Chapter 13
Krillin
It was another day in the station for Krillin, the Chief had offered him time off like he had for Videl, but Krillin declined, he was hoping to accumulate some vacation time for when this whole fiasco was settled. The day had gone by as usual, wake up, breakfast, train with Marron and Eighteen, shower, get dressed, head to work. There was no news regarding the investigation into Master Shen; Pinto, Garbanzo, Cashew, and Lima had managed to acquire a search warrant for Shen's school, but couldn't find any direct evidence of his involvement. Krillin figured that would be the case, he hadn't survived this long by taking on stupid risks. Yamcha continued to train the 'Ki Corp' as some officers liked to call them; and he had taught them how to use basic ki balls, although only five of them had managed it so far.
Ten minutes after Pinto had finished the training and gotten dressed in her normal clothes, she and Yamcha went to Krillin's desk. "Yo, Krillin, Pinto and I were talking, and we were thinking of how we could deal with Shen," Yamcha explained. "Oh?" he asked. "Yeah, why don't we see if Master Roshi can give us some insight, maybe tell us what to look for or maybe what he's planning," Yamcha explained. "I guess that could work… Why you need me?" At this, Yamcha rubbed his head, "I uh haven't been keeping up with him for a while…so…" "You forgot where his island is," Krillin bluntly stated. "Yeah," Yamcha confessed. "Alright, gather the rest of the guys and I'll take you to him. You want me to fly over?" Krillin asked. "Yeah, my new ride can hold everyone else, and I'll follow you in it," Yamcha said. "I'll go get the guys," Pinto said, and headed out, Yamcha's eyes following her.
"Hey, Earth to Yamcha," Krillin said, snapping him out of it, "Keep your mind focused on the task at hand. Don't forget she's still your student." "Hey, I'm taking my responsibilities as a master seriously," Yamcha defended himself as they walked out the Police Station, "I mean, just because we're dating doesn't mean I'm not objective about her skill level. Pinto's good, but she can't even use a basic ki ball yet." Once they were out, Yamcha pulled out his capsule case and activated the one for his hovercar. Right on time, Pinto, Garbanzo, Lima, and Cashew all came out and took their seats in Yamcha's hovercar, it was tight but manageable. Once everyone was ready, Krillin flew up into the air and Yamcha's hovercar followed after him.
It was honestly nostalgic for Krillin, flying through the air, feeling the wind in his face and watching the sights from above. Yamcha drove his hovercar next to him and said, "Yo, speed it up a little, my baby can handle it." "Alright, let's go!" Krillin said, and blasted off, tripling his speed. Yamcha's car struggled to keep up, but Yamcha managed to follow closely behind Krillin. Within an hour, Master Roshi's island came in sight. Krillin and Yamcha were surprised to see Master Roshi was outside, training. The old master was slowly moving through a martial arts form, standing up into crane stance before slowly coming down and crouching low into a dragon stance, standing up fully and throwing two kicks, before bringing his legs down and bowing. Master Roshi took a deep breath and slowly let it out as Krillin and Yamcha landed.
"Hey boys, it's been a while," Master Roshi greeted his former students. "We didn't interrupt anything, did we?" Krillin asked. "Nah, I was just finishing up. So, what brings you here?" Roshi asked, and then saw the detectives come out of Yamcha's hovercar, "With guests?" Lima was the one to step forward and explain, "We are Satan City Police Detectives, I'm Detective Lima, this is my partner, Detective Pinto, and our associates, Detective Garbanzo and Detective Cashew. We were hoping you could aid us in an investigation, sir." "Ah, I see. Would you mind coming inside? I'm a little parched from my training," Master Roshi asked. "Alright," Lima said, as the detectives went inside. "Huh, Master Roshi didn't react to Pinto at all," Krillin said.
"Well, she looks better when she's not in her suit, or wearing her sunglasses," Yamcha pointed out, "Or maybe that training he did with Puar is still sticking." "I guess," Krillin agreed before they went inside. Master Roshi and Turtle passed out drinks to their guests, only Yamcha, Krillin, and Pinto took the sight of the intelligent Turtle in stride while Lima, Cashew, and Garbanzo kept staring at him. After everyone sat down and Master Roshi had his drink, Lima explained about the ki wielding criminals, their crimes, and their investigations into 'Master Flying Stork.' After hearing all this, Master Roshi stroked his beard, "I see, Shen is up to no good again, and this time he's being a lot subtler about it. But what do you need me for? Tien's identified him, what's keeping you from arresting him?"
