Spark


Kakarot agonized during the two and a half months Makoto spent on Kinmoku. His aura link had not worn off by then, and he longed to feel more than the faint crackle of her celestial energy on the other side of the galaxy. He refused to watch the Jovian military streams because seeing her on a screen yet knowing she was so far away only hurt worse. Princess Usagi came back after a week, followed by Sailors Venus and Mars, but Makoto stayed with the others to help restore Kinmoku to a habitable state. Their digital infrastructure had been destroyed, their fields rendered barren, and their cities leveled. By salvaging the enemy's technology, allocating intact materials, and applying the guardians' elemental abilities, power flowed across the planet once more in the form of geothermal, hydro, and wind energy.

The Ionian guards permitted Kakarot to continue training despite Sailor Jupiter's absence. So it was that as he headed down into the grotto beneath the castle, the proximity of familiar ki made him pause on the stairs. Was he imagining things? He flew down the rest of the steps and faltered again when he spotted a figure in emerald green armor. "Makoto!" She turned around just as Kakarot barreled into her, sweeping her off her feet and nearly flying them up to the ceiling of roots.

"Oh my god, put me down!" she half shrieked, half giggled. Kakarot practically crushed her in his arms. "Down, Saiyan, down!" They landed in a heap on the mossy grass, breathless from laughing so hard. Makoto shoved him off and sat up, trying to seem irritated. "I swear, you're like a hyper little puppy."

His tail wavered ecstatically. "You're finally back! I missed you!"

"Really?"

"Yeah!" Kakarot abruptly pouted. "Were you training without me?"

Guilt washed over her. "I figured you stopped coming here, or went to train with other Saiyans or something."

"I tried a few sessions with Broly and Nappa, but it wasn't the same as with you."

She grinned. "'Cause you weren't in danger of being electrocuted."

He smiled rakishly in return. "You're back now and you're already in guardian form, so let's spar!"

"Alright, since you clearly have too much pent-up energy…" Makoto first retrieved her armaments that had gone flying when he swept her up, then she assumed her defensive fighting stance. Kakarot bounced on his toes and rolled his shoulders to loosen up before a more serious expression claimed his countenance, and they started circling one another. "I feel the need to inform you that I took down half of Black Moon's airforce using only a quarter of my power, so I'm a little eager to let loose, too."

"Good, do it!" he challenged. "I can take ya!" Kakarot lunged and she planted her feet, drawing her shield arm across her body and ducking below his punch. With a backhand swing, Makoto sent him flying to the other side of the grotto. "Whoa!" Kakarot exclaimed, shaking his head free of stars. "You weren't kidding!" She motioned for him to come at her again, and he gladly obliged. Getting past that shield was his typical goal when they sparred; it only left her shins and head exposed, so he either had to knock it aside, disarm her entirely, or maneuver to her posterior. Those options also required him to be within range of her spear, which gave him a good jab or zap if he didn't keep his own guard up.

Makoto could tell he'd gotten better during her short absence. Kakarot used moves she hadn't seen before, things he must have picked up from the other Saiyans. He kept her on her toes, literally, constantly forcing her to move around instead of standing her ground and letting her shield weather most of the blows. He wasn't the first opponent to do that, however, and she employed her spear to both protect her right side and counterattack when appropriate. Kakarot managed to bait her into stabbing at him. He evaded right at the last minute, hopping over the tip as it pierced the ground, and got his hands on her shield, yanking it right off and hurling it away so forcefully it lodged in the wall. Makoto pursed her lips. He wasn't going to let her retrieve it anytime soon. She straightened, holding her spear behind her at an angle with her left arm raised, hand open. Kakarot mimicked her by relaxing his fists. "You've never used this stance before," he commented.

"No, I haven't."

A grin. "Does that mean I'm winning?"

What he actually meant was "am I threatening you?" to which the answer was yes. "Not for much longer," Makoto replied.

Kakarot shuddered despite having worked up a sweat. There was always a point in their friendly sparring matches where the smirks and smiles disappeared and she regarded him seriously, like a real enemy, and that was when the lightning struck. Again they circled one another, Kakarot wondering at the significance of standing up completely straight and holding her weapon back in an obviously disadvantageous position. He didn't have to wonder much longer as the metal shaft crackled with sparks and whipped toward his head at a speed he couldn't track, smacking him right in the temple and downing him like a ton of bricks. That one stung, and the voltage scrambled his brain.

