More time passed as the training continued. Although the others were no longer actively avoiding her, or giving her death glares, Rinka felt like she was making little headway relationally. Whenever they were tasked with sparring, she would end up getting paired with either Krillin, because he was willing, or Chiaotzu – albeit reluctantly – because they were similarly matched size and power-wise. Other than her occasional conversations with Krillin, socializing was kept to a minimum.
On this particular morning, breakfast had been more-or-less just a quick snack, as everyone was eager to get to morning warm-ups. The only one not focusing on their individual exercises was Yajirobe, who was currently occupied with stuffing his face. No surprise there.
The reason for the hasty meal was that they had been informed the day prior that Kami had some kind of special activity planned for them today. Something that was supposed to really provide a major boost to their training. Several minutes after they'd begun, Kami and Mr. Popo joined them in the Lookout's courtyard, almost like clockwork.
"Kami will see all of you now," Mr. Popo informed them, and they began to gather around the two guardian beings.
"Hey, Kami. I don't mean to be rude, but we're not really learning anything new," Krillin complained. He'd been skeptical about this new 'supposed training', not seeing how they could do anything different than what they'd already been attempting.
Kami's eyes flashed dangerously. Maybe it would have been better for him to have waited to see what they had in store, before voicing his skepticism. After all, it hadn't been very long since Rinka had been, enlightened on the merits of keeping one's mouth shut. Although, Yamcha was also quick to agree.
"He's right," he voiced, hopping down from his one finger balancing act and moving towards the group. "So far you haven't taught us anything we couldn't do on our own!" he protested. "We wanna be as strong as Goku was when he was here!"
Rinka blinked back and forth between them all. Oh yeah! That was right. Her father had trained up here with Kami after defeating King Piccolo. She couldn't really speak for the others, but she'd been learning a lot since she'd been there. However, she supposed that was to be expected, this being her first time doing actual serious training.
"Yeah, come on! We want the same training you gave Goku, Kami!" Krillin added, now sounding even more heated.
"Please, listen carefully then," he finally growled back. "I taught – Goku," he paused for dramatic effect. "Nothing!" he then shouted at all of them. "That's what I taught him!"
Everyone started, before falling down in a comedic fashion, and then he just laughed and walked away.
"Hey! What did he mean by that?!" Yamcha snapped.
"Who knows? If this camp wasn't free, I'd be outta here!" Yajirobe grumbled. "Just between you and me, the food's not that great," he added under his breath.
"But, Kami, sir! Didn't you say–" Rinka attempted to dart after him, but a sharp look from both he and Mr. Popo halted her in her tracks.
"Mr. Popo, we all know Goku received training here before. Why can't you tell us what it was?! You claimed we'd be doing something different today! So, let's get to it!" Yamcha demanded, but the genie man remained unmoved.
"Come on! We're just trying to get stronger! That's all," Krillin attempted to reason.
Mr. Popo closed his eyes with a sigh. He seemed to be pondering something for a moment.
"To be truly strong, you must know yourself and your enemy," he told them cryptically. "Once you know this, all will become clear."
Silence.
Rinka turned to look at the guy's dumbfounded expressions.
"What do you mean?" Krillin finally asked.
Without thinking, Rinka barked out a laugh at the reaction, but then immediately clamped a hand over her mouth. All eyes then suddenly snapped to her, Popo's with a glare. Oops.
"Sorry," she mumbled sheepishly, rocking back and forth on her heels. Krillin spared her a smile, at least.
"Don't give us that rubbish!" Yamcha barked at the fortune cookie answer. "How can we not know ourselves?! I know myself better than anybody!" he argued.
"Oh? Is that a fact?" Mr. Popo asked with a hint of satire. "So, you know yourself, do you? How come you don't know that you are weak?"
Rinka cocked her head at him. But, they did know that, didn't they? Wasn't that the whole reason they were there? Because they weren't strong enough to fight the Saiyans?
