had never seriously struck him. Yeah a couple of smacks to the head whenever he was being foolish, but never anything to this degree.
Never this much pain. "You want to fight right? Think you can handle it right? But you can't!"
His face was red hot, stomach sore, vision turning...but that wasn't an excuse to call it quits. A voice in the back of his head screamed at him to get up, and he was going to listen.
Gritting his teeth, he slammed his fists into the ground once more, willing his body up. Grunts escaped him and when his feet hit the floor, he stumbled, having a difficult time to stay upright.
Then he slammed his foot into the ground, putting his hands to the side to help keep his balance.
"Ha...ha...ha..." While gathering his breathe, he shakily put his fists up to assume his previous stance. "I'm...still...ready."
Hidei's stare remained hardened. "You have to be the most stubborn little shit I have ever seen." He finally sighed.
"If you're ready, then stay ready." With a stare that transitioned into a smile, Hidei assumed his fighting stance. He launched from his position, barreling towards Hiro with his fist reeled back.
"BECAUSE HERE I COME!"
Age: 775
Hiro ducked underneath a tongue fist that came towards his face and sent one at the stomach of his attacker, who leaped over him, laughing.
He growled turning around, to the face of a laughing Hidei. "Come on Hiro! I know that you can do it, land that punch!"
"Why can't I hit you!" Quickly he dashed forward and threw a series of jabs, each one Hidei dodged without having to move from his spot.
With a smile on his face while leaning to the side to avoid a fist coming at his face, Hidei decided to speak up, "You're slower than me yet you're trying to catch up," He crouched down sending a feint sweep kick at Hiro's legs, which the boy jumped over.
"If someone's faster than you, you don't try to hit them where they are," With a burst of speed Hidei shot back to his feet, grabbing Hiro by the shirt of his blue Gi while he was in mid air. "You hit them where they're going!" He turned and launched the boy into a tree.
Hiro smashed into it, back first and upside down. He groaned falling down to the ground. "Owwwwwww."
Hidei chuckled a little, dusting off his clothes. "Alright let's take a break for awhile. I don't know about you but beating you up all day makes me pretty hungry."
"Oh ha ha." The boy grumbled, rubbing his back as he rose to his feet.
Despite the sourness from being beat yet again, the mention of food did bring his spirits up. "Yeah let's go! I'm starving!"
"Oh we go then." He made his way inside, the other jogging to catch up to him so they can head in together.
Once they were back inside, the two got to getting themselves a meal ready for the night.
They reheated some of their meat from days prior and cut up a new batch of potatoes, dropping them in a pot.
Within an hour or so they were sat at the table, enjoying their meal.
"Ya' know," Hiro stuffed a mouthful of food in his mouth before pointing at Hidei. "I'm real close to beating you in a fight! Before long I'm gonna be stronger than you, old geezer."
The redhead simply snorted as he munched on his food. "In your dreams pint size, I've never once used my full power on you."
"Oh that's bull and you know it!"
"Haha! What's bull is how scared you got that one time when you saw a dinosaur for the first time."
"I wasn't scared! Plus I was like four." Hiro grumbled, picking at his food. "That thing was big."
"Mhm, you know you had the exact same reaction when you were si-" Almost like he had been frozen, Hidei stopped dead in his tracks, staring at the wall past Hiro like a blank screen.
Something was wrong, extremely wrong.
Hidei had the ability to sense. Sense energies, sense the life force of other beings and creatures. It was one way how he could stay so relaxed, never have to be paranoid about a creature coming out to attack them.
And right now he was sensing a number of high power levels coming straight their way. Familiar power levels. Strong power levels.
Hiro blinked, realizing Hidei had been silent and staring off into space for awhile.
He leaned out of his seat, waving a hand in his face. "Earth to Hidei, you alright?" Even with his waving he got no response. "Hidei?" He snapped his fingers a couple of times, luckily that seemed to do the trick.
He came to, shaking his head, red hair moving from his face.
"Uh you okay?" Hiro questioned, moving back to place himself in a seat. That was odd, he wondered what that was all about.
"Yeah...yeah I'm fine." He said with a nod and stood up, keeping a smile on his face. "Time for a surprise training session kid! Come on, up and at em." He beckoned the boy up.
He had no time to waste and he had to get Hiro out of there immediately. If this was who he though it was...things could get ugly.
Hiro eyed him, confused. "I thought we were done for the day?"