Makoto knew he was fine but she didn't press the offense just yet. "Did you like that?" she taunted. "Ready for another taste?" Kakarot righted himself, drawing his hands closer to his head. She took that as an invitation to swing again, and although he blocked the first strike, he found himself on his ass as she kicked his legs out from under him. But this was a learning experience, so he stood back up. The look in his eyes said he was really ready for her this time. First strike, blocked. Second strike, dodged. Third strike, parried! Makoto beamed. It was so nice having a competent sparring partner. "Again!"

Block, dodge, parry… counter! Kakarot figured out the sequence and managed to catch the spear under his knee, lashing out with a scissor kick. Makoto leaned back to avoid it, and while she had him off-balance, dropped all her weight to throw him over her head. He let out a surprised yelp but managed to land on his feet and fire off a ki blast. Makoto winced as it struck her shoulder, trying to recover her stance. Kakarot didn't afford her the opportunity, however, and it was all she could do to drop her weapon and defend herself with open palms. He was very agile despite being so muscular and finally broke through her defense, ending their sparring session with a suplex that knocked the air from her lungs.

While Makoto inhaled great gulps of air, Kakarot forced out a single laugh. "Hah! I won." Then, the guardian did something that made him short-circuit. Her legs came up over her head and suddenly she was straddling him, pinning his wrists to the ground.

"Don't be so sure of that, Saiyan." Kakarot couldn't form a comeback. He could barely breathe as his heart skipped several beats, and his brain only formed simple thoughts. Strong guardian. Pretty. Hot, sweaty, female. Strong, pretty female. Female. Female. Makoto loosened her grip as he went slack, gazing into her eyes. Lose, wispy strands of hair framed her face. Her lips remained parted as she took in oxygen to fuel her tired muscles. She was just… so… stunning. Kakarot pushed himself up onto his elbows, still staring like he was seeing her for the first time, and his fingers rose to her cheek. Makoto jerked her head away as if he'd scalded her, brow furrowed. "Can't you lose gracefully?"

"Ah, I wasn't…" Kakarot lowered his arm, his face hot. Then he smiled impishly. "Pretty sure I won. I could've easily thrown you off."

"Then why didn't you?" Makoto stood and offered a hand, pulling him to his feet as well.

He mussed his hair. "I… didn't want to."

Her eyes narrowed. "Okay…" She took a running jump at her shield and managed to reach it, fetching her spear as well. "We can train outside the barracks tomorrow. Now that it's summer on Io, the breeze will keep us cool." Kakarot only nodded, not trusting himself to not blurt out something stupid. As they ascended the staircase, he lagged behind by a few steps to watch her skirt swish about her thighs… thick, tight thighs for encircling his waist. Beads of sweat slid down her upper arms… strong, sexy arms for holding him down. Makoto paused to look over her shoulder and his gaze met hers in time that she didn't realize he'd been staring at her ass. "It's not like you to be so quiet after we spar."

"I'm just… thinking about that stance you used," Kakarot replied. The one where she was on him. "It looks like it leaves you wide open and unbalanced, but you were so fast."

Makoto smirked. "You'll figure it out. I know you."

I know you. Those words echoed in his head while he lay in bed not sleeping. Yes, they knew one another's fighting styles. They knew how the other trained. They knew that they would never be seriously injured while sparring. The trust was there.

I know you. He analyzed every move she made in combat, constantly adapting, learning, and improving himself so he could expand his repertoire and overcome her. It was a two-way street, though. She observed him just as acutely, picking up every little technique from his alien martial art. In this manner, they freely shared themselves with one another.

I know you. But he didn't, not as well as he thought! She had all these new moves connected to her shieldless fighting stance and he only saw a fraction of them today! He needed more, needed her to reveal everything, then they could be certain of where they stood with one another. The thing about being an intuitive fighter was that Kakarot took what he saw and made it his own without really thinking about it. If a move worked, it just worked. There was no room for doubt in his Saiyan mind because hesitation on the battlefield resulted in death.