"Unfortunately, there are no open warrants for 'Master Shen', and identification by fighting style is not admissible in court," Lima explained, "Also, we could find no direct evidence linking him to these attacks. We were hoping, since you know him best out of everyone, if you could give us some…advice, maybe some idea of his weaknesses, how we might expose him." "Hmmm…" Master Roshi scratched his beard as he thought about this. "That won't be easy, Shen was always a slippery eel, even before he fell on the path of evil he was great at hiding secrets. Also, he's been in hiding for decades, the last time I saw him personally, these men," Master Roshi gestured to Krillin and Yamcha, "were just finishing up puberty. Shen is smart, and more importantly, he's patient. The last time we saw each other, he had converted his brother, an assassin called Tao Pai Pai, into a cyborg. Tien Shinhan defeated Tao at the 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai, and Shen fled. Never saw hide nor hair of either of them since.
"Shen was a ruthless master, teaching his students that strength alone mattered, and to not care at all who was hurt or how by them. Tao was a powerful warrior before he became a cyborg, I heard rumors that he could kill people with just his tongue, and Shen claimed he made Tao ten times as strong as he was before. Tien easily beat him, and all my students have greatly improved since then. For them to surface now must mean they've gotten stronger as well or have figured out a new trick that's made them confident they can handle them. If Shen hasn't destroyed the evidence, and that's a big 'if', then he has probably placed it someplace obvious, so obvious that no one would think to look there. Arrogance was always his greatest weakness," Master Roshi explained.
"I see," Lima said, he and Garbanzo wrote down notes. "Do you have any pictures of Shen or Tao Pai Pai?" Cashew asked. "None that would help. Shen and I were both young men when we parted ways the first time, I can give you a description of him and Tao from when we last saw them, but that's all I can do," the Turtle Hermit admitted. Pinto took out her own notepad and a pencil, "Go ahead, every little bit helps." Master Roshi gave Pinto descriptions of Tao and Shen, making sure to tell her about Tao's hidden knife and Super Dodonpa Cannon. She showed Master Roshi her work and he whistled, "Say, you got quite an eye, that's almost as good as a photo, though the ears are a little too big." Pinto corrected this and showed him the drawings of Tao and Shen again. "Yep, that's them alright," Krillin agreed when he saw the pictures, "I guess Shen got plastic surgery, 'Master Flying Stork' has a bigger nose and puffier cheeks. But now that I see him in front of me, I'm sure it's him now, without a doubt."
"I'm curious," Master Roshi said, looking at Pinto, "You've taken all this in stride. Most people nowadays wouldn't accept such a tale. I take it you know how to use ki." "Yeah," Pinto admitted, "Yamcha's been training me and some other officers." "I see," Master Roshi said, Krillin and Yamcha had a feeling now, sensing a rising power within Pinto. Yamcha put his hand on her shoulder, "Don't bother, he's got centuries of experience, and he's just plain stronger than you." "I know," Pinto said, "I can sense it. I still want to really try out my strength, if I can." "Pinto, is this really the time?" Lima asked. "I accept," Master Roshi said, "A Master needs to test his students, I need to see how well my student is teaching his students. His quality of teaching reflects mine after all." "Alright," Pinto said, taking off her glasses and outer coat.
"Let's head outside," Master Roshi said and everyone left the Kame House to watch. To everyone's surprise, Pinto unbuttoned her shirt as well to show she was wearing a red sports bra. To Krillin and Yamcha's shock, Master Roshi had no reaction at all to this! Pinto took her stance and with a brief kiai of, "HYA!" her blue ki aura swirled around her like the fire of her soul. "Alright then, so far so good," Master Roshi said, but he didn't take a stance, standing still with his legs together and hands behind his back. "Let's see…Krillin, grab my five-minute hourglass, it should be under the kitchen sink. That's how long we'll spar," Master Roshi instructed. Krillin ran back into the Kame House and got the five-minute hourglass and headed back out. "On my mark! GO!" Krillin tipped the hourglass, and Pinto immediately flew forward.
Master Roshi ducked under her punch and then jumped over a kick, landing behind Pinto. "Not bad, I only saw two openings," Master Roshi said as Pinto unleashed a storm of punches. Master Roshi avoided all of them, not moving from the spot he landed in. Master Roshi went for a punch, but Pinto blocked it, however, the strength of the strike pushed her back almost to the ocean. "Good instincts, you aren't focusing only on offense. Now, let's see how good your defense is," Master Roshi said, and then vanished. Pinto jumped up right as he was about to kick her and flipped away from the Turtle Hermit, only for Master Roshi to appear in front of her when she landed. She managed to deflect his punch along with another one, and barely managed to block a kick as well. "Not bad, you're a born warrior," the old master complimented the female detective, before he then used the Afterimage technique, making it look as if she was surrounded by Master Roshi's.