"Oh?! Would you like to prove that?! You beach ball!" he challenged back, getting right into Popo's face. Well, maybe he didn't know after all?
Mr. Popo just stuck a finger to his nose, easily pushing him back with a scolding hum. Yamcha appeared somewhat surprised at the gesture.
"All of you follow me," he instructed, and lead the way back into the palace.
A moment later, they all found themselves standing in a very odd-looking room. A giant pendulum swung from a massive fixture in the ceiling, and the floor glowed with a strange, magical-looking pattern. And it was dark, very dark. Rinka was getting a very uneasy vibe from it, making her skin crawl.
"Wow. . ." Krillin trailed in awe.
"Whoa, check it out!" Yamcha added.
"What is this place?" Tien wondered.
"Here – past, present, and future are mixed," Mr. Popo explained, sort of.
"Amazing," Chiaotzu decided.
"More creepy if you ask me," Rinka mumbled.
"This is where you'll start your time trip. When Goku was with us, most of his training took place in this room," Popo continued.
"Uh, Goku?" Yamcha asked nervously.
"He trained by traveling through time?" Rinka wondered.
"That's right," he confirmed. "We weren't sure about bringing you here yet, but since you all insisted so strongly – I hope you're ready," he warned.
"I think we are. Let's do it!" Tien declared, sounding uncharacteristically excited at the prospects.
"Yeah!" Yamcha agreed, both he and Krillin putting on a determined face. Yajirobe – not so much.
"Hey guys, have fun!" he mockingly encouraged. "I'm a lot of different things, but I ain't no guinea pig," he told them, retreating to the edge of the room to partake in another snack.
"Hey, what's life without a little, experimentation?" Rinka joked. He did not find this amusing.
"Those of you who wish to go, step inside the circle, please," Mr. Popo requested. They all did as instructed. "Before you go, I can only recommend that you see with your heart. Now, close your eyes, please," he continued.
Rinka didn't like this, and she could feel herself getting increasingly more nervous. Although she wasn't about to wimp out now, she decided that maybe it wouldn't hurt to look for a little, moral support? She reached up and clamped onto Krillin's hand before squeezing her eyes shut. Krillin smiled down at her before returning the squeeze and shutting his own eyes.
"The next time you open your eyes, you will be in a far off place, exactly 100 years ago. I wish you luck, young warriors," Popo finished.
Rinka could suddenly feel an weird, tingling sensation pulsing through her body. She tightened her grip on Krillin's hand, subconsciously scooting closer to him. She could offer up no feasible explanation on how any of this was possible, but at least she knew she wasn't alone in the endeavor.
She waited until the rippling feeling ebbed away before chancing a glance around. Mr. Popo hadn't been kidding about the change in scenery. Everything around them looked completely alien!
"Where are we?" Chiaotzu wondered, his nervousness clear.
"Uh, Mr. Popo said, a 'far off place', remember?" Rinka pointed out.
"Well, wherever we are, it's obvious that there's been some serious fighting going on around here," Yamcha observed.
"This place is demolished!" Krillin exclaimed.
They weren't kidding. Nothing was recognizable as any kind of solid structures. It all just looked like piles of rubble, the remnants of what could have been a city of sorts.
"Sounds like all of the fun is over though," Tien commented about any lack of noise.
"Ya think maybe he messed up on the timing?" Rinka asked.
"Shhh! Listen!" he suddenly shushed her.
But, to what? Rinka couldn't hear anything! Until, there was suddenly a small crash. They all let out nervous yelps and turned to find a skeleton had slid down a nearby ravine. It was adorned with what looked to be the same kind of armor that Raditz had worn.
"Look! It's a Saiyan!" Yamcha exclaimed.
"Not anymore," Krillin pointed out darkly.
"I played a video game that started out like this once," Rinka muttered anxiously.
"What? Was it a horror game?!" Yamcha asked, the tension in his tone clear.
