Chapter 26: A Day Where a Lot of Things Happen
(Opening Theme: Unbreakable by Fireflight)
When the tear in the sky closed after Ryo defeated Shadlyn, everyone looked at each other. Bage and Amaya were exhausted after using their power to prevent any damage to Conton City, and Kenshin, Kaoru, Megumi, and Kenji were huddled together holding each other tight, Beate was quiet, while Rachel looked at her hands contemplatively. "That's the power of a warper…" Rachel finally said, breaking their silence. "No fucking way," Bage cursed, then turned to Amaya, "Make me normal again! I don't want that kind of power! That's too much!" "I can't, dear," Amaya told him, "Once one has been Awakened, it cannot be reversed." "I'm glad I didn't accept that power," Shurayuki said, "Things would have gotten worse than that if I had." "This day isn't going the way I hoped," Pearl said as she managed to assure the Himuras and Megumi that they were safe now. "Such ferocity," Kenshin said sadly, "It reminds this one too much of the battles this one fought in." "At least he's on our side," Barit pointed out.
"We all need to get stronger, after today," Rachel pointed out, "Shadlyn may be down, but there are still others. Yuu Lupei might show up at any time, we need to be ready for him." "I don't think you can," Shurayuki said. "We can try," Rachel said. Shurayuki surprised everyone then when she quickly spat on all of them. "Ew, what the- I can't move!" Megumi yelled. Everyone stopped, paralyzed. Shurayuki licked her lips as she said, "I'm sorry, but this has gone on long enough. This world is doomed, Lupei-sama and his allies will tear through everything, no one can stop them. All you can do is get out while you can, and that's what I'm going to do." "Yuki-" Rachel was silenced when Shurayuki shoved three fingers in her mouth and said, "Your Father offered me three trillion zeni, and passage to a world that he won't destroy for myself and Kenshiro. All I have to do is hand you over to him." "No," Beate said, but the poison Shurayuki spat on her kept her from moving. Shurayuki looked at Beate in the eyes and said, "You're the most pathetic Saiyan I ever met. But at least you're a good screw. Maybe I'll come back later if you're still alive and let you be my bitch." With that said, Shurayuki lifted up Rachel on her shoulders.
"BEATE!" Rachel screamed as Shurayuki flew off. "No! NO! DAMN IT!" Beate screamed as she struggled to move. "I can't believe this!" Bage yelled. No one could move. Tears poured down Beate's eyes. "I'm so fucking weak! Damn it! MOVE!" the Saiyan yelled. "She betrayed us, she betrayed Rachel, DAMN IT BODY! MOVE!" Beate's ki flared out around her a she struggled to get on all fours, flashing from blue to gold. "She won't take her! I WON'T LET HER DDDOOOOWWWWNNNN!" In an explosion of golden light, Beate's green hair turned gold and spiked up as much as it could, while her eyes turned turquoise. She stood up and looked around looking for Shurayuki's ki signature. "I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" she roared out as she flew towards Shurayuki's ki signature.
Beate was a golden streak as she flew through the air, straight for Shurayuki. The kunoichi landed on the ground in a forest and was putting Rachel inside some kind of pod, when Beate yelled, "DIE BITCH!" Shurayuki looked up just in time for Beate's fist to slam into her jaw, sending her crashing through five trees. "Rachel, are you okay!?" Beate asked as she got Rachel out of the pod. "Beate, you're-" "Just wait here," Beate told her girlfriend, "I'm gonna pound the tar out of Yuki!" Beate flew off, leaving the still paralyzed Rachel behind yelling, "WAIT!" Beate was like a missile as she flew to Shurayuki, going for a kick to her head. The older kunoichi blocked the kick and put her other hand to her mouth and spat out teeth and blood. "Three, damn, you're stronger than I thought," Shurayuki said as Beat blasted ki balls at her that she deflected. Beate jumped back from Shurayuki and yelled, "FINAL FLASH!" Shurayuki quickly raised a ki barrier to protect herself, and Beate seized her chance to land another punch to her stomach.