If he ever got to fight side by side with Sailor Jupiter… gods, what a thrill that would be. He'd be certain that she wasn't holding anything back as they faced down enemies together. Kakarot estimated she'd allowed seventy-five percent of her power to flow into him that one time their auras resonated, and he reciprocated an appropriate amount of ki in order to maintain balance. Any more and he would've damaged her guardian crystal. Any less and she would've damaged his ki channels, his nadis as Broly called them. Kakarot decided that even if he adapted to Makoto's charged spear stance, he would travel to Deimos to train with Broly and absorb some of the techniques he learned from Sailor Mars.

He had never gone anywhere near the barracks before, but he found them by following Makoto's ki. She had not donned her regalia to perform katas with a unit of soldiers. Kakarot touched down at the edge of the courtyard and sat cross-legged to observe them. The movements were fluid and snappy. Arms and legs were either partially or fully extended precisely at forty-five or ninety-degree angles to the body. Each motion had a unique kiai, some of which Makoto had already taught him. They weren't Human words so much as sound effects, kind of like the syllables uttered during meditation to cause spiritual resonance.

Their katas finished, the soldiers paired off to drill. Makoto faced Kakarot and summoned him with a tilt of her head. He tightened the sash around his sleeveless gi before they bowed to one another. "We exchange five hits each," was all she said. Kakarot nodded, preparing to block. The strikes she delivered were faster, seamless versions of the ones he just studied. Makoto blocked his five blows, then she went again, using completely different moves. This kind of martial arts system was very foreign to Kakarot but he immediately recognized its practicality. Once all the moves had been committed to muscle memory, one could make split-second decisions to string any number of combinations together.

The soldiers dispersed after an hour, migrating to a row of showers connected to a bathhouse built out of xylem tissue. Makoto spent the rest of the day imparting the fundamentals of karate to Kakarot, who took to it like a bee to a flower. He was able to participate in exercises and training matches by the end of the week, exhibiting nothing less than prodigal talent. When she made this remark, Kakarot only smiled sheepishly and mussed his hair. "I'm no prodigy, not like Vegeta and Broly."

"What makes them different than you, by Saiyan standards?" Makoto questioned.

He mulled it over. "They were born with really high power levels."

"How do you determine power levels?"

"Ki readings. When we were born, our potential ki output was measured and compared against all the other Saiyans in a huge database."

Makoto scoffed. "I can't even begin to tell you how flawed that system is. The potential for faulty equipment, improper calibrations, errors from inputting data incorrectly, the fact that they measure you as babies instead of fully-matured adults…" She shook her head disdainfully. "What do you mean by 'ki output' anyway? How many pure energy attacks you can use? How long you can stay airborne?"

Kakarot's brow knitted in consternation. He'd never had to explain these concepts to a non-Saiyan. "Ki output… is how efficiently one uses it. Some Saiyans expend more energy doing basic things than others."

"So Vegeta and Broly utilize their ki more efficiently than you." He nodded. "Can't you just learn how to do that?"

"Yeah, but it's different for them." His brow scrunched again. "A prodigy has an innate sense for controlling their energy. They don't have to think about when and how much to use, they just do. Most Saiyans aren't born knowing how to fly– we learned by watching and sensing our parents. Direct some ki through your feet, now you're in the air." He floated a little ways off the ground, earning a smile. "Vegeta and Broly could fly as soon as they left their incubation chambers."

Makoto stood up, brushing blades of grass off her shorts. "Well, I haven't fought either of those so-called prodigies, but I can tell you've got a unique talent." Warmth blossomed in his chest at the praise. "You can accomplish anything you set your mind to, so how do you feel about learning bōjutsu?"

He blinked. "What's that?"

"It's the foundation of my spear technique."

"Oh! Yeah, teach me everything!" She approached a rack of wooden training weapons and selected two of the least beat-up ones, tossing the nicer one to Kakarot. He caught it and nearly dropped it. "Oof, it's heavy!"

"It has an iron core to help with strength training and endurance." She twirled her staff effortlessly with one hand. "Once you get used to it, I'll add more weight to the ends. This fighting style is about balance, momentum, and extension." Her spins grew faster and more elaborate. "My spear and Sailor Neptune's trident evolved from the staff for piercing purposes. They're both made from metals much lighter than this which is why we can attack so quickly. It's the same conditioning as you evolving on a planet with high gravity– your body still operates under that restrictive force."

