Chapter Eighteen
Raditz kept to himself, his eyes remaining completely shut as the Saiyan continued to quietly meditate to himself, not a single word daring to exit from his mouth. Sitting cross-legged on the cold ground, the tailed warrior carried on concentrating his focus and inner energy, having been meditating for nearly three hours already. For the past month or so, Raditz had taken it upon himself to force himself to have as much control as he could have over himself while in the monstrous transformational form that was the mystical Saiyan legend, the Oozaru.
If he could say so himself, he was quite positive that his mental and emotional strains in the Great Ape form had further improved much more than before he'd decided to go on this sudden month-long training session. Through hours of meditation and focusing on his inner emotions and energy, Raditz felt that at any time now, he would finally have achieved complete control over himself while transformed… then he could return back to Capsule Corporations without any type of fear or nightmares about accidentally killing any of his loved ones if and when he ever transformed into the gruesome, rage-filled monster that was his Great Ape form. Along with working on his mental control over the form, the Saiyan had also insisted on working on his combative skills, not wanting them to diminish due to his focus being solely on controlling himself in his Great Ape form. He had gotten too close to lashing out on West City… he was the protector of Earth, he couldn't let that happen again.
"Tri-Form," Raditz said to himself, his eyes still closed as his body became cloaked in a dim, white aura of sparkling lights. He focused on his breathing and then on splitting his energy. No more than three seconds later, Raditz felt his own power being split into two equal parts, with the latter half quickly exiting his body. Opening his eyes, Raditz's eyes caught a slight glimpse of his inner energy morphing into two identical clones of himself… registering that same long mane of spiky black hair, as well as those same coal black colored eyes… with the Saiyan's traditional Saiyan Battle Armor and scouter to finish off the look. "Alright… let's go!" The Saiyan exclaimed as he suddenly vanished from the view of his clones. (A/N: Each clone contained a fourth of Raditz's power… so the battle is ½ versus ¼ and ¼)
The two clones of the long haired Saiyan suddenly went on the defensive, positioning themselves into the best defensive stance that they could. Not even a second after doing so, the true Raditz revealed himself back to the public, thrusting his left foot rocketing towards the exposed side of his closest copy.
However, the Saiyan's clone had inherited both Raditz's brains and brawn, so instead of allowing his true self to get the upper hand in their match, said clone vanished from the eyes of Raditz, suddenly reappearing directly above the Saiyan to deliver a vicious ax handle more than powerful enough to send the Saiyan harshly to the ground. Not letting up for a single second, both of Raditz's clones immediately dove towards the ground, hoping to astonishingly overpower the Saiyan that had sacrificed half of his energy to create the both of them.
To the surprise of both of the Saiyan duplicates, Raditz was already back upon his feet, positioned into his traditional, mighty fighting stance before they could reach him. Both of the Saiyan's doubles immediately charged their predecessor, blindly throwing their own flurries of strikes and blows at him. Their creator, the true Raditz, was already patiently awaiting his two clones, eager to brace himself for the worst that his clones could deal out at him. For the past two weeks, he had been working on the technique to split himself into two… and later three. He would deposit however much of his power that he pleased into the duplicates… adding a bit of anger and bloodlust into them so that he could actually have a challenge. Then, he would command them to viciously attack them with all they could, which they would do for a couple of minutes before the technique tired the Saiyan out and his clones would dissipate into nothing, Raditz's energy and power returning to his body. Already, he was becoming quite accustomed to the technique and could face off against his clones for nearly half an hour at a time before he would tire out… though usually, he would not let the fight drag out that long and would effortlessly defeat them within fifteen minutes.
Raditz managed to stay in front of each of his opponent's strikes, either weaving out of the way of the blows or throwing a sturdy forearm up to neglect any damage that would strike his body otherwise. Before the onslaught of attacks could carry on any longer, the long haired Saiyan warrior unleashed a ferocious shield of energy erupting from his body, packed with more than enough ki power needed to send both of his clones soaring helplessly into the skies. Before either of the two individual artificial Saiyans could recover from the force enveloped into the Explosive Wave, Raditz had already closed the distance between himself and them. The Saiyan unleashed his own barrage upon the clones, each punch meeting its specific target, whether it be the first or the second clone. Within seconds, both of the Saiyan's clones were covered in bruises… blood leaking from their mouths as Raditz gave them a split second to breath before he returned to the offensive, blowing both opponents away with a massive kiai cannon.
The Saiyan then sent a fist spiraling into the gut of the first clone, the being dissipating into nothingness because of the sheer force invested into Raditz's sudden attack. Feeling a fourth of his energy returning to his body, Raditz instantly shot towards the final clone, soaring directly through the duplicate with a firm fist crashing through the being's body… leaving a huge hole in the place of his chest. With a single point-blank ki blast, the final ounce of energy that Raditz had given up returned to his body as the wave of energy enveloped his clone in a beautiful display of both power and color. Raditz then slowly hovered down to the dust-cloaked ground, his foot coming in contact with the trail of dirt that he had created during his match against himself.
Along with working on his Tri-Form technique and his mental control while in his Oozaru state, Raditz had also been studying ways to gain an advantage in battle when he truly needed it… a way in which he would not have to rely on the Full Moon to transform into his Great Ape transformation. His father had mentioned ways in which the most trained of Saiyans could recreate the effects that a Full Moon had upon their bodies and create an energy ball packed with the necessary amounts of Blutz Waves needed to transform into the monstrosity of a transformation… a little technique called the Power Ball.