Shurayuki gasped but quickly caught another punch, and then caught Beate's other hand and said, "WAIT! HOLD ON!" "DDDDIIIIIIEEEEE!" Beate yelled at her as she blasted a gold Break Cannon through her mouth, knocking Shurayuki back even more. Before Beate could continue her assault, Shurayuki put her hands to her head and yelled, "SOLAR FLARE!" Beate was blinded, and Shurayuki seized her chance to grab her from behind and sweep her off her feet into a rear naked chokehold. "Beate, hold on," Shurayuki said as she held her tight, but not enough to choke her. "YOU BITCH!" Beate yelled and Shurayuki squeezed tighter. "HOLD ON! It was a lie! I wasn't going to sell Rachel to her Father! It was all an act! To get you to this!" Shurayuki yelled. "LIAR!" Beate yelled as she bit into Shurayuki's arm hard enough to draw blood. "I swear, I'm not lying now! You needed a reason to go Super Saiyan, and we couldn't wait for something to happen!" Shurayuki said as Beate thrashed around like a rabid dog, drawing more blood from Shurayuki's arm.
"Beate! Stop!" the new Super Saiyan finally stopped when she saw Rachel running towards her. "Let her go! I wasn't in any danger!" Rachel told her. Beate opened her mouth and tasted a lot of blood. Shurayuki let her go, and got up. She held her arm, "Damn, I lost more blood than I realized." "The Hell?" Beate asked. "I'm sorry baby," Rachel said as Beate's Super Saiyan form disappeared and she returned to her regular form, "But we couldn't think of a better way to make you a Super Saiyan." Beate looked at Rachel, and then at Shurayuki, who was busy tying a bandage on her wounded arm. Beat then went Super Saiyan and quicker than they expected wrapped them both in a hug, "Thank you so much! You're right, I couldn't have gotten this strong by myself! But now, now, I feel like a real Saiyan!" "Let's go back to Conton City," Rachel said, only for everyone to come flying over, with Barit holding Kenshin and Kaoru while Pearl held Megumi and Kenji.
"What are you doing?!" Jade asked. "Okay, now this is gonna be awkward," Rachel said. "To put it bluntly, we faked it all, to trick Beate into becoming a Super Saiyan," Shurayuki said. "Did you really have to spit on us though?" Megumi asked. "Sorry, Megumi-san," Shurayuki answered, "But I needed all your reactions to be authentic. Rachel came up with this plan last night. I admit, it went better than I hoped." Shurayuki rubbed her bruised mouth and said, "Can someone heal me, please? I got three teeth knocked out and a bad bite on my arm." "I got it, Sensei," Jade answered and stepped up, using Majin Magic to heal her. Shurayuki checked her teeth, all back where they should be and unwrapped her arm, it was good as new. "I must be getting soft in my age, I've been getting beat up so much lately," Shurayuki muttered. Beate was still all smiles as she lifted up Rachel bridal style and said, "Let's go, Yuki. I gotta thank you two for helping me." Shurayuki smiled at that and licked her lips, "Very well then." The three of them flew back to Conton City and Kenji asked, "Where are they going?" "They're going to s-mph!" Pearl quickly covered her sister's mouth and said, "They're going to go spend the day together. They helped Beate get a lot stronger now, so she's going to take them to the…spa! YEAH! Why don't we go there too!"
"That would feel most welcome after all the training we've been doing," Kenshin said as he rolled his shoulders. "Um, Pearl-san, do you think that we can…fly?" he asked. "Sure, it's not that hard, though you may not be all that fast at first," Pearl said then turned to everyone else, "You guys go ahead, I'll catch up to you." "See ya," Jade said. "Good luck," Barit said. "Just remember to keep your concentration," Bage told the Himuras, and with that everyone else flew back to Conton City. Pearl quickly sighed and turned to Kaoru and Kenshin. "Alright, first, you need to summon your ki," Pearl explained as her aura glowed around her. Kenshin and Kaoru gave two quick kiais and their auras glowed around them. "Alright, now, focus your ki, like when you blasted it out of your hands, only focus on using less power. Think of it like… a ball floating in water. Imagine that you're the ball, and the air around you is the water. That's what Mama told me to do, relax your muscles, use your ki, and imagine you're floating through the air," Pearl explained.
Kenshin and Kaoru took deep breaths, and to Pearl's surprise, they easily started to float. Kaoru looked down and smiled as she flew up higher, then turned around and started doing a figure 8 in the air! "Kaa-san! You're flying!" Kenji yelled as Kaoru stopped, and Kenshin slowly joined her in the air. "Tou-san! You're like birds!" Kenji yelled as Pearl picked him up. "Alright," Pearl said, "Follow me!" Pearl flew through the air, heading back to Conton City, the Himuras following her. Pearl flew faster as she decided, making sure she was close enough to catch either of the Himuras if their concentration faltered. To Pearl's relief, neither one fell, and in an hour, they were back in Conton City, Kenshin and Kaoru weren't strong enough to go at Pearl's full speed, yet.