"I see…" Makoto swung at him and the bō came within millimeters of his nose. Kakarot didn't flinch, though.

"You're good at copying other fighters, so just follow along with me."

Kakarot would've followed Makoto to the edge of the universe and beyond if she asked him. After a few more months, the aura link had become a distant memory, an inconvenient aspect of his adolescence, but he was so grateful he'd bumped into Makoto on his very first day in the Sea of Serenity. She was only two years older than him but had acquired so much knowledge of martial arts due to her upbringing, something she had in common with Sailor Mars. Kakarot finished telling her an embarrassing story from his childhood while they lay in the grass letting a gentle breeze dry their sweaty skin.

"I… was an orphan," Makoto began, hesitant. "I have no idea if my parents died or if they just didn't want me, but I was entrusted to a sect of monks on Ganymede. They started training me as soon as I could stand on my own two feet. There was always a probability that I'd inherit the Jupiter crystal if the guardian perished since I was in the right age bracket, but I never thought it would actually come to me. I'd never even left the temple until I was chosen to be the next guardian. The monks didn't prepare me for anything about living in the wider world."

Kakarot hummed. He didn't expect her to have had such a reclusive upbringing. "So you moved into Io Castle?"

"Yes. The first guardian of Jupiter created it with her power."

His eyes widened as he took in their surroundings. "She made all this? It wasn't built?"

"Nope. The first few generations of guardians actually wielded two elements– Jupiter is the planet of storms and earth, as in plants and such. Its ancient name is Mokusei, 'wood star'. But after a guardian awakened on Terra, we became wielders of thunder exclusively, and any additions to the castle had to be been done with manual labor." She thought for a moment. "Since the crystal of Terra has been altered for Sailor Cosmos, I wonder if the next Jovian guardian will have earth powers again."

"But… don't you have to die to pass on your crystal?"

"Yes," she answered.

Silence grew between them. "I don't want you to die," Kakarot spoke softly. Makoto craned her neck but his thick bangs obscured his face. He turned over onto his stomach, looking down at her. There was a surprising amount of tenderness swimming in his deep, dark eyes. She had to glance away.

"It's my destiny," Makoto murmured. "I may be powerful, but I'm not immortal. Everyone dies eventually, guardians typically sooner than others."

"I won't let you." Her green irises locked onto him like a magnet. "Next time you leave for the Tau System, I'm going with you. I'll protect you."

She tutted. "You're a Saiyan, in case you forgot. You're not allowed to leave the Sea. We need to preserve your species."

Frowning deeply, Kakarot got up and flew off without a word. Makoto sighed; she wanted to break that news to him more tactfully. No one would be happy to find out they weren't allowed to travel unrestricted. Granted, the Saiyans could move about the entire solar system, but she understood the disappointment. They were a warrior species, there was a war raging across the galaxy, and they wanted to contribute their considerable prowess in battle. It was for their own good, though. Surely benign captivity was preferable to going extinct.


The routine of waking, getting dressed, eating something, and going to Io Castle to train with Makoto was so ingrained in Kakarot that he went through all the motions before remembering his new goal, changing course for the portal plaza. He left the cool, comfortable forest of Io and stepped onto the arid plain of Deimos, making his way to the Sanctum where Sailor Mars resided. He only picked up a hint of her smoldering energy whereas Broly's was a lot more noticeable… and somehow different. Kakarot had never felt Saiyan ki exuded in such a manner, his curiosity beyond piqued. Students of the Sanctum called out as he flew overhead toward the heart of the complex but he ignored them all, solely focused on locating his kinsman and the guardian. When he came upon them, he alighted on the sloped roof of a walkway framing the courtyard.

The first thing Kakarot observed was Broly wreathed in a vivid green aura. Its edges twisted and danced whenever it collided with Sailor Mars' fiery red aura, like two types of flame on the verge of burning each other out. He also noticed that Mars wielded her infernal bow against him, using it like a dual-ended sword rather than firing any arrows. Embers shot out whenever the limbs clashed against Broly's bracers. He wore greaves and a cuirass as well, all black with an iridescent sheen. He'd always been tall and imposing, but he'd clearly put on more muscle over the last six months. Kakarot held his breath as Broly caught the bow and they struggled to overpower one another. He was giving Sailor Mars a run for her money! The guardian shoved him backward and took the opportunity to loose an arrow at Kakarot. "Whoa!" he exclaimed, narrowly avoiding it before holding up his hands.