Pinto looked around before taking a deep breath and closing her eyes. The Master Roshi Afterimages charged at her from all sides, but Pinto sensed the real one and countered his kick with one of her own. For five minutes it went like this, Pinto and Master Roshi taking turns on offense and defense. Pinto was struggling to keep up the whole time, and it was clear to everyone that Master Roshi was holding back, but she remained firm and made it through all five minutes. "TIME!" Krillin yelled when the last grain of sand hit the bottom of the hourglass. The second he yelled that, Pinto collapsed to her hands and knees, struggling to breath. "Oh man," she said between breaths, "That was…intense…You really are…a Master!" Master Roshi smiled at this, "Of course, there was once a time when I was famous around the world as the Strongest Human on Earth! You look a little sweaty, you should go shower up before heading back to the Station, I can show you to the bathroom." "Thanks," Pinto said with a smile.
Here we go… Krillin thought to himself as Master Roshi led her back in the house. Krillin followed them in, and Master Roshi led Pinto to the bathroom. Pinto went inside and shut the door behind her. Master Roshi then walked away. "Oh, Krillin, I just remembered, Marron had a birthday not too long ago. She's about eighteen now, right?" Master Roshi said when he noticed his former pupil. "Seventeen," Krillin corrected. "Ah, sorry I couldn't come, but Turtle was sick and needed someone to take care of him," Master Roshi said, as he headed to his bedroom. Krillin watched him wondering what the old man was planning. "It's true," Turtle said to Krillin, "I had a really bad flu. Master Roshi felt pretty guilty about missing Marron's birthday." "I didn't know turtles could get sick," Krillin told Turtle. "This was the first time in a hundred and two years," Turtle said, "And it was awful. I'm glad it's over." "Nice to know you're alright buddy," Krillin said, and gave Turtle a pat on his head, "Marron missed you at her birthday."
"Seventeen," Turtle said with a smile, "I can still remember when you first showed up, and now here you are, with a wife and seventeen-year-old daughter. Time sure flies." "It sure does," Krillin agreed with his own smile, and Master Roshi came out of his room, tossing a capsule to Krillin. "Here's a little something for Marron. I hope she enjoys it," Master Roshi said, then headed back outside. Krillin was so surprised that Master Roshi wasn't trying to peek on Pinto he had to pinch himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming! He just stood there, holding the capsule Master Roshi gave him, for the next ten minutes. Pinto came out of the bathroom fully dressed. "Alright, I'm ready to go," the female detective said. She and Krillin came out of Kame House to see Master Roshi was on his beach chair, watching the view of the ocean while Yamcha and the other detectives talked about Pinto's spar with him.
"Thanks for the help, Master Roshi," Yamcha and Krillin said, bowing to their former teacher. "It was nice seeing you boys again. Don't be strangers. Krillin, tell Marron 'Happy Birthday' for me, and Yamcha, keep up the good work. If Pinto's any indication of the quality of your students, you've turned into a great teacher." "Thank you Master Roshi, I will," Krillin said. "Thank you, Master Roshi," Yamcha said, and after everyone said their goodbyes, they left the island.
The rest of the day was uneventful as Yamcha headed home to plan future lessons while Krillin stayed at his desk the rest of the day and the Detectives all tried to figure out how best to use the information Master Roshi gave them. Krillin clocked out and headed back home. There was a note on the door saying, "Dear Krillin, Marron's having a sleepover at Kuki's plus we need to get milk. Be back soon." Krillin went inside and headed for his and Eighteen's room. He took out the capsule Master Roshi gave him and opened it and got the shock of his life. For Marron's Seventeenth Birthday, Master Roshi got her lingerie! It was a baby blue Teddy with white stockings and garter belts, so sheer it was almost see through! Krillin tossed it on his bed with a scream. "I knew it! I knew he hadn't changed that much! Oh man, there's no way in Hell I've giving that to Marron, what was that old pervert thinking!" Krillin yelled to himself as he headed into the shower, determined to wash thoughts of his daughter wearing such a thing out of his brain. He came out of the shower and got a second surprise.
There was Eighteen, laying on the bed, wearing the Teddy with a very suggestive smile, "Hello there, officer. I've been a bad girl. A very bad girl."