"I did too but I got a bright idea. If you do this, I'll teach you how to sense ki. Remember that? One of those advanced techniques I've told you about."
Hiro's eyes sparkled. "Really? Alright I'll do!" He shot up from his seat, punching the palm of his hand. "Okay what do I need to do?" That was a great question, Hidei himself wasn't too sure of that. All he knew was that the boy needed to get away fast.
"Wait right here."
The redhead walked out of the room to keep appearances, but once he was sure he was out of the view of his student he picked up the pace. He walked up the steps, quickly reaching his own bedroom where he grabbed a pack out of the closet. He proceeded to Hiro's and tossed a couple of the boy's Gi's inside.
After tying it nice and tight, he made his way back down to the kitchen and placed the pack into his chest. "You're gonna visit the nearest town. I...I want to see how fast you can get there and back."
"The nearest town?" He repeated as he was ushered out of the house. "I've never been to a town before." Hidei had told them that was a place where other people like them lived. It always sounded a little crazy.
"To the nearest town." Hidei confirmed once they were outside. "Once you get to the base of the mountain, check the map in your bag, it'll help you out."
Hiro gave him a nod and slang the bag across his chest. "Gotcha will do." He said with a grin. "Be ready to teach me how to sense Ki when I get back old man. Off I go!" The boy too off running into the trees, disappearing from sight within a matter of moments.
Hidei let out a sigh, closing his eyes. "I'm sorry Hiro. There's still a lot that I haven't taught you isn't there."
For the next couple of minutes, the martial artist stood there in silence, listening to the wind. He had grown so used to the peaceful nights of life on the mountain. Growing up in the city, he had never expected that he would be living such a of solitude. His younger self would never believe what he had become, what we had done.
"It's been awhile Rath."
Hidei slowly opened his eyes and turned around, his eyes landing on a group that was not there just a few moments earlier.
Four humans flanked the sides of another figure. All dressed in the same black cloaks. The one of clear authority was a Beastman. A black fox who at the least towered at seven feet tall. This must have been the supposed Rath.
"So this is where you have been hiding out." His voice was deep, one that filled the presence of the air. His slit red eyes scanned the field, landing on the home Hidei had built. "This is where you have been lazing about for years. Living a good life after betraying us. After betraying the vision of our Lord."
"I betrayed a madman," He replied with a scoff. "He cared no one. Look what he did to you, look what he turned you into. An oversized fox plushie." He snickered.
Rath closed his eyes, laughing lightly. "What our Lord did for me, is give power, give me a purpose! And you," He pointed a finger at the redhead, a sharp claw gleaming at it. "You have lost your purpose Hidei." The Beastman took a deep breathe, closing his eyes and inhaling the scent of the area. Once he was done he opened his eyes, barring razor sharp teeth at his old running mate. "And I can smell the fragrance, the fragrance of weakness. You are nowhere near the man you once were."
"But, I have been instructed to give you one last final chance." Rath spread his arms out. "This is your chance to pay for your sin of betrayal without bloodshed brother. Join with us once again, regain your purpose."
Hidei nodded at the end of Rath's proposal, like he was considering the man's words. "That is an option yes...But I think I like option two more."
He dragged his foot across the ground, bringing it back to get into his stands. "Telling you and your Lord to go fuck yourself.
"I have my purpose. A purpose stronger than what you've ever known."
A picture of Hiro's bright dumb grin flashed in Hidei's mind. He couldn't go back...He wouldn't go back. He would be better, for Hiro.
Hidei smirked at him. "So are you going to fight me or preach me to death. If you're real innovative you can try both."
Rath stared across at Hidei, silently and hard. "Then you have made your choice." He grasped at the cloak around his neck, yanking it off and tossing it to the side.
"AND THAT CHOICE IS DEATH!"
Breaking the ground underneath him, Rath lunged towards Hidei at breakneck speeds. With barely enough time to dodge, Hidei fell to the side, narrowly avoiding him. By the time he flipped back up Rath was already on him again, sending a large fist down towards.
Hidei jumped away, dodging the punch by a margin. Rath's fist tore into the ground. He maliciously grinned, picking up his relentless onslaught.
He was on the human in moments due to his incredible speed. "You can't run for ever Hidei!" He sent two jabs at him, which Hidei manage to bring his forearms up and block just in time, not without feeling an intense stinging feeling from the force.