Broly and Sailor Mars both relaxed upon realizing who it was. "I could have killed you," she said.

"Yeah, you almost did!" Kakarot chuckled, gliding down to stand before them. "That looked like some intense training. What was that aura you had, Broly? I've never seen something like that."

He raised an eyebrow at the younger Saiyan. "I was in the Anahata chakra state."

"Anahata," Kakarot repeated. "That's the… heart center, right?" A nod. His gaze shifted between them. "Can you teach me how to fight in a chakra state?"

Broly and Rei exchanged a look. "I thought you were training with Sailor Jupiter," the former remarked.

"I am!"

"Is it not going well?"

"It is! I just…" He turned bashful all of a sudden, toeing the grass. "I need to be stronger for her."

The guardian tilted her head back to study him appraisingly. Kakarot was much shorter than Broly, with a mesomorphic build and long limbs including his tail, and in peak physical condition for his age which seemed typical of Saiyans. He carried himself well and had exhibited impressive reflexes by dodging her arrow. She felt him exerting more of his ki than Broly, but the difference was minuscule. He clearly knew how to control and apply it appropriately. Kakarot's eagerness to learn was what made her nod in acceptance. "I heard you formed an aura link with Makoto," Rei said.

He flushed slightly. "I did."

"And it lasted a long time."

"It did…"

She scrutinized him. "That must have been hard for you to deal with while we were in Tankei." Kakarot fidgeted. "You haven't acted on any of your urges to be intimate with Makoto, have you?"

"I-intimate?" Now his ears were burning. "Of course not! I wouldn't! I would never!"

Sailor Mars shook her head once. "It's not healthy to suppress biological imperatives. You should be able to use those primitive desires to tap into the lower chakras with ease. Broly, I'm leaving him to your tutelage."

"Yes, Sensei." He bowed and she walked off while relinquishing her guardian form. Broly faced Kakarot with his hands on his hips. "You want to get stronger for Sailor Jupiter, hm? Not to be stronger than her?" His head bobbed. "Then these forms should be simple for you to achieve. I couldn't activate Anahata until I stopped being selfish and asked myself how I could use my strength to help Sailor Mars instead of focusing on what she could do for me." He relaxed into a wide-legged stance. "We start with Muladhara, the root chakra. I taught you about the nadis when we trained together before."

"I remember," Kakarot said.

"Good. Muladhara is the origin of the nadis– ki flows from it in a circuit through our bodies, through the ida and pingala channels on either side. This chakra grounds us in the physical world. If you imagine it as the root of your being and use it to anchor your ki to whatever surface lies beneath your feet…" Broly's aura flared red and he sank into the dirt a little ways. "You'll become immovable, like a mountain. Come at me." Kakarot attacked with all his might but Broly didn't waver, didn't stagger. The younger Saiyan was wheezing after a few minutes while his opponent hadn't even come close to breaking a sweat. "I know Sailor Jupiter is more of a defensive fighter. Haven't you learned ways to break through to her?"

"Yeah, but…" Kakarot forced himself to stand up and expand his lungs instead of doubling over. "This is… different! Like you're… absorbing my ki!"

Broly's brow rose, impressed. It'd taken him a lot longer to reach that conclusion when Mars taught him this form. "That's right. You can take the energy directed at you and let it pass through you into the ground. That way, you use the enemy's strength to maintain balance and expend your own ki to protect yourself… or hit back." Kakarot's arms rose to block the swing, and although he traveled a ways away from the sheer strength of the blow, he spread his feet wider and came to a halt as a red aura flickered around him. Broly's jaw dropped in surprise, then he clamped his mouth shut as Kakarot retaliated.