They all arrived to see Megumi waiting for them outside the spa. "There you are, you were so slow everyone else went in already," she said. "It's our fault," Kaoru said, "We wanted to fly by ourselves." Kaoru then demonstrated by flying up over Megumi and looking down at her with a small smirk. "Everyone can see your underwear," Megumi flatly stated, and Kaoru quickly closed her legs and dropped to the ground, her and Kenshin both blushing. "Have you tried wearing shorts?" Pearl asked Kaoru as they went inside. "Bye Kenji, I'll see you when we're done," Kaoru said and gave her son a little kiss on the forehead and Kenshin gave her a kiss on the lips before the separated to the different sides of the spa. Megumi, Kaoru, and Pearl went inside to see Amaya, Jade, and June there, while Beate, Rachel, and Shurayuki were nowhere to be found. "Huh, I thought Shurayuki-sensei would be here by now," Kaoru said as they got in the water.
Kaoru and Megumi sighed contentedly. "It feels like all my worries are being lifted," Kaoru said. She turned to Amaya and asked, "So, Amaya-san, what is Bage-san like? You two seem to be doing well with your engagement." "I suppose that we are doing well," Amaya said as she stood up slightly to cool herself. "He is always polite, listens to my instructions in using his Warper abilities, and we have talked about our lives before we met," Amaya answered. "Is that all?" Megumi asked. "Yeah," Jade said, "What about the fun stuff? What's he like in bed? How big is he? Does he like to use tongue?" "Jade!" Pearl said. "Come on, don't tell me you're not curious, Sis," Jade said. "We haven't had sexual intercourse yet," Amaya said, "And I have never seen him naked. We haven't even hugged." "Seriously, not even a hug?" Jade said.
"What about you, Jade?" Pearl asked, trying to steer the conversation away from Amaya, "I saw you and that Saiyan guy earlier, who's he?" Jade smiled and said, "His name is Brocc. He likes action movies, romance novels, and feeling up my boobs!" Pearl, Megumi, and Kaoru's jaws dropped at Jade's bluntness while Amaya was quiet and June laughed out loud. "You've only known a guy for a day and you're already letting him feel you up!?" Pearl yelled. Jade just smirked and got out of the onsen, "Jealous I got bigger tits than you, Sis?" "Jade! Seriously, you shouldn't just…throw yourself at random guys! What'll you do if you give him what he wants, and then he just dumps you? Or calls you a slut on social media!?" Pearl said. Jade shrugged, "Sensei says that people that call women that enjoy sex 'sluts' are just jealous because they aren't getting any." "Reckless, isn't she?" Megumi said as Jade laid down on a table for a robot to give her a massage.
"Not like she'll get pregnant," June said, "Majin's can't get knocked up in this universe, right Pearl?" Pearl shook her head sadly, "No, we can't. If we could, I'd have had Kenny's child by now." "You mean 'Kenshiro' right?" Kaoru said. Pearl nodded, "You and Kenshin-san would like him. He's the nicest, most considerate, down to earth guy you could know. Right now, he's in his home village, Cashew Village, taking care of his sick grandparents. He helped me to become strong enough for my mission. He never went easy on me, even when we started dating, he always said I was strong enough that he didn't need to go easy on me." Kaoru smiled, "I know that feeling, of being with the man you want to be with forever. Kenshin and I went on so many adventures the first year he came into my life, it felt more like a lifetime. He never treated me like a burden, even though at the time he was the most powerful swordsman in all Japan. It was…refreshing to have someone not look down on me because I was a woman trying to 'live in a man's world'."
Megumi looked away a little and Amaya bluntly said, "You're still jealous that you lost to her." Megumi breathed in deeply before turning her back to everyone and saying, "As long as Ken-san is happy, so am I." Megumi joined Jade at the massaging tables and Amaya turned to Kaoru, "Why do you trust your rival so much." "Megumi helped us in many ways, healed the wounds in our minds and bodies, helped me deliver my son, and helped me have the courage to tell Kenshin how I felt. When we first met, I was so jealous of her, she was more beautiful, intelligent, elegant, and ladylike. But, she has her honor, and when we realized Kenshin chose me over her, she never resented me for it, only told me to always be strong for him. If…Kenshin and I were to die, I trust no one more to protect Kenji," Kaoru explained with strong conviction. "Amaya-san, why are you so focused on Bage-san? He isn't interested in you at all, it seems," Kaoru asked. "We are betrothed, it is my mission given by my family to be his wife," Amaya said. "Mission? That's not what a marriage should be," June said, "You can't force love to happen. Just because your parents say you have to get married doesn't mean you have to."