Rath proceeded to toss a kick at him, breaking his guard and sending him tumbling backwards. The Beastman let out a loud laugh, "Is that all you are capable of? You know I love it when they run. It reminds me I am the prey!"
The human rolled back onto his feet, immediately tossing his coat off to the side. "You talk to much Foxy!"
The two ran towards one another and met at the center of the field.
Hidei sent a series of strike at Rath, the Beastman dodged the blows, blocking a kick to his head with his forearm. Immediately he chained the failed strike with an uppercut towards the Wolf's stomach over for him to catch the fist with both of his hands.
He called on the fist to not let the other go and began spinning Hidei in circles before tossing him into the sky.
He was out of control for a moment but managed to land on his feet.
"Tell me something Hidei." Suddenly Rath got into a crouched state and intertwined his fingers with one another loosely, leaving space in between his palms.
"After all this time, can you still still use Ki?" As he laughed a red energy began to gather between his hands.
Feeling his enemies power begin to skyrocket, Hidei's eyes widened. "Goddammit, how am I going to match that!" He just wasn't strong enough to overpower that, but if he moved the entire forest would have been decimated.
There was only one choice.
Hidei held out both of his hands in front of him, gritting his teeth as she tried to muster any sliced of Ki remaining in his body.
A similar ball of red energy formed in front of his hands. Slowly gaining in size.
"That is the spirit! Die will giving it your absolute all! Die like the traitor filth yo-"
"BURN IN HELL! BRIGIT CANON!"
"CORPUS BOMB!"
The two energy attacks fired from their respective owners. Hidei's red wave meeting with Rath's bomb attack.
The two attacks created a force that was strong enough to cause trees to threaten to yank up from their very roots. Rath's lackey's had to cover their faces from the high winds that were created.
For a moment there was an illusion that their powers were equaled, their attacks struggling against one another in a statement. But it ended up being precisely that, an illusion.
The Corpus Bomb began to overtake the cannon, inching towards Hidei more and more while he began sliding back.
'Dammit this can't be happening! If that thing hits me I'll be a goner!'
"You see Hidei! In this game you have been reduced to a pawn, and me? A KNIGHT!"
Hidei's breathe became heavier, the taxing strain of trying to hold the Corpus Bomb at bay now washing over him. "G-gotta move Hidei." They could always move to a different forest, it was replaceable.
He canceled his own attack and jumped out of the way, turning back as the attack narrowly grazed him and soared towards the trees.
"And you are the pawn." Hidei's eyes widened at the voice suddenly in his ear.
"Checkmate."
As Rath dug his claws into Hidei's back, the Bomb connected with the trees, causing an explosion.
Hito didn't stop running.
He spent the entire time eagerly pacing through the forest to get to the cross way of the mountain. Nothing could contain his excitement at the prospect of learning how to sense Ki. It was just one step in learning how to do those cool energy things that Hidei had told him about.
He had never shown him though, more stuff about not being ready and too young.
The boy had finally made it to his destination, one of the few roads in the mountains. "Okay, map time."
He sat down and pulled off his pack, setting it down. "Gi, Gi, Gi...More Gis...You'd think he would pack some snacks in here." It still felt a little weird how he had suddenly came up with this.
"Oh come on I could've have lost it!" He dumped out all of the clothes but there was absolutely no sign of a map.
"Goddammit! That cheating old bastard didn't put it in my bag. That's just cheap!" He flopped back with a groan to stare up at the setting sky.
He glared up like the sky's themselves would feel it. "I'm gonna shove my foot so far up his o-" The sound of an explosion made him stop. He quickly sat up and turned around, looking to where the source was.
With wide eyed he watched as smoke started to raise into the sky. "T-that came from home." It couldn't have been Hidei because he didn't use his own keys so that must have meant one thing. Trouble.
Hiro shot up to his feet and immediately broke into a sprint, speeding back to their home.
The entire time he ran, the closer he got the more an uneasy feeling filled his chest.
Ducking and dodging trees and branches, hopping over bushes, using trees to push off occasionally for an extra boost in speed.
After ten minutes of straight running, Hiro slid to a stop. A burning forest, it looked like something intense had scorched the very earth itself.
He slowly walked through it, his eyes full of confusion as he wondered what could have daughter it.
After passing a tree, something specific caught his attention. Their house. Their burning, scorched, and broken down house. The place that once sheltered them and stood for over a decade was now in pieces and crumbling by the minute.