Originally, Raditz had suffered tremendously with creating the sphere of energy into what he wanted to… failing to provoke his transformation for at least a solid week or so before it finally became easy to him. Within the next week, Raditz was training himself on an island where no Humans managed to dwell, training himself in his Great Ape form without fear of harming any Human spectators while also improving his control over himself in the form. As of now, he could actually remember exactly what he happened to do while in the form, as well as stop himself from destroying as much as he pleased… his inner thoughts managing to overcome the primal instincts that the transformation bestowed upon his mind. Now… the only thing Raditz had to work on was controlling his sheer power while in the form and his combative skills while transformed.
'Let's see how this goes,' The Saiyan said to himself as he rapidly initiated the golden sphere of energy in the palms of his hand. Within seconds, Raditz's hand was encased in a large beach ball sized of energy that was his Power Ball. "Power Ball go!" Raditz screamed as he hurled his supportive sphere of ki into the sky, the attack stripping away quite a bit of his energy as it exploded into a much larger, moon-appearing sphere of energy in the clouds.
The Saiyan felt himself morphing into his Great Ape form as the Blutz Waves maintained within the Power Ball showered down on him. His face morphed into a snout and a coat of sleek fur spread across his body as his muscle mass… doubled… tripled, with each passing second. Not even ten seconds later, a large, beastly gorilla stood in the place where Raditz once stood… panting heavily as its bloodstained eyes remained shut. 'Control… control,' Raditz repeatedly exclaimed to himself as he fell to the ground, getting into a meditation posture as his Oozaru meditation session finally began.
A little bit over an hour and a half later, the Saiyan's Power Ball suddenly exploded into a final shower of Blutz Waves, Raditz's transformation coming to an end as he slowly reverted back to his original, long haired self. He had finally done it… gone through an entire Great Ape session without doing so much as instinctively destroying a single thing. Now… he could finally return to dwell in the same home as Bulma, her family, and Krillin did without having to fear harming any of them. Without another thought, the Saiyan suddenly became cloaked in a large aura of flaring flames before he became airborne, soaring towards the world-famous building of Capsule Corporations. Within another ten minutes, the Saiyan landed directly in front of an astonished Krillin, who seemed to be facing off against an imaginary opponent.
"How about you go against a real opponent?" The Saiyan laughed, a smirk planted on his face as he witnessed the wide-eyed Human's surprised look upon his face… as if he had just come eye-to-eye with a ghost of some sort.
"R-Raditz… is it really you?" Krillin slowly let out, amazed by the sight of his friend, who he could have sworn had been missing for at least a solid month or two.
"Of course," Raditz answered, his aura dying down as he shook his friend's hand. It did feel good to have returned back to Capsule Corp… where he knew his beauty awaited him. "Where's Bulma?"
"She's been devastated Radz," Krillin sighed, shaking his head. "We all were I mean… we thought you had been killed in that unstable state of yours or something! We never heard a word from or about you on the news… Bulma's been blaming herself about it all."
"Where is she?" The Saiyan asked, a bit lower than his previous statements. If what Krillin had sad about everyone mourning about his sudden disappearance was actually true… he had to make it up to all of them. He had caused them all types of sorrow and trouble and he had to set things right.
"She's in her laboratory… working on that Gravity Chamber," Krillin let out. "She wanted it to be ready just in case you ever returned. She has really missed you Raditz, more than the rest of us combined."
"I've missed her too," Raditz sighed, slowly walking into the large building where his lover awaited him. Coming to the slightly opened door that he knew belonged to Bulma's lab, the Saiyan silently crept the door open, speaking one word, "Bulma."
Bulma's head slowly arose from its rest on the desk she had been sitting at, her cerulean colored eyes turning to face the Saiyan. As Raditz stepped towards his woman, Bulma was the first to move… practically leaping to close the distance between herself and Raditz as she brought the Saiyan into a hug.
"Raditz… where've you been? I've been worried sick!" The woman cried, a fair bit of anger and an underlying sadness mixed into her voice. Raditz couldn't even blame the girl. He had unexpectedly left and hadn't returned for at least a month… not speaking a single word to her. While he had done it to protect Bulma… she still needed to have an explanation before he left.
"Blue, I'm sorry… I've missed you to," Raditz stated, his black eyes staring deeply into his beauty's own blue, worried orbs. "I had to establish complete control over myself… so that I wouldn't do any harm to you."
"You didn't even tell me… I thought you were-" Bulma cried, a tear streaming down her eyes before she could even say the final word. Just the thought of the Saiyan leaving the living world was more than enough to cause her to break into tears. "I haven't been able to sleep… I blamed myself for taking you out on a full moon."
"Bulma… I-I'm really sorry for that. If I ever harmed you… I would have gone crazy! I already lost my grandfather due to my weakness. I couldn't have lost anyone else, least of all you." Raditz began until he was suddenly interrupted by Bulma, who swiftly slapped Raditz across the face. Raditz stood there for a second, surprised by the fact that it actually stung, meaning Bulma had gotten a fair amount tougher. While it hadn't really done any true harm to him… he knew that he really did deserve it. He had to find a way to make it up to the Earthling, no matter the costs. Before he said another word though, Bulma had followed her slap up by bringing the Saiyan into a passionate kiss… surprising even herself with this.