Rinka nodded vigorously. "Yeah, I wouldn't recommend it." She swallowed hard.
"Listen!" Tien snapped again. "I think I hear something. There!" he announced after a moment, gesturing towards a shadow in the distance.
"Th – that could have been anything," Yamcha argued shakily.
"Yeah, but it was definitely something!" Krillin's tone sounded at the edge of panic.
Listening to the grownups whine was not helping Rinka's own mental state! She did her best to try and shake it off. They couldn't just stand there all day! They should at least try to figure out what it was they were supposed to be doing here!
"We should try and find out," she decided, slinking towards where the noise had come from.
"Are you crazy?!" Krillin exclaimed, grabbing hold of her and yanking her back.
"Hey! What? Am I the only man here?!" she demanded, looking sour.
"Come on! That isn't fair! You're scared too!" Krillin argued at the comment with a scowl.
"Yeah, okay, I'm sorry. Honestly, I've just, always wanted to say that," she told him with a cheesy grin.
"Ha Ha! You're so funny," he frowned at her, his sarcasm obvious. Yamcha just shook his head.
"Actually, Rin's right. Let's go check this place out," he encouraged, so they all began moving forward in a group.
"Man, what a battle this must have been!" Yamcha declared, as they skirted through the rubble. "Look at all these Saiyans! Too bad we missed all the action," he lamented.
"Maybe you're right. Mr. Popo must have been off on his calculations. It's over," Tien confessed to Rinka. She glanced up at him in surprise. Never thought she'd hear him admit she was right about something.
"There's bound to be a few Saiyans left. We'll just look around until we find 'um," Yamcha offered.
"Agreed," Tien nodded.
"I think we'd better stay together. In case we run into any trouble out here," Tien suggested.
"Of course! That's horror movie one-o-one! Someone always dies whenever they try and split up," Rinka offered.
"This isn't a movie! Or a game!" Tien snapped at her.
"Maybe not, but that doesn't mean we can't learn something from other people's mistakes," she reasoned.
"I – suppose that's a fair point," he mumbled, which caused Rinka face to crack into a huge smile. She was two for two with him today! "Just – everyone needs to stay sharp," he ordered.
"You don't have to worry about me. I can take on a Saiyan with my hands tied behind my back!" Yamcha boasted.
"How're you supposed ta fight with no hands?" Rinka mock-wondered, cocking her head up at him.
"I'll kick 'im in the teeth," he shot back without missing a beat. Guess that wasn't the first time someone had asked him that.
"We might as well go back," Tien finally decided, after they'd been walking for a good while. "I don't think we're going to find any action here."
"But, how do we get back?" Krillin asked.
"Good point. Mr. Popo didn't tell us that," he realized.
"Hey! Maybe they're too scared to come out and fight us?" Yamcha mocked. Chiaotzu suddenly saw something that caught his attention, and he began to wander off.
"I don't think so, and if you met the Saiyan Goku and Piccolo fought, you wouldn't think so, either," Krillin argued.
"That's true. Raditz didn't really seem like the type to back down from a challenge," Rinka agreed.
"Wait, you remember his name?" Yamcha wondered.
"Well, yeah. I mean – he was my uncle, after all," she reminded them.
"Are you sure he was telling the truth about that?" Krillin questioned her.
"I guess. . . not 100 percent sure, but – why would he lie about something like that? I mean, what would he possibly have to gain?" she reasoned.
"Maybe he thought Goku would be more willing to do what he said that way?" Krillin suggested.
Rinka just shrugged. If Raditz had really put that much stock into family, she had a suspicion that he wouldn't have been so quick to be willing to kill his own brother. It made more sense to her that he'd actually been telling the truth.
A sudden beeping brought all their attention to where Chiaotzu was. He was currently leaning in through a broken window to get a better look at the contents inside. The equipment mysteriously coming to life seemed to have startled him.
"Chiaotzu! Let's go!" Tien ordered him back.