"W-what?" None of this made sense, what was going on?
The sound of a cough was the next thing that caught his attention. In the field, lying in a pool of his own blood that stained his white and red clothing even more.
Hiro stood there frozen, his voice caught in his throat. "H-Hidei?" He silently questioned as he moved closer. Everything felt heavy. For some reason it felt like there were tons weight holding down his body, especially his chest.
Once he stood over the fallen martial artist he could finally get a good look at him. There were holes through him, almost like he had been impaled but the biggest animal claws he had ever seen. Blood leaked from the wounds onto the great grass, while blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
His head slowly shifted towards the boy. Hidei mustered up a small, pained smile. "H-Hiro...Y-you're back already." He echoed lightly.
Hiro nodded lightly, falling to his knees. "W-what happened?" His hands hovered over the man, too afraid to make contact with him.
He began to laugh lightly but the laugh quickly was replaced by pained coughs. Everytime he moved it felt like his pain increased tenfold. "...I...I'm a bad guy kid...this is karma f-finally-" He grunted in pain, breathing out his noise heavily. "...given me what I deserve."
Tears began to steam down the young boy's cheeks, resting on his chin before landing on the chest of his caretaker.
"N-no thats wrong! You don't deserve this! Who did this you !?" His shakey yells echoed throughout the area.
Slowly, Hidei's head shifted again, back up to the dark night sky and the stars in it. "The past caught up to me...I couldn't get away...But I wasn't going to let it get to you too."
It felt like glass had shattered in his brain at those words. Realization had hit him like a fully loaded freight train. "You knew." The tears started flowing harder. "That's why you sent me away." He didn't send him for some type of training. No he knew that someone was coming to kill him.
"You're the one who changed me Hiro. Not myself...I didn't suddenly turn good...you made me good...And you-you...you're a better than I would have ever be." He smiled lightly and raised a shakey arm. Slowly he placed his hand on the white haired boy's shoulder. "Live a long life...make friends...help people...don't be a monster like me...You don't have to be perfect...no one is. Everyday strive to be a better person than you were yesterday...and that's good enough for me."
The color finally faded from Hidei's eyes. His hand slowly lost its grip on Hiro and slipped down to the ground, crashing back down onto the Earth.
Lifeless.
"Nonononononononono! Hiro finally had broke through his fear and grabbed Hidei by the shoulders, beginning to shake him.
"Hidei come on! I know you're not dead yet you're too strong for that! Wake up Hidei, wake up!"
He didn't know how much time had passed. A couple of minutes, half an hour, maybe even hours. He didn't stop shaking Hidei nor screaming his name out.
Finally he stopped, his tears seeming infinite.
He was gone.
The man who had raised him his entire life, gone.
The man who had taught him everything he knew, gone.
The only home he had ever come to know, gone.
And now? Now he was alone.
"HIDEIIIIIIII!
It had been approximately five day's since Hidei died. Hiro had buried him on the other half of their field. A part that was still as beautiful as the day when Hidei had gotten there. The piece where he loved to read his books.
Other than that hadn't made any moves that weren't involving getting food so he didn't starve.
He had no motivation, no will to do anything, and no clue what to do in the first place.
And then like a sign from above it had hit him. One bright day Hidei's words rang through his head. He wouldn't have wanted him to sit around crying, sitting in a field like an aimless ghost.
So that day he marched off to the nearest river and washed himself up, along with his Gi. Then returned to his cherished master's grave.
Now staring over it, he stared at the disturbed Earth.
"I'm sorry I couldn't have helped you Hidei...I'm sorry I wasn't strong enough." He clenched his fists, nails digging into palms. "But I don't be that anymore. I'll travel. I'll make friends. I-I'll live a long life. I'll be a good person...And I, will become stronger! I'll avenge your death and make sure you it never happens to anyone again! I promise!"
Hiro swiftly turned on his feet and made his way away from the grave, away from his home, never to look back again.
"Okay, where to first?"
Hiro stood at the cross way roads on the mountain, looking off the edge onto the world below. A wide world that he had never gotten the chance to travel to.
The thought of it brought a small smile onto his face. He would really be entering a whole new word.
"Time for an adven-" Suddenly a car served a corner of the road zooming way to face and smashed into Hiro, sending him right into a tree. As he smashed into it the car came screeching to a halt.