"Don't ever do that again. You need to forgive yourself about your grandfather, you have mastered that monstrosity of a form now, let go of the guilt before it ends up swallowing you whole. You can move on, you're free now… your grandfather wouldn't want you to sulk over what's been done," Bulma begged the Saiyan as their kiss ended, the scientist turning to walk away from her lover with a smirk planted upon both of their faces. As she walked out of the door, Raditz heard the bluenette follow up by demanding, "Tonight, the two of us are going to a movie… you're to be ready by seven."
The smirk upon Raditz's ace never left as he followed his woman out of the door. That was one of the many things he really loved about the woman… the fact that she had the nerves and confidence to stand up to a Saiyan… and an incredibly hot-headed one at that. It complimented her beauty incredibly well and as a Saiyan, he loved a woman that could stand up to him and enforce herself as a strong being. Both he and she were perfect for one another like peanut butter and jelly. He was incredibly stubborn and had a fierce temper, with an ever fiercer attitude and she had just those things as well… and it was actually one of the numerous things about the bluenette that happened to turn the young Saiyan on.
He then thought about what Bulma had told him, maybe now it was time to start to move on, he may have killed his grandfather but he hasn't hurt anyone else with this form and now he never would. With these thoughts it was as if a massive weight left his chest and he felt as if he could truly breathe for the first time in what must have been forever. He then shook these thoughts from himself and smiled as he prepared for a date with his bluenette lover.
Raditz repeatedly punched the air, harnessing all of his available strength as he faced off against his imaginary opponent at five times the gravity of that of the Earth's. In the past three months in which he had resided at Capsule Corporations alongside Krillin and the Brief family since he had returned from mastering his Oozaru form, Bulma and her father, the world-famous Dr. Brief had managed to finally build the very first prototype of the Gravity Chamber that the bluenette had spoken of in a little less than two months. Because the chamber was nothing more than a mere prototype, it had only been programmed to reach gravities that ranged from one to five times that of the Earth's own gravity for the time being.
While the mechanical chamber was quite small in size, the interior of the device itself was quite larger than one would have anticipated, its size easily rivaling that of a small sitting room to occupy four… five people tops. The majority of the room was nothing more than open space that could be used for training and sparring, with walls padded in some sort of resilient, fireproof material to maximize Raditz's training. In the center of the circular chamber stood the main attraction of the entire device, a large console which Bulma had explained was used to shift the gravity simulated through the room with the press of a few buttons along with inputting the exact amount desired to multiply the gravity by.
The Saiyan absolutely loved his Artificial Gravity Chamber to put it lightly, spending nearly fifteen hours a day locked in the room. He and Krillin would spar for hours at a time in the chamber, Krillin growing much more accustomed to the high amount of gravity present in the room with each passing hour. Bulma herself was also managing to take advantage of the increased gravity, getting in quite the workout under 1.5 times the Earth's own gravity. Whenever Raditz was not training, eating, or resting from his workouts, he always found time to be with Bulma, who he had grown to bond with incredibly over the time period in which he had resided in her parent's building. While the two had not mated just yet, their relationship was growing stronger with each day that managed to pass by on Earth.
Raditz's face turned to face the door, the iron doorway slowly opening in the middle of his imaginary, intense spar. A second later, Krillin revealed himself, walking into the chamber as a coat of sweat quietly engulfed him. Currently, he could barely keep up with the Saiyan at the maximum amount of gravity the chamber could muster up… his preferred setting being anywhere between two and three times the gravity.
"Krillin… I take it that you're ready for another of our spars?" Raditz questioned the former Orin Temple trainee, his eyes shifting to meet those of the newly entered martial artist that was his friend, Krillin.
"Not quite yet Radz," Krillin began, slowly making his way over to Raditz in the increased gravity. This was much more work than one would have thought… being able to make even the most fit of bodybuilders or athletes purely exhausted in a matter of seconds. His body felt like it totaled up to weigh nearly five hundred pounds and that was simply putting it likely. He had absolutely no idea how Raditz was managing to effortlessly move in this type of environment. "I'm still a little beat from that match that we partook in a bit over an hour ago… plus, this gravity simulator is no joke at all man! I feel like I weigh nearly five hundred pounds and that's way too much for me to handle! I have no idea how you do the things you do, Raditz."
"Amateur hour," Raditz barely mumbled under his breath, intentionally speaking just loud enough for Krillin to hear the phrase. The Saiyan had no idea why Krillin steadily complained over training… when he was more than likely the third or second-strongest person on the planet, only trailing behind Raditz, and the Turtle Hermit if Roshi had continued training in the time he had not come in contact with the elderly martial artist.
"Hey," Krillin shot back, a pout appearing upon his pump face as he felt a bit offended by the Saiyan's small talk. He did not yet know a single true Earthling who could survive in anything more than two times the gravity and here he was standing in more than twice as much… five times Earth's gravity. While it was just a mere walk in the park for Raditz, because the boy was of another race of powerful warriors, Krillin himself wanted at least an ounce of praise for doing what no other Human had ever done before and standing straight up in the same amount gravity that Raditz could sleep in without problems. "It's not my fault that you're much stronger than I am! Plus, you're from another freaking planet where everyone practically beats one another up for fun! Anyways, how the hell are you managing to withstand this gravity with no effort at all? I don't even see an ounce of sweat dripping from your forehead."