"Right, uh–" They heard him say, and so turned to leave.
However, a second later, they all whipped back around at the sound of an explosion and him shouting in fear! They gasped at the sight of a Saiyan warrior emerging from the dilapidated building, Chiaotzu's head painfully clutched in his left hand.
"Tien! Help me!" he cried in pain and terror.
"Chiaotzu!" Tien yelled back.
"Ow! Let me go!" Chiaotzu hollered at the hulking ogre, struggling with all his might to get free.
Tien immediately leapt into action, charging up an energy blast that never had a chance to hit anything. Because at that moment, another Saiyan appeared and suddenly attacked! He launched his own Ki blast in Tien's direction, blasting him backwards in a powerful explosion. It was everything the others could do to get out of the way in time!
"Let me go! Let me go!" Chiaotzu was still screaming, until. . .
There was a sickening crack, and he fell silent and still.
"Chiaotzu!" Tien screamed again. That's when Rinka realized with horror – that monster had crushed his head!
At that point, there was nothing they could do but watch as the brute casually lobbed Chiaotzu's lifeless body out of sight and into a nearby pile of rubble.
"Chiaotzu!" They all yelled again, but it was already too late. Tien turned back to their attackers with a growl, looking absolutely furious!
"What? Did I do something to tick you off?" The big guy asked in a mocking tone.
He didn't need any further prompting. Tien took off like a rocket towards the surly pair with murder in his eyes. Out for revenge for his fallen friend.
"Watch it, Tien! They're fast!" Krillin hollered out a warning, but it didn't look like he was listening at the moment.
Tien attempted several strikes against Chiaotzu's killer, all of which he seemed to be able to expertly dodge with little effort. This went on until he finally decided to retaliate, smacking Tien across the neck and throwing him back towards the shorter Saiyan. This guy followed up with a devastating blow to Tien's spine. He attempted to counter, but the shorter Saiyan was still too fast, being able to get behind him and pull Tien into a headlock!
"Hey there. Were you looking for a fight?" the guy sneered.
Rinka, having been a little slow on the uptake, finally snapped to attention, trying to go after the guy who had a hold of Tien. She didn't get far, however, before the larger one appeared in her path, swatting her back as though she were nothing more than a pesky insect! Krillin caught her before she could hit anything.
"Rinka!" he cried in alarm.
"I'm fine," she quickly assured him, shaking her head to clear the ringing.
Yamcha had taken a fighting stance. Rinka could feel his power rising, as he began gathering energy in his uplifted hand.
"Come on! Come on!" he was mumbling to himself, until the energy suddenly became visible and was glowing in between his fingers. "Yes!" he called in triumph!
A second later, he lobbed the Ki ball at the Saiyans, using additional energy to control it's trajectory. They were distracted by the glowing orb just long enough for Tien to deliver a headbutt to the guy holding him, successfully getting free. This all just before Yamcha directed his attack back down at them, violently exploding when it hit the space right in between where they were standing.
"Yeah!" Yamcha cheered at his successful strike. Unfortunately, this joy was short-lived. For, as soon as the dust settled, it revealed that the two aliens were not only still alive, but also completely unharmed.
"Nice shot. That tickled," the smaller one mock-praised, leaving Yamcha in a state of complete shock.
However, Tien wasted no time in retaliating, bringing his hands together to charge up an attack of his own.
"Rin, we gotta help!" Krillin shouted at her, and she nodded, leaping back to her feet.
Both of them gathered energy as quickly as they could, firing beams of Ki alongside Tien to hit them with a combined triple shot of power! They then stood, glaring at the spot, keeping poised for whatever else the Saiyans might try to throw at them. Yet this time, when the dust settled, there was nothing where they had been standing before, except for a gaping hole. The guys relaxed a bit and moved over to check it out.
"Looks like we did it," Yamcha surmised.
"Those guys were tough," Tien commented.