As Hiro fell down to the ground the door flung open and a pale skinned young man flew out the door. Underneath a red coat with a fox head on it, he wore a white shirt, grey pants, and black shoes. There was also a sheathed cane on his back. His hair was a shade of red, not unlike Hidei's but while the other man hair's was bright and spiky, this one's hair was straighter and dark...almost crim-
"Crimson! Ohmygodohmygodohmygod!" The stranger quickly sputtered out, pacing back and forth. Considering no one else was in the car it was likely he was talking to himself.
"How could I hit a kid, how could I hit a kid! I'm gonna go to jail, I'm gonna go to JAIL! I'm not ready for that they would eat me alive!" He talked in such a sporadic and chaotic way, not being able to keep still.
While he rambled on to himself, Hiro sat up, rubbing his head. "Why do I keep hitting trees?" He groaned, pushing up to himself.
"I hit a kid not a tree." Crimson muttered but suddenly froze...Who had he just replied to. He slowly turned his brown eyes and when they landed on the now standing Hiro he let out a high pitched shriek.
"How are you still alive!?"
Hiro narrowed his eyes. "Because your monster hits like a baby. I'll show you!" The boy leapt through the air, coming down on the cart with a fist that pierced through the hood and engine of the car.
Crimson looked like he was about to faint. "That's not a monster that's my car!"
Hiro blinked a couple of times, looking down at what he had was a punch. "Really this is a car? I always thought they would be like metal horses." He pulled out his hand and laughed, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head. "Haha, my bad!"
With tears that flowed out like a river, Crimson fell down to his knees. "I got that car for my birthday." He croaked. Suddenly the more important information popped up in his brain.
He hopped back up to his feet, grabbing Hiro by the shoulders. "How in the hell did you punch a car!? How did you survive being hit it!?"
Hiro just stared up at him and just shrugged. "I hit it."
"...You hit it."
"Yup."
"Your average person can't just punch cars like it's cardboard!"
"Oh right, you gotta hit it really really hard." He stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Crimson just stared at him in disbelief. "Kid who are you?"
He was finally going to be able to do an introduction. Hidei had told him about these! That one day he would have to greet others. "Oh wow."
He cleared his throat and put a hand up. "Hey I'm Hiro! Nice to meet ya!" Nailed it.
The redhead was silent for a moment before sighing. "I swear if I was any older I would have a heart attack man." But he followed in Hiro's steps. With a smile he introduced himself. "Well hey Hiro, I'm Crimson Howell, nice to meet you to!"
With introductions out of the way, Crimson walked over to his car an examined it. "Wow you really got in there didn't you." He had never seen something like it in his life. Someone punching through his car? Extraordinary. "How are you really this strong Hiro? What are you doing up in the mountains by yourself?"
"Oh I'm not by myself-" He began but had to stop himself. No. He was by himself. Hidei wasn't there anymore. "Uh, I grew up here. My master had been training me for years, teaching me martial arts! He Uh...passed away recently, so I've decided to go explore the world like he wanted me to!" He punched the palm of the hand with a grin, "And get stronger!"
He looked up to the older male. "How come you're up here? No one ever really comes this way."
Suddenly Crimson grinned, "Great question my friend. Stay right here!" The coated male quickly zipped to the trunk of his car, digging through it for a moment before pulling out a bag. "You see I my friend, am an inventor!" He dropped the bag on the ground and dug through it, eventually pulled out three shuriken."
"I created these highly advanced little projectiles to blow up on impact."
To demonstrate, Crimson reeled back his arm and threw the three shuriken at a tree. On impact each created a small explode that toppled over the tree and left the inventor beaming with a bright smile.
Hiro laughed and clapped, "Hey that was awesome! You made those all by yourself?"
Crimson gave him a confirming nod, throwing the bag back in the trunk. "Sure did. My birthday was a few weeks ago and I decided to start traveling the world to create and test my inventions. Plus I like meeting people."
"Oh you're traveling too? That's awesome, how about we travel together?" Hiro suggested. Why not, a little company couldn't hurt could it?
Crimson looked from his car to the boy, mulling it over for a moment. Eventually a smile broke out onto his face and he gave Hiro a nod. "Sure why not kid! It gets boring out here all by yourself."
And just like that, Hiro was no longer alone, making his first new friend in years.
"So where we going first?"
"No idea."
Current Power Levels:
Hidei: 250
Hiro: 25
Rath: 450
Crimson: 10
Rath's Lackeys: ???