"It's pretty basic if you actually think of it," Raditz simply shrugged, not yet answering the monk's question. He had practically been raised on a planet with gravity that would make this one's look like nothing more than a joke… a walk in the park. "My homeplanet, Planet Vegeta, had a gravity that far exceeded that of this chamber's, clocking in at approximately ten times the gravity of Earth… or two times the gravity that we just so happen to be sitting in as of now. All that I had to do was practically get used to the feeling of this gravity once again, seeing as it's been a bit over thirteen years since I've been on Vegeta-Sei. Also just because you are human doesn't mean that you can use that as a pathetic excuse, you are already able to do things with ki that so few in the whole universe can even dream of doing. Time to stop complaining and man up, you humans also have an insane amount of potential, it's time you truly harness that."
'Damn… ten times that of Earth's?' Krillin thought to himself, slowly soaking in the Saiyan's words. No wonder Raditz had always happened to be the much more superior martial artist of the two. He had practically been forced to reside on higher gravities than that of Earth's for the first six years of his childhood and upon arriving on Earth… he had taken advantage of the lessened gravity to effortlessly use his more durable body to train and grow incredibly stronger than any Earthborn individual could. 'It's no wonder I'm falling so far behind Raditz… I can barely keep up with 3Gs… yet alone 5 times Earth's gravity. It is time to stop letting excuses cloud my mind, my conviction must be unstoppable, and humans are great warriors too.' The Earthling thought to himself, his fist clenched at his side in determination. No more would he allow himself to fall further behind… he would do just as Raditz did in his spare time! Train… train… train. No matter if he couldn't withstand the gravity as of now, he would stay in it for hours just as Raditz did… practically living inside of the Artificial Gravity Chamber. If he ever planned on measuring up to Raditz, the former monk would have to grow much stronger… faster… tougher than he already was. Both training under the Earth's most powerful warrior, as well as in increased gravity could greatly help his cause to gain strength to rival Raditz's.
"Fine," Krillin smirked, looking up to face the training Saiyan that was Raditz. "Let's get in a quick spar before lunch!" The monk finished, positioning himself into a mighty fighting stance to take on the tailed warrior that was Earth's mightiest… Raditz.
"I won't back down… but do you want me to turn down the gravity?" Raditz stated, thrilled at the idea of a challenge. The Saiyan looked up, knowing that he had sparked a flame within Krillin… the thrill of training just as Raditz would do. You had to stay hungry for more if you ever wanted to feast on the savoring plate that was success.
"No," Krillin confidently stated, his face revealing a cocky smirk of some sort. "I'm fine with just the way it is."
"Are you sure?" Raditz questioned his sparring partner once again, positioning himself into his fighting stance as well. "Because trust me… I have no intentions on holding back even at the slightest." The Saiyan shot out, the sparkling aura of white and purple colored flames that he possessed beginning to erupt brilliantly around his muscular body as he prepared himself for battle.
"Yeah I'm sure Raditz," Krillin exclaimed, his shaven head nodding in agreement before he suddenly remembered that he had previously taken a nice, relaxing shower. "Just don't try to draw too much blood please? I just hopped out of the shower a few minutes ago."
Raditz glanced up to glare at the martial artist that awaited him on the other side of the Gravity Chamber, longing for the battle that was sure to begin momentarily. Hopefully, now that Krillin had a newfound spark in training by the Saiyan's words of coming from a warrior race that practically dwelled in high gravities, the Earthly former monk would prove to be a great sparring partner in the long run. But as of now, the Saiyan craved an opponent that could actually push him to his limits… force him to give a fight his all. He had been slightly given that by Master Roshi at the previous tournament but he wanted a challenger that would eagerly face him and have the potential to basically wipe the floor with his spiky mane of black hair… just so that he could finally have a challenge for once. But for now, Krillin would do.
The Saiyan warrior's thoughts were suddenly interrupted as Krillin took the time to lunge forward, his fists frantically swinging to and from the body of the muscular martial artist that was Raditz. Being caught completely off-guard, the monk's first strike managed to easily penetrate Raditz's hastily placed defense, planting directly into the tailed being's cheekbone. Easily recovering from the slight daze that had been bestowed upon him, Raditz instantly improved his defense, meeting the remainder of the Earthling's strikes with nothing more than a mere open palm, neglecting any type of damage to be inflicted upon him. The Saiyan then took the time he had been granted by Krillin's shocked impression to cleverly swipe his leg out, using his superior speed to sweep his opponent's leg off from under his body.
Wasting no time at all, Raditz cocked his fist back, launching it directly at Krillin's face. However, his incredibly powered-up fist was met by Krillin's own, ki enhanced fist in the form of a punch. As the two planet-shattering blows collided, the entire chamber echoed in devastation, the force of the two strikes letting loose an incredibly loud sonic boom.