Amaya shrugged then said, "I'm surprised that Beate, Rachel, and Shurayuki aren't here yet. They must be really enjoying their sex." "WHAT!?" Kaoru yelled. "You didn't know? Rachel and Beate are lovers, and Shurayuki is their sex friend," Amaya said. "Bu- Uh- The three of them!?" Kaoru yelled, blushing. "In these days, as long as everyone is consenting, and not doing it in public, you can sleep with whoever and how many you want," Amaya said. "It's just…I didn't think that Shurayuki-sensei…she mentioned she had a husband before…" Kaoru said, her head was spinning. Pearl explained then, "Look, Kaoru-san, the fact is that some people have both male and female lovers, we call them bisexual. That's what Shurayuki is. Some people sleep with more than one person and have no real connection with them, others have numerous lovers they all love. Though, most people just look for 'The One'."
"I…see…" Kaoru said and sunk down neck deep in the onsen. "I admit, I'm starting to be worried, last night she was putting on an ointment all over Kenshin's body, to help heal his wounds and injuries," Kaoru said, "But, I know Kenshin, he would never cheat on me." After that, not many important things were discussed, just everyone taking turns explaining to Kaoru and Megumi about Conton City, answering questions about ki, and the technology available in Conton City. After spending two hours in the onsen, everyone got out and headed for the exit in their bath robes. Their clothes were all neatly folded, and ice-cold milk was waiting for them. Jade's phone went off and she answered it. "Hello?" Jade asked after digging it out of her clothes. "Oh, hey Brocc. Oh, a marathon huh? Sure, see you in about ten minutes," she said and hung up, getting dressed. "Well, see ya, my boyfriend awaits," she said goodbye to everyone and went off to see Brocc.
Pearl took a deep breath before finishing her milk and getting dressed. "That felt sooo good," Kaoru said, and started blushing, "I'm starting to wish that I could spend some time alone with Kenshin now." "Why don't you?" June asked. "Well, I need someone to babysit Kenji…" Kaoru said. Pearl perked up at that, "I can take care of Kenji-chan!" "Are you sure, Pearl-san? I don't want to impose on you," Kaoru said. Pearl nodded, "Of course, I can take care of him as long as you need. So, when do you usually fix dinner, take his bath? When do you want him in bed?" "Um…We usually eat dinner around six o'clock, and bath around seven o'clock, and Kenji's usually in bed by eight o'clock, sometimes nine o'clock," Kaoru explained. "Dinner at six, bath at seven, bed by eight, I got it," Pearl said. "I'm sure you won't have to take care of him that long," Kaoru said. "It's still good to know," Pearl said as the women left the spa. Outside, Barit, Kenshin and Kenji were waiting, Kenji was watching Time Patrollers fly overhead. "We're done!" Kaoru said, and Kenji ran over for her to pick him up.
Kaoru and Kenshin talked with each other for a few minutes, while they talked, Pearl thought about the dream she had yesterday. I should have called Kenny last night, I wonder how he's doing… At that moment, there was an energy blast overhead. "What was that!?" June yelled, and everyone looked up to see Kenshiro, bleeding and bruised, his clothes in tatters as he battled against two men in black jumpsuits in the air. "Kenny!" Pearl yelled and flew to his aid. Pearl saw that both men were built like Kenshiro, though one had blue hair and the other had brown hair. Kenshiro got kicked back by the blue haired one and narrowly dodged a ki blast from the brunette one's mouth. Pearl quickly flew over and kicked the blue-haired one away from Kenshiro. "Kenny, what's going on!?" Pearl asked. "They're cyborgs! Don't hold back!" Kenshiro yelled as he blocked a kick from the brunette attacker and slammed a spear hand into his throat.