"No kidding!" Krillin agreed.
"Poor Chiaotzu didn't even have a chance," Yamcha lamented.
Rinka trotted along to catch up to them, stopping next to Krillin as he nervously peered down the hole.
"A-are you sure it's over?" she asked in a worried tone. After watching everything that Piccolo and her father had to go through to beat just one of these guys, she had a hard time believing that it had been that easy.
There was the sudden sound of maniacal laughter reverberating all around them, and causing them all to visibly flinch!
"Ah man! You had ta ask, didn't ya?!" Krillin snapped at her.
They all glanced around nervously as it continued. The echoing making it hard to determine exactly where the sound was coming from. Krillin began backing away, only for one of them to suddenly leap into the air, vanishing again just as quickly.
"He disappeared!" Tien exclaimed.
Unfortunately, this served as the perfect distraction. Because an instant later, there was a loud crash as a hand burst out of the floor right underneath Krillin, latching onto his ankle and yanking him down into the newly formed hole! He yelled in surprise as he was dragged out of sight.
"Oh, no you don't!"
Her reflexes now on a serious edge, Rinka wasted no time reacting to the sneak attack. She was immediately at the hole, her hand reaching down milliseconds after Krillin's had disappeared. Her fingers clamped down hard around his wrist, and she hoisted with all her strength in the opposite direction, successfully wrenching him back up and out through the floor.
She then took to the air, repositioning her stunned friend onto her back, where he instinctively latched onto her, looking shaken, but unharmed. It was clear that he'd lost a boot in the process, which was probably how she'd successfully wrestled him out of the monster's grip. A small price to pay, all things considered.
"Ah! Rin?" he wondered in surprise, his mind finally able to catch up with his body. "Uh! Thank you! Thank you!" he praised, bleary-eyed and gripped her even tighter.
"Don't thank me just yet," she warned, but still smiled at him over her shoulder. "This is far from finished!" she reluctantly reminded him.
"What are they – immortal?!" They heard Tien demand with rage below them.
"I don't think so! They're just super strong, and if we don't watch it, they're gonna try and get us again while we're not looking!" Yamcha warned.
Those were Rinka thoughts exactly! Which is why she decided to remain in the air, thinking it could help provide a buffer against any more surprise attacks. After all, they'd have to reveal themselves before they'd be able to reach them, however brief such a window might be. . .
A sudden shout brought their attention back to the floor below them. An instant later, a massive beam of energy exploded from the ground, aimed directly at their current location! Rinka only had a fraction of a second to react! Unfortunately, her timing was not quite good enough.
While she managed to zoom back, avoiding the primary bulk of the damage, her lack of speed meant she couldn't get completely out of the way in time. This being made obvious, when a second later, she experienced a massive wave of pain, searing from the lower part of her right leg and foot! She couldn't help but let out a scream of agony, and looked down to find that the appendage had been badly burned from coming in contact with the attack, even if it was only for a moment.
"Rin!" All three of the guys cried out in alarm!
She began panting heavily and wobbling in the air as her head began to swim. However, she did her absolute best to grit her teeth against the horrible sensation, and hang tough! She couldn't afford to lose her composure now. Not if she wanted to survive, and especially not if she wanted to continue to keep Krillin safe. . .
Krillin, on the other hand, had other ideas. He attempted to switch positions with her, flying on his own and trying to hold her up instead. Yet, Rinka continued to keep a firm grip on him.
"Rin, your leg!" he called out desperately.
"I'm okay. I'm okay," she responded hurriedly. Although it seemed more like she was trying to convince herself of it than him, fighting with everything she had to keep tears from streaming down her face!
She didn't have the strength to continue to maintain her hold, and he was able to wrestle away, repositioning her in his arms.
"Let me help!" he insisted. She never got the chance to argue.
Meanwhile, the guys on the ground breathed a small sigh to see them out of immediate danger.
"I don't care what happens anymore! I just wanna beat those guys!" Tien declared.