The two martial arts students of Master Roshi continued their spar for at least another thirty minutes, exchanging blows left and right with Raditz having the upper hand over his opponent. Once the two's close combat phase of throwing punches and weaving out of the way of fired blows had ended, the two warriors pushed back from one another, a pair of stone cold, onyx colored eyes piercing into the glare that another pair of eyes, these ones being stained with a purely coal black color. Raditz, despite having a few small bruises littered across his body and a lightly bloodied mouth, stood in place smirking, slightly amazed by Krillin's sudden display of strength. Krillin on the other hand appeared to be slightly more bruised with no signs of blood but a blackened right eye as he seemed nearly exhausted, both from the increased amount of gravity and the strain that he had received from partaking in the short spar between himself and Raditz, evident by the fact that he seemed to be heavily panting for a breath of fresh air.
"How about we try something a little more… how should I put this? Interesting?" Raditz smirked, bending down as he slowly cocked her arm to his side, the right hand becoming cupped. "My Kamehameha Crush needs to be worked on quite a bit if I ever want to master it." The Saiyan added, beginning to charge his inner energy into the growing sphere of blue-violet colored ki.
"Fine… My Kamehameha Wave could use a bit more work as well." Krillin agreed, positioning himself into the respective posture that had to be done to unleash the Kamehameha Wave. Both of his hands were suddenly cupped directly to his side, a small ball of blue ki beginning to conjure up into the cupped palms.
"Ka… Me… Ha… Me…" Raditz slowly began chanting, his large amount of energy being transferred into the steadily expanding spherical orb of blue-violet colored energy that made up his Kamehameha Crush attack.
"Ka… Me… Ha… Me…" Krillin followed up, his own blast of ki growing much larger by the second in the cupped hands that laid at his side, the blue sphere of energy beginning to expand with the more of Krillin's inner ki that was gladly being pumped into it.
"CRUSH!" The Saiyan suddenly finished off, thrusting his arm forward to fling the immense sphere of ki at his bald opponent.
"HA!" Krillin shot out, flinging his arms forward to fire off his Kamehameha Wave, launching the outstanding wave of energy rocketing towards his Saiyan companion's own intense blast of blazing energy. The two incredibly large, intensely powerful beams of ki whizzed towards one another, coming head-to-head in the middle of the Gravity Chamber, each wanting to push the other beam back towards its own user. Both ki wielders concentrated extremely hard, each managing to send much more of their energy into their respective ki waves. After another few seconds of the ensuing Beam Struggle continuing on, both Raditz's Kamehameha Crush and Krillin's Kamehameha Wave exploded in a devastating explosion, packed with more than enough force to send both fighters hurling backwards into two different walls of the cushioned, metallic training facility.
Krillin's final thoughts before he fell unconscious was something he felt would give him the perfect edge on Raditz and anyone else he might have to fight, 'Maybe I can fire energy waves more quickly and that require less ki, because Kamehamehas and the like are much too exhausting and require so much concentration, just maybe….' He then dropped to the ground, completely passed out before his face could even strike the ground.
"Raditz… may I come in?" Bulma sheepishly questioned the meditating Saiyan Warrior, lightly knocking her closed fist upon the metallic door of the Gravity Chamber. Just minutes earlier, the hour-long sparring session that the Saiyan had partook in alongside Krillin had finally come to an end, with Krillin giving in to the superior martial artist's strength.
"Wait a second unless you want to be crushed," Raditz plainly stated as he lifted himself off of the ground, his meditation coming to an end as Bulma sought to have some sort of conversation with him. Arising from his cross-legged sitting position, the young Saiyan slowly closed the distance between himself and the gravity controlling console. The long haired Saiyan inputted a certain command into the chamber's software, causing the intense amount of gravity in which he had been effortlessly training to lower back to merely 1.5 times the gravity of the mudball called Earth. Now, he could at least move about in some type of increased gravity while his turquoise haired woman would not be necessarily crushed by the sheer force of the artificially created gravity. "There Blue… gravity's set to your preference."
Raditz watched as the metal plated doorway of the training contraption slowly crept open, the heiress to Capsule Corporations herself slowly entering his field of vision. A smile slowly eased its way upon the Saiyan's face as he admired the woman's… his woman's beauty. Upon her not yet fully matured, but nevertheless still beautifully curved body, the bluenette sported a red colored tube top, revealing just enough of her cleavage to make any male dirtily fantasize about a number of things. Along with the top, Bulma also wore a pair of incredibly short khakis, hoisting enough material to travel only halfway down her thigh. Despite the incredible, mouthwatering body that the turquoise haired scientist possessed, Raditz's personal favorite physical feature of the woman was that extremely unique turquoise colored hair that she had been blessed with, along with those glistening eyes of a slightly darker, ocean blue color. Adding her extremely charming appearance to the vast amount of knowledge that she proudly displayed, Raditz was incredibly proud… no, honored… to have the pleasure of calling Bulma his woman and more than likely future mating partner. Just the thought of screaming to the heavens that the only reason he had gotten as strong as he could was due to the scientific brain that the bluenette possessed… the smarts it took to come up with and invent the very first Artificial Gravity Chamber known to mankind. Just the thought of securely holding a heavily damaged Frieza in a fierce chokehold while Bulma stood proudly to his side was more than enough to force the long haired warrior to hide a smile.
"Hey Raditz," Bulma greeted the hardworking galactic warrior that was Raditz. She swiftly approached the Saiyan from Planet Earth, holding a condensed, mouthwatering sixteen ounce bottle of water in her hands. "I brought you something to drink." She added, reaching her arm out to showcase the refreshing bottle of water.