The sound of metal tearing sounded as blood and green oil spurted out of the brunette's neck wound. "Vital Systems compromised! Activating Self Destruct!" the brunette said, then grabbed onto Kenshiro, holding on like a vise. "Kenny!" Pearl screamed, only for the blue-haired one to blast her back. "GET OUT OF MY WAY!" Pearl screamed as she powered up and summoned a Super Vanishing Ball, throwing it right at the blue-haired attacker. The attacker was vaporized by the attack, and a massive explosion went out from where Kenshiro was. "KKKKEEEEENNNNNNYYYYYYY!" Pearl screamed, but as the smoke cleared, Kenshiro was still standing, breathing heavily. Pearl flew to him and helped him down to the ground, where she quickly hugged him tight. "GAAAK!" Kenshiro yelled, and Pearl let him go. "What happened?" Pearl asked as everyone gathered around him. "I used that Angry Explosion technique of yours. Didn't think it'd work, but I had to try," Kenshiro explained.
Pearl quickly started using Majin Magic to heal him, and Kenshiro continued his explanation, "The night after you left, a fat man and a woman arrived in Cashew Village. They were from a Neo-Red Ribbon Army. The woman was a cyborg, they call them Units, I interrogated the fat man, and he told me that the Neo-Red Ribbon Army kidnaps ki users and converts them into cyborg super soldiers. Last night, I told everyone in Cashew Village what happened, and then I came here, to get help. I was attacked, must have been two dozen of those Units coming after me throughout the night and day. I had to go the long way back to Conton City, fighting them the whole time." Pearl finished healing him, "How many do you need?" Kenshiro thought about this, "I'm not sure. At least three, maybe four. I know that I wanted to get Mom and Barit, don't know who else."
"I'll go! And I'll see if Brocc wants to come too!" Jade said, and before anyone could stop her, she was flying off. Pearl just shook her head and helped Kenshiro up. "Let's see where Shurayuki is," Pearl asked as she sensed for her ki signature. To no surprise she saw that she was at Beate and Rachel's apartment still. Pearl put her fingers to her head and Instant Transmitted to the apartment's door. Kenshiro put his ear to the door, "Shower's running, and I think I hear a tea kettle." He knocked on the door and Shurayuki's voice said, "Come in." Kenshiro went in to see Shurayuki in a bath robe, her hair was down and what skin showed was covered in bite marks and hickeys. She saw Kenshiro and immediately went to him, "What happened to you!? What about Jinbei and Kamiki!?" Kenshiro explained everything to his Mom, and she listened intently. When he was finished Shurayuki nodded, "Of course I'll come with you. And knowing Jade, she'll want to come too."
"Thanks Mom, I'll need your experience in this," he said, as Beate and Rachel came out in towels. Beate had on a smug look as she said, "Guess what, Kenshiro." "My Mom fucked you," Kenshiro said with an annoyed snort. "No," Beate said, as she went Super Saiyan, "I fucked her!" "Now's not the time, Beate. Get dressed. I need to get dressed too. I'm going to be leaving for a while," Shurayuki said as she went to their bedroom. Beate and Rachel followed her, Beate deactivating Super Saiyan. After ten minutes they emerged, Shurayuki in a brown shinobi outfit and looking ready to fight anything. Beate and Rachel looked more serious as well. "Yuki, are you sure you don't want us to come with you?" Rachel asked. Shurayuki shook her head, "Between Kenshi, Barit, myself, Jade, and that Brocc guy, I think we'll be enough. No, Rachel, you need to focus on your warper training, and Beate, you need to focus on pushing yourself further as a Super Saiyan. I can't help you in either of those areas." Rachel and Beate nodded, and Shurayuki gave them both a peck on the lips, then left with Pearl and Kenshiro.
Pearl Instant Transmitted them to hers, Kenshiro, and Barit's own apartment, where Kenshiro quickly changed into his gi and packed his things, including all the shinobi weapons Shurayuki had trained him in. Pearl swallowed as she watched him pack. "Kenny, wait, you should at least get something to eat," she said, she wanted to go with him, but everyone knew that staying in Conton City and protecting the Timeline itself was more important than protecting one village. "I agree with Pearl," Barit said, "We should all eat something before we go." "I'll cook," Shurayuki said, as Jade and Brocc arrived. Brocc was dressed in the Ginyu Force White outfit, except for the chest armor, he was wearing Broly's necklace instead. "Hi," Brocc introduced himself and held out his hand for Pearl, "I'm Brocc. Jade's told me a lot about you and about this whole situation." Pearl shook his hand, "I'm surprised that you're going, you don't even know Kenny." Brocc shrugged, "I came here for adventure, but since I wasn't chosen, I think this might be a good adventure. Besides…" Brocc then took a step away from Pearl and Jade and gripped his left fist. With a short but loud kiai his purple hair spiked up and turned golden as his grey eyes turned turquoise, and electricity sparked all around him, making his blue skin shine like a sapphire.