An instant later, the taller of the Saiyans suddenly manifested in front of them.
"You should never have come here! No one comes to Vegeta!" he told them.
"He's right," the shorter one added, appearing next to his cohort. "We try to discourage tourism here," he added casually.
Yamcha growled, and began charging up power in his hand for another attack.
"Hey! My grandmother can gather energy faster than that!" the shorter one mocked, before they vanished again. "But don't feel bad! She's one tough cookie!" They could still hear him call from down the now massive hole. Both Saiyans belted out creepy, echoing laughter at the comment, before then reappearing once again just a bit of a ways off from Tien and Yamcha on the ground. The four of them seemed to be about to have a serious face off!
"Alright, Yamcha. Let's give it everything we've got!" Tien encouraged at they took battle-ready stances. The Saiyans just chuckling menacingly.
"Multi-Form!" Tien announced, splitting himself into several separate bodies.
"Spirit Ball!" Yamcha followed up, concentrating his energy into his signature sphere.
The Saiyans began glancing around at all the Tiens now surrounding them. Each of the Tiens concentrating an attack towards the two, trying to keep them corralled in the center of the room.
Yamcha then released his energy. However, they were able to easily dodge the first pass. Yamcha wasted no time in redirecting the ball, controlling it so it kept right on their tails. In retaliation, the Saiyans began punching their way through the roof the structure to try and give themselves more maneuvering room.
This resulted the the ceiling collapsing down around everyone. Killing having to dodge to keep from getting hit by any falling debris. Meanwhile, Yamcha brought the ball down and around, detonating it with impressive effect on top of the Saiyans!
After the dust settled, the two relaxed their guard, obviously assuming that this wave of attacks had done the trick.
"Ha ha! They did it!" Krillin cheered. So it seemed, so why did Rinka still feel so uneasy? She shivered, but whether it was from pain or paranoia, she couldn't tell.
"Man! That was horrible!" Yamcha lamented, still panting from exertion. "Those two guys were monsters, not men!"
"Yes, they were," Tien agreed.
But the celebration was short-lived, for before both the men even had a chance to catch their breath, they suddenly yelled out in surprise as the ground rumbled beneath them. And a second later, it was made painfully obvious that the monsters still had yet to be vanquished! They began to attack the two with renewed ferocity!
Rinka let out her own cry of despair, and wrenched herself around in Krillin's arms in alarm! He fumbled her around in surprise at the unexpected jolting.
Down below, the Saiyans had smashed both Yamcha and Tien into the air, only to slam them back to the ground an instant later with equal brutality! What happened next, all seemed to occur in the blink of an eye!
The Saiyans both unleashed powerful beams of energy, directly at the two stunned warriors, with obvious intent to kill! Sensing this, Rinka managed to rip herself away from Krillin, succeeding in putting herself between the beams and their intended targets, right before they were about to strike!
"Rin! NO!" Krillin howled in shock and terror at what was clearly about to happen!
Rinka did what she could to generate a shield in the tiniest of windows before the attacks hit! Unfortunately, it did little good. The force-field only held for maybe a moment. One last moment, before the deadly energy attacks ripped straight through it – and then ultimately – straight through her!
The girl's small, vulnerable body did not last long under the savage assault, tearing to pieces in a gruesome display of rending flesh and blood! And just like that, it was over practically as quickly as it had begun, what was left of her body splattering to the ground. The three warriors who remained could only stare down with looks of absolute horror at the sight!
However, they did not have long to process this grievous turn of events, as the Saiyans, now apparently tired of toying with their painfully inferior opponents, immediately resumed their attack! Making quick work of the still present warriors in a similarly savage fashion, their agonizing screams echoing throughout what remained of the cavern. . .
Rinka awoke to the sound of ticking, pricking at the back of her mind. She opened her eyes and stumbled a bit when she realized that she was currently standing up! Her hands immediately flew to her hammering heart, and she quickly glanced down at her body to find that she was miraculously still in one piece! What. . .? How. . .? Her foggy brain was having trouble comprehending what was going on!