"Thank you," Raditz thanked the woman as he efficiently snatched the plastic container from said Human's hands, having already ripped the top half off of the bottle and guzzled down half of the liquid before Bulma could even blink a second time. "And once again woman… Thank you for the Gravity Chamber." The Saiyan continued, a feeling of gratitude still needing to be released from within him. "It has done quite the trick in further improving my training."
"It wasn't a problem Raditz," Bulma replied, blushing lowly at the gratefulness that the Saiyan was putting on display towards her. The two of them had been officially dating for a bit over three months, having stated that their relationship had come to a start on the night in which she had taken the young Saiyan out for dinner and discussed her plans for the Artificial Gravity Chamber. In the time period, the two of them had really bonded quite a bit and now, Raditz knew that it was time to explain a few things about his culture to her about relationships.
"Bulma… you're my woman right?" The Saiyan asked his lover, causing a confused look to spread across her face.
"Of course Raditz, we are in a relationship aren't we?" Bulma responded. "Why… what's wrong?"
"Nothing is wrong with me woman… I just felt the need to establish that before I explained a few things that you are going to need to know about my people's culture… something that I know that you Earthlings are not quite accustomed to." Raditz began, the same confused look that the woman had previously had painted upon her face was once again bestowed upon the heiress of Capsule Corporation's smooth, pale face. His own face flushed its own reddish color, knowing that the subject that he was about to begin bringing up would make him feel just as uncomfortable as it would make Bulma herself. "To get things started… first off, a Saiyan's… how should I put this? Mating habits and ritual involves a number of steps that are much more complicated than that of Earth's but still… in the long run, it helps the two develop a much deeper relationship than you Humans do. One that thrives on throughout our entire life."
"So… are you saying that despite me being a non-Saiyan that the two of us will have to go through this ritual of yours?" Bulma questioned, wondering exactly what her nearly yearlong lover was ranting on about. He was talking about a mating ritual and it appeared that she would have to go through some test of some kind. "Like a test or something like that?"
"Both yes and no… I have never before been through it and only read about it in the handbook that my father left me," Raditz honestly answered, mentally slapping himself before he turned to glance at Bulma, who was nervously staring down at her feet. This had to be hard on her… having known that his culture was much different than hers and that some type of test would prove their relationship. "Well typically the Saiyan male might fool around before that one woman enters his life… when that one special person comes face-to-face with him and their lips finally meet for the first time… that Saiyan can tell that it is that one person who they'll be with for the rest of their life… something in our body can actually feel that and they make us know for a fact that it's real, making even the most foolish of Saiyans stop their old ways of playing around to be with their true love honestly and there have been no known signs of cheating on your mate in our culture… never before. It is actually one of my planet's most despised and dishonorable acts… with the penalty for doing so being death."
"W-What are you saying, Raditz?" Bulma asked Raditz, whose face was becoming as red as a beet with each word he spoke. "D-Did you actually feel that?"
"Yes woman! Why else would I bring it up?" Raditz simply answered, swiftly reaching up to softly grab Bulma and bring her within arm's length. "When the two of us shared our first kiss while we were trapped by Pilaf… I actually did feel that you were the one. I just did not know how to express myself… having never even been with another woman before. Now, I know for a fact that you will be mine forever and always… and there is nobody that can stop that."
"Wow," Bulma simply said… plainly amazed by what the Saiyan had to say. She too had felt a spark during their first kiss but had not said a single word about it, not knowing if Raditz was the lover boy type. But now… everything was going so fast, they had begun a successful relationship that was entering its sixth month and now, here he was taking of some mating ritual. Even if what Raditz was saying about them being meant for each other… she was not quite ready to give her body to him, not yet at least. Making out and bonding was quite good for her but going all-out? That was a completely different story.
"I know this is too much for you but you have the right to know Bulma," Raditz exclaimed, continuing his story. Truth be told, this was way more than he needed to know right now but still, if he and Bulma were ever hoping on strengthening their relationship, she had to know about the Saiyan cultures' way of relationships. "Now, the more we bond… the more protective I will become over you. In our culture, both male and female Saiyans are incredibly loyal to their partners and extremely… and I mean extremely protective over what is theirs… especially their truly designated mates and lovers. Sometimes, even the gentlest of Saiyans have gone ballistic over the sight of their mate being hurt or broken… as my mother once did. Her name was Gine and she was known as the most kind-hearted, gentlest Saiyan to have ever lived but one day, she had practically ripped the tail off of another woman and nearly choked her to death with it… just because that troublesome wench was clinging to my father like a second skin."
'Wow…' Bulma said once again, only this time to herself. Just the thought of Raditz being overly protective over what was his… her, was actually more than enough to turn her on… being quite attractive to say the least. But still, if he would ever be forced to beat a person to death just because of her, it would go bad on her conscience. "You'd really do something like that for me?"
"Yes Blue," Raditz responded, staring directly into the beauty's dazzling eyes. "But while the first kiss that we partook in made it known to us that we belong together, there are a number of steps that should guarantee and ensure it. Now there are three different levels of this mating ritual of ours… each step becoming much deeper and pushing up closer as well. Each level is associated with its own permanent marking, ranging from a simple lip mark to a much more noticeable neck bite mark. These marks shall cause you no pain at all… their use being to warn others that you belong to another and are not available to any of them anymore."
"And how exactly do I gain these marks… you've not so much as left a scratch on me?" Bulma questioned.