They traded blows while maintaining their spiritual tethers to the earth, getting quicker and quicker with the goal of redirecting one another's ki in order to sooner draw upon their own, racing to see who could manipulate energy the fastest. They didn't even notice that Rei returned to watch them spar. Broly and Kakarot locked hands, their arms shaking as they sought to make the other submit. The former's physique counted for nothing against the latter's intuition and stubbornness. Pain shot through Broly's left deltoid at the same time Kakarot felt a tear in his obliques, but they both gritted their teeth and kept pushing. "Surrender" was not in the Saiyan vocabulary.

"That's enough!" Rei's stern voice instantly made them stand down. Kakarot clutched at his side while Broly gripped his shoulder, and his sensei looked very annoyed with him. "You were supposed to be training, not hurting each other. Now you've gone and torn your muscles. Come on," she motioned, and they followed obediently. Rei led them to a hot spring oasis hidden behind the corner of the Sanctum, an area Broly had never been. "Get undressed and get in." Kakarot hesitated to strip in front of her, but the fire in her eyes spurred him into action. "Now."

The simmering water instantly banished any lingering tension. Lips pursed, Rei stuck her hand beneath the surface, heating it to an almost unbearable degree while channeling some of her celestial energy to help them heal. "I'm sorry, Sensei," Broly said.

"Don't apologize to me," she returned. "I'm not the one who got injured."

The Saiyans made eye contact. "I'm sorry, Kakarot."

"No, I'm sorry." He lowered his head. "I dunno what came over me. I never felt like I wanted to win so badly."

"Me neither," Broly admitted, then smiled a little. "I didn't think you'd be able to enter that chakra state so soon."

Kakarot blinked. "I did?"

Rei viewed him sidelong. "Of course you did. What did you think you were doing?"

"I was just trying to manipulate my ki like Broly," he answered. "I mean, I listened to what he said about Muladhara, but I didn't really get it. Then I saw him do it, and it made sense."

Silence reigned as she scooped warm water over Broly's newly-formed scar. "You're an interesting Saiyan," she eventually spoke. "I wonder if Makoto really knows what to do with you."

Kakarot beamed. "She's taught me so much! I learned judo, karate, and bōjutsu!"

"What's all that?" Broly wondered.

"Old Terran martial art styles," Rei provided. "They're considered outdated and inefficient because they take many years to master, not like the fighting styles our soldiers learn when they enlist. There's a certain elegance to the ancient styles, though, and not that many living teachers. They've almost disappeared from Human culture." She sighed. "Go back home to Europa. Once Broly can utilize all seven chakras without a superiority complex, he'll be able to instruct you better than I ever could. I don't think you'll have to wait long."

Kakarot did as she suggested, but he hated having to bide his time. He hated that he couldn't do anything strenuous while his muscles repaired themselves. Objectively speaking it didn't take that long, only a couple of weeks, but he got so restless that he couldn't sleep. Or maybe that was due to the fact that Makoto's aura still ebbed and flowed like waves washing over him, day and night, a metaphysical siren call. Even if he wanted to, he couldn't block it out. Was that normal? He'd never even heard of his parents being able to sense each other over such a vast distance. Kakarot started to worry that inducing resonance while suffering the aura link had affected him in some previously unheard-of manner. Perhaps he'd been irrevocably altered by allowing the power of the Jupiter crystal to flow through him; after all, he was the first Saiyan to experience an attraction to a celestial guardian.

It was too embarrassing to bring this matter to his parents, so he went to the one person whose judgment always came from a place of love: Raditz.

He knew Pluto was cold, so he acquired a coat and boots to keep warm before setting the portal coordinates to its moon of Nix. Kakarot still shivered at the stark change in temperature, squinting against a cold wind. Everything was covered in a thin layer of ice and snow, but it was kind of beautiful, providing a deep teal sheen to the concrete buildings. He scanned the plaza and spotted a sign pointing to the district Raditz lived in, opting to fly instead of risk slipping and falling on his ass. The outside of his brother's house didn't seem particularly ornate, but a butler opened the door when Kakarot knocked. "May I help you?" the man asked in a haughty tone.

"Um, is my brother home?"

"Is that Kakarot?!" Raditz bellowed from one of the upper floors. He zipped downstairs, shouldered the butler aside, and embraced his sibling in a bear hug. "You finally came to visit me, you little punk!" He retreated to the warmth of his opulent abode, grinning as Kakarot extricated and oriented himself. "How are ya?!" He took a good, long look at his sibling. "Not that little anymore, I see! You've grown a lot!"