"Yajirobe?" she heard Tien grunt out near her in confusion. "Mr. Popo! Kami!" he seemed to acknowledge in realization.
Rinka peered around to find that they were indeed, currently standing in the room with them. She then turned to discover the others were also present, and appeared to all be safe and sound. Yamcha reached up to grope at his face in astonishment.
"I'm alive!" he realized in surprise.
As the others began glancing around the room, Rinka could take solace in the fact that she wasn't the only one feeling bewildered!
"Chiaotzu!" Tien called in pleasure at seeing his best friend standing next to him unharmed.
Meanwhile, Krillin didn't say anything as he gazed down at Rinka with an expression of immense relief on his face! Rinka, still not really knowing how to react, could only stare back, before he suddenly grabbed her and yanked her into him. He let out a long sigh a moment later.
"How – how did we get here?!" He wondered in the direction of their present company.
"You never left here!" Yajirobe hollered in response, sounding rather put out. "You've all been just standing around like a bunch of zombies!" he snapped.
Rinka jumped at the sudden declaration, pulling out of Krillin's arms to turn and stare at him in surprise. What did he mean, 'they never left'?
"Only your physical bodies remained here. With the help of this room, your spirits made 'dream bodies', which they used to travel to the dream-like past," Mr. Popo explained, again, still not really making all that much sense!
During this time, Tien began to look increasingly agitated. Clenching his hands into fists, while his expression slowly contorting with anger.
"So, you guys. How did it go?" Yajirobe wondered, stepping over towards the group.
"Not at all like it should have!" Tien finally snapped at the question, causing them all to jump.
"Rinka!" he then barked out, whipping around to glare at the now startled girl. She stared up at him with a perplexed expression. "What on earth were you thinking?! Why would you do something like that!?" he roared with rage!
Meanwhile, Rinka began shivering in shock at the sudden verbal assault! She was so taken aback at the unexpected outburst, that she didn't know how to respond at first!
"I – I didn't. . . there wasn't time to–" she finally managed to stutter out after a moment. However, the irate warrior didn't give her a chance to finish.
"Don't you ever do anything like that again! Do I make myself clear?!" he demanded, the sternness in his gaze not faltering in the slightest.
"Whoa! Calm down, Tien! She was only trying to help," Krillin attempted to reason, but it was clear that he was not having it!
"That is not her place!" he lectured harshly, silencing any further protests. A long, awkward silence stretched – before it was ultimately broken by Kami.
"Perhaps not from your perspective. Although, regardless of her rash behavior, Rinka's instinctive reactions to the situation have demonstrated her, evidently, protective nature. This is actually a very good example that we should all learn from. After all, isn't that what the true purpose of learning martial arts should be? Despite what Mr. Popo told you all before about knowledge being the key to true power, it is not complete without this final lesson: When a person has something important they want to protect – that is when they can become truly strong," Kami explained to them, smiling down at Rinka.
Even though she still felt a bit shaken, she managed to return the smile. His words helping her to feel a bit better about things. However, Tien just made a tch sound at Kami's words, and continued to glower at the ground.
"Okay. . ." Yajirobe trailed, not understanding what any of that had been about. "But that doesn't really explain how y'all did," he pointed out.
"They did very well, Yajirobe. They all fought valiantly against a very strong enemy," Kami informed him. However, no one seemed to want to take credit for that praise. "I should mention to you all, that the Saiyans on their way to Earth are twice as strong as the ones you just fought," he told them – that addition being quite the bombshell!
Rinka felt her blood run cold at the disturbing revelation! They had cut through her shield like it was made of paper! There was no way! They wouldn't stand a chance! A similar panic seemed to have shot through the rest of the room. Chiaotzu sounded like he was about to cry, and Krillin began shaking with fear right next to her! She was sure they were all thinking the same thing that she was! They were screwed!