"Now… after that first kiss of mines, the sensation had already begun to affect me." Raditz admitted, his hand reaching behind him to rustle through his large mane of hair. "I have and will continue to have a slight urge to lightly nimble upon your lip each time we come within kissing distance… as our first kiss sparked everything, a Saiyan wants to mark the thing that got his woman and him together. Though the temptation is quite small at first… with each growing kiss we have and the more I get to know you, the stronger my urge becomes and the more my Saiyan instincts begin to take over. But when I actually leave a small mark upon you it means that we have completed the very first level and it show that you are mine."
"Is that so?" Bulma smiled, her face reddening as she began being educated on just how much Raditz cared for her. To have his marking bestowed upon her would mean that she was his and he would continue to protect her, just as he had already been doing. "What about the other marks?"
"Well, as our relationship continues to blossom, so shall our bond as well." Raditz responded, further explaining the circumstances of their relationship in his culture. "In about a couple more months or so, depending on the rate of growth our relationship has, I will begin to come in contact with another of these strange urges. This one will be causing me to continually lean in towards your ear, slowly tempted to nimble upon it and leave a visible mark upon the bottom of it… and so shall you have that strange urge. While it will take about three to five months for that urge to finally give in, when it does so, the two of us shall begin cuddling together and we'll take turns leaving a visible, harmless bite mark upon one another's right ears… further adding on to the claim that we are taken by one another. Now… that mark is where things get a bit more complicated. This mark will open up a whole new level of our bond, where things get a lot more mentally instead of physical. After you mark my ear and I do so upon yours, that translates to us that our mental bond is beginning to rapidly link together. We shall then be granted a sliver of the ability to sense one another's emotions and look through the memories of our mates if they allow us to. This helps us be able to feel when one another is in any sort of trouble."
"And what happens when that happens?" Bulma interrupted, very intrigued at what exactly her knight in shining armor meant by such words.
"Now, as a Saiyan, my anatomy consists of a weird pubertal organ in our body that can be our worst enemy or best friend during relationships and it only opens when a mental bond is formed." Raditz answered, explaining his strange structure. "This organ of my race makes it so that a relationship is actually until death do us part. It makes it so that once a Saiyan's mate is gravely injured or dies… in any way possible, that Saiyan is nine times out of ten going to follow their mate's fate in a timeframe that will range from a mere minute to two weeks at the most, depending on the depth of the bond which they have formed. While the thought is scary I know… it means that those two people are actually meant to be together and because you are not a Saiyan, I am not fully aware if this situation will affect us just yet… and I am not planning on testing that theory as of now. It might be somewhere around a fifty-fifty chance if you mate with a non-Saiyan. But know that you can trust me to protect your life… you need not to fear me. I am your mate and how can you mate with one whom you cannot trust? You do trust me right?"
"Of course Raditz… you've protected me so many times before," Bulma began, immediately answering her question. "It's just… the thought of what you've said is pretty scary. But… you said something about three steps. What is it that this final marking consists of?"
"This one is the most valuable of all markings in my cultures and it takes place only when the male lightly bites down upon his female's lower neck area and tends to it, sucking and tending to it for a few seconds… but only in the middle of intercourse, once we copulate and have fully mated." Raditz hesitantly explained, both his and Bulma's faces becoming as red as beets. "This mark will be quite noticeable and officially let off that you have been through a lot with your mate and it shall stay very tender for quite some time, somewhat like what you Earthling's refer to as a love bite or hickey. This final step shall fully link our minds and unlock all of the features that mated couples need to have. We shall be able to be able to actually communicate only with one another through our minds and we can read another's thoughts. It shall develop in time but shall prove worthy in the long run."
"Wouldn't that be a bit weird?" Bulma questioned the fact of Raditz and her being able to mentally communicate, seeming a tiny bit… unreal. "Telepathically speaking?"
"Not really… we would have bonded and known one another for some time." Raditz plainly stated. "Plus, when times come when one is forced to trap the other from our mind in order to protect them… we have the ability to put up a type of mental force field… or wall to block our mate out. So that if I am ever in the middle of an important fight and do not want you hurt… I can place this mental block up to stop myself from becoming distracted by that thought. You can do the same and it will only be removed if you allow it to happen… or if you are just being stubborn and actually want this wall down when it shouldn't be up."
"There's a whole lot I still have to learn about you Saiyans… and I'm sure my mate is willing to tell me," Bulma smiled, now knowing that she and Raditz were meant to be together. "Am I right?"
"Yep… until death do us part," Raditz smiled, bringing his girlfriend into a kiss, hoping that he would give in and finally bestow the first mark of love upon her. After a few more seconds, the two ended their kiss, giving one another the time needed to breathe before they resumed. "But Bulma… I want you to know this right now. You know that I am not the type of guy to spill my feelings out loud but you should know damn well that I really do care about you! Don't blame me if I become ignorant and it seems like I don't care when I actually do. In my culture, emotional attachments are a weakness… if one of my multiple enemies were to find out that I cared a lot about you, they could do something to use you to hurt me and I just can't let that happen to you. From this day forward… I will continue to protect you with every breath that I have remaining."
"So… I'm a weakness to you now?" Bulma cried, a bit offended by the Saiyan's words, though she knew he meant no harm at all.