"I have?" Kakarot hung up his coat. "It's only been half a year."

"That's the funny thing about puberty," Raditz chuckled. "Seriously, though, you look healthy. Dad's gotten a bit chunky since he and mom settled on Galatea. It's all those sugary drinks he gets for free at the resort. And he flirts with every hot woman who lays down on his table, which makes mom mad, but he likes it when she gets jealous and feisty which I could've lived the rest of my life without hearing if I'm being honest…"

Kakarot responded politely until he finished filling him in on the lives of all the other Saiyans. Raditz had always been the sociable type and he would keep talking until someone else hijacked the conversation. "You remember how I formed an aura link with Sailor Jupiter, right?"

He snorted in amusement. "Of course, you started a trend. Broly, Tarble, and Shallot all had them with guardians, too. Vegeta either hasn't yet or won't admit that he already did, and—"

"Raditz." His tone shut his brother right up. Kakarot scuffed his boot on the floor. "I think… it might not've gone away."

"Why do you think that?" Raditz calmly inquired.

"I… I can still feel her constantly. Every night, every day. I can sense when she's really angry or anxious or calm and happy. And I can't stop thinking about her. I dream about her all the time! No one said it'd be anything like this, so I think… I think something's wrong with me!"

Raditz sighed and raked a hand through his long hair. "The only thing wrong with you, Little Brother, is that you have a massive crush on a girl."

"A… a crush?"

"Uh-huh. You're in love with her because she's the one who kickstarted your journey to manhood. It happened to dozens of guys I knew. She's the first female you've formed a connection with. It's totally natural." He arched an eyebrow. "Did you fuck her?"

Kakarot blushed profusely. "No!"

"It'd probably help if you did." He sputtered and waved his hands about. "Have you had any physical contact with her?"

"W-we spar all the time! She's been training me in Human martial arts!"

"I meant like kissing or feeling her up." Kakarot shook his head. "Again, it might help if you did. Carrying around all that unresolved sexual tension isn't good for you." His tail nervously wound around his leg. Sailor Mars had said the same thing. "But… you don't know anything about that stuff, do ya? You're a one-track-mind kind of Saiyan, and your mind's always been on fighting until now." Raditz indicated that he follow him upstairs into a small study where tall shelves were packed with books. As he reached for one at random, Kakarot thought that he'd never known Raditz to be much of a reader, but then he actually looked at the cover and… saw that it was some kind of sex manual. He returned it with a straight face.

"Raditz, are all these books really about sex?"

"Oh yeah," he grinned, "and anatomy, and aphrodisiacs, and seduction techniques…" He sighed longingly. "There are so many species in this solar system to experiment with. It's like a buffet of women, and each one has a unique flavor. I need to be well-read." Raditz drifted up and down in search of a particular volume. "Nothing's been published about romancing celestial guardians specifically, but Miss Jupiter's a Human female, so this is everything you need to know about her body." Kakarot hesitantly accepted it. "Read it, study it, memorize it. If anything actually happens between you two, you'll know where to put it at the very least."

"Put what?"

"Your dick, Kakarot." Gods, he was so naïve. It was their parents' fault for sheltering him. "If you don't ever get aroused while thinking about Sailor Jupiter, you can give that book back." He slowly lowered it to his side, staring at the floor. Raditz reached out to ruffle his hair. "I don't know why you're so embarrassed about this stuff. You're growing up, you're getting stronger. Your body's preparing to propagate our species." He paused. "Which… is kinda important, actually. Even a half-Saiyan is still a Saiyan."

Kakarot looked up in a mild panic. "You're saying… I could have b-babies with M…" He nearly fainted, catching himself before he hit the floor.

Raditz also reached for him, failing to withhold his boisterous laughter. "Yeah, you could, but not until you're fully grown. Your little soldiers are, uh… not strong enough to occupy the fortress yet."

What a relief. Kakarot looked his sibling dead in the eye. "Why aren't you trying to have kids?"

He leered. "Who says I'm not?"

"I don't see any women around here."

Raditz laughed some more. "Touché, Carrot Top."