"Twice as strong!?" Yamcha exclaimed in dismay. "Are you sure about that, Kami?" he asked. Kami looked grim as he nodded his affirmation.
"I can certainly understand if any of you want to back out of this deal," Kami offered after a moment. "Believe me, there would be no dishonor in doing so," he assured them.
Well, that's easy for him to say! Rinka thought, as she cast a wary glance over towards Tien.
"But if you must leave, go now, because there will be no looking back for those of you who will remain after today," he continued forebodingly.
There was a long moment of contemplative silence. For a while, nobody moved. Until a surprising sound suddenly reached their ears. Laughing? Rinka turned to see that it was Yamcha laughing! Has he gone crazy or something? She wondered.
"Wouldn't miss it!" he finally exclaimed with determination. Oh, guess he was just being cocky again, she realized.
Tien only nodded in affirmation.
"I'm in." Chiaotzu chimed when he saw this.
"Me too!" Krillin announced, now looking as though he were ready for anything.
There was another pause in the conversation. That was when Rinka realized that all eyes were now on her.
"Well, Rin?" Krillin questioned, looking at her expectantly.
Rinka just flashed him a skeptical glance. Did he really need to ask? After all the work, and everything she went through to get here? Not to mention that her brother was already guaranteed to be a part of this, whether they liked it or not! Of course there was no way she'd even consider backing out now!
"I'm not going anywhere!" she announced, narrowing her eyes at them all.
"It's settled then!" Yamcha decided "We'll spend twenty four hours a day in this room if we have to. We'll beat those Saiyans!" he encouraged, both Krillin and Chiaotzu looking pumped at his words.
Tien, however, looked solemn as he stepped away from the group. He paused for a moment, casting a doubtful glance back at Rinka before facing away from them again.
"I'm not going to argue about it, but for the record, I still stand by what I originally said," he finally stated, continuing the earlier debate against the half-Saiyan girl's presence. "You really shouldn't be here," he finished, his heavy footfalls echoing around them as he marched from the room.
Soon after, Chiaotzu took one quick look over at Rinka, before quickly following behind his friend. "Wait up, Tien!" he called.
Not knowing what else to make of this, Rinka could only assume he must be embarrassed at having her attempt to defend him! Whether it was because she was a child, or because she was a girl, she couldn't be sure. Either way, the comments really made an impact, making her feel both foolish and inferior! She let out a small grunt of dismay and lowered her gaze to the floor, biting her lip to keep the tears that threaten to flow from forming.
Yamcha and the others obviously noticed, because they all gave her sympathetic looks.
"Hey, don't worry about Tien, okay? That guy is pretty hard to read," he reassured her.
"Y-yeah! It's not easy getting to know him at first, but I'm sure he'll come around," Krillin added.
"Besides, no one can argue with the fact that you did real good today! I mean, we all would've died even sooner if it hadn't been for you!" Yamcha pointed out, actually sounding legitimately impressed.
Rinka smiled up at him at the complement. "Thanks Yamcha," she told him sincerely.
"True, but uh. . ." Krillin hesitated for a moment. "Maybe next time, don't be so quick to sacrifice yourself?" he suggested. "After all, what would Goku say if we let anything happen to you?" he grinned, obviously taking a stab at humor to try and lighten the mood.
However, Rinka's countenance fell at bit at hearing that. Right, what would Goku think? She repeated in her head, turning back towards the direction that Tien had gone. She signed as she contemplated what he'd said to her.
You really shouldn't be here.
It's not your place.
If her place wasn't here, then where did he think it was supposed to be? At home playing with dolls like Piccolo had suggested? So much for the respect she'd thought she'd earned from him today. Once again it felt like one step forward, two steps back. Only time would tell if the other's words ever proved to be true.
So, what do you guys think Tien really means? Let me know in the comments below! Lol :P