"Yes Bulma… you are my worst weakness," Raditz began, seeing Bulma begin to roll her eyes before he captured her back into a ten second long kiss. "But you're also my greatest strength. Now, that is the end of the story because I know for a fact that I love you…" The Saiyan finished, watching as Bulma happily swiped the hair from in front of her eyes.
"I love you too Raditz," Bulma followed up, fluttering her eyelashes at the long haired Saiyan. If what he was saying was actually true… she would be in for a long life, but she knew that every second of it would be worth it in the life that she could make for herself with Raditz.
"Now Blue, this mating ritual of ours will create an unbreakable mental and emotional bond between the two of us that is absolutely nobody else's business. There are always people out there hoping to make other's lives terrible and I refuse to allow that to happen to you or me. The marks that you will soon begin to sustain as a result of our love shall and will serve as a warning that whoever dares to harm you will have to answer to me." Raditz began to finish up, looking into those ocean blue colored eyes he loved so much. "Because we are already bonding… once we fully bond, it shall make it so that our love is nothing less of a permanent arrangement, requiring no ceremony of any type such as the weddings the weaklings on this planet partake in."
"But Raditz," Bulma shot back as the Saiyan came to a close. "It has always been a dream of mine to have my wedding and all of my family and friends invited."
"I shall think about it Bulma… but that can wait until we fully become bonded," Raditz answered, releasing the woman from his grasp. "I will do anything and everything in my power to make sure you are happy. Now… what is it that you wanted to speak to me about?"
"I almost lost my train of thought from this sudden conversation… but I think that someone is attempting to gather all seven of the Dragon Balls," Bulma hesitantly told the Saiyan. Briefly, she had thought about not explaining the situation to Raditz, not wanting to depart from the current position they were in with her resting her head on his broad shoulders, safely secured by those muscular arms of his. But still… he had a right to know if something strange was going on. If whoever was taking these Dragon Balls were going to use them for trouble, he would be able to put an end to their plans.
"Wait what?" Raditz gasped, his eyes shifting down to meet his woman's ocean blue eyes, his frown becoming tenser than usually. "Dammit… how do you know that?"
Bulma slowly reached for her pocket, pulling the small, metallic Dragon Radar from it. Raditz grabbed the sonar from the Earthling's hands, glancing down at the screen as Bulma explained what everything meant. "See there, those are four Dragon Balls gathered with another pair of them quickly working their way towards wherever those are."
'Shit,' Raditz mumbled to himself, arising from where he sat with Bulma. After a brief moment of thought, the young warrior turned to face the bluenette, asking only one question. "Where does the radar say we can find the final Dragon Ball?"
"Not too far… probably about twenty miles away from West City?" Bulma stated, merely going off a clear estimate.
"Alright… we have to go get that Dragon Ball and find out who exactly tries to come for it." Raditz bravely exclaimed, turning to the door of his Gravity Chamber. "I need to know who they are and what they plan on doing."
"No… let Krillin and I do it," Bulma suggested, placing her small hand upon Raditz's broad shoulder. "You need to go hop in the shower, your training is producing much more than progress."
"Are you saying I stink?" Raditz sarcastically questioned, a bit of teasing enveloped in his voice as he purposely brought his sweaty arms to Bulma. "I don't think that I smell too bad."
"Please Raditz… quit playing around," Bulma continued to laugh, trying to push the much stronger martial artist's arm back from smelling distance. "You need a shower,"
"First… admit I don't stink," Raditz smirked, beginning to sound a bit childish as he engaged in a game of playful tussling with his soon-to-be mate.
"Nope," Bulma started off with, playing into the Saiyan's tussling offer. The two continued for another half minute or so until Bulma eventually decided to give in to the Saiyan's strength. "Fine, you don't stink." She sarcastically spoke, playfully rolling her eyes as she said so.
"Secondly… it'll cost one free kiss," Raditz lightly smirked, trying to hide back the smile that was piercing through as he brought Bulma to his face, pecking his own lips onto her own glossed, savory ones. 'Mark her already… she's YOUR mate.' Raditz thought to himself, the kiss carrying on as it entered its eighth second, kissing becoming much deeper as his tongue frantically explored her mouth as she did his. By the eleventh second, the Saiyan warrior was steadily nipping his mate's delicate lip, hoping not to be too rough with the long-haired woman. A little bit over two seconds later, Bulma felt a slight surge through her lip, lightly flinching as the Saiyan's teeth slightly punctured her lips, the taste of light blood entering her thoughts. Running her tongue over her freed lips, the bluenette saw that Raditz had officially left the first of three marks upon her. Their mating ritual had finally come to an official start. "D-Did I hurt you?" The Saiyan asked, his voice cloaked with concern as he saw the blood trailing from her lips.
"No… it's okay," Bulma smiled, wiping the blood from her lips with a towel. "This is just a sign that I am… and will always be yours."
"Good," Raditz replied, happy that he had not actually hurt the woman but only marked her upon the lip, completing the first step of their mating ritual. "Now... you go find Krillin and head towards the Dragon Ball. I'll follow up shortly after I shower."
Power Levels
Raditz: 321 (Month-long Training alone)
3210 (Oozaru Month-long Training alone)
394 (One and a half months training under 5x Gravity)
Krillin: 283 (One and a half months training under 3-5x Gravity)
Bulma: 52 (One and a half months training under 1.5x Gravity)