"SUPER SAIYAN 2!?" Pearl yelled in surprise. "Not quite," Brocc said with a smile, "This is something us Saiyans call Super Vegeta and I can go Super Vegeta 2, it not only boosts my physical power, it also boosts my ki to all new levels." "That's not all it enhances," Jade said, not so subtly looking at his crotch. Shurayuki looked over from the kitchen and said, "Bigger isn't always better, Jade-kun. It's all about stamina." "I think I got plenty of that," Brocc cockily said as he returned to his normal form. "You should be careful, Brocc," Shurayuki said as she continued cooking, "Where we're going, a cocky attitude can get a fool killed. Jade-kun!" "Yes Sensei?" Jade said immediately and rushed to her side. "Your training will change when we go to Cashew Village. This will test you in ways you've never been tried before. You will go to war. It will be kill or be killed. Our enemies will be normal humans, and powerful cyborgs. You may have to do things that will change you, forever. Can you do this?" Shurayuki asked, looking into Jade's eyes even as she continued cooking.
"I am," Jade said, then everyone was surprised when Shurayuki gave her a steely eyed look, and all of a sudden it felt as if the temperature dropped forty degrees around them. Everyone in the room felt a heavy weight on their shoulders, Brocc and Jade fell on their butts gasping. "What was that!?" Barit yelled, and Pearl recognized the feeling, from the night she and Shurayuki were first attacked by shinobi. "Killing Intent," Kenshiro told him, "A powerful technique, used only by the most ferocious of warriors." Jade shakily stood up and looked Shurayuki in the eyes again, despite her knees knocking together, "I'm still going." Shurayuki sighed, "Very well. But that technique is something I want you to learn. Now that you know what Killing Intent feels like, you'll at least be slightly prepared for it." Shurayuki finished cooking, and everyone ate what they could. When it was all done, Shurayuki, Kenshiro, Barit, Jade, and Brocc all headed for the door. "Wait!" Pearl stopped them.
She then stretched out her arms and wrapped all of them in a hug. "Please, be careful, and come back. I love you, all of you. I couldn't stand the thought of losing you," she told them. Everyone but Brocc returned her hug. She let them go, and only Kenshiro was hugging her. He stroked her cheek and kissed her deeply and passionately before saying, "I promise, I'm going to come back." With that, they all left the apartment, leaving Pearl alone.
Pearl spent the next two hours cleaning up the apartment, she didn't know what else to do with herself. After everything was cleaned up she headed out, looking for Beate and Rachel, or the Himuras. She spotted all of them together, it looked like Kaoru was telling Beate and Rachel a story. "And then Yahiko walked in. I swear the knot I put on him was as big as his head!" Kaoru said, Rachel and Beate laughed at hearing this, Kenji was hysterical, and Kenshin let out some chuckles. Kaoru sighed then, and her smile looked melancholier, "That boy was the rudest, most prideful, loudest…talented, self-sacrificing, and courageous person I ever knew." Rachel and Beate looked at her, no longer laughing. "What happened?" Rachel asked. "It was a man, with blue skin and red eyes and red hair. He arrived one day, with powers the likes of which we had never seen. Swords, bullets, and cannons were nothing to him, as he destroyed all in his path. We tried to flee, to warn others, but the man seemed to be everywhere. We thought that we would surely die, until, there was a bright light, and a man with green skin and blue hair arrived in some strange ship. He said his name was Praxtic, and he could take us to somewhere safe, and that's how we came here," Kenshin explained.
Rachel looked away then, "I'm so sorry." Rachel didn't notice Pearl, but from where Pearl was, she thought she saw Rachel crying. "It is not your fault, Rachel-san," Kenshin said, "This one only wishes Praxtic could have arrived sooner, and saved more of our friends as well. Sanosuke, Yahiko, Tsubame, Misao, Aoshi, Gensai-sensei, Tae, Sae…even Saito. If this one could bring them back, I would do anything." "Maybe you can…" Beate said, "Maybe…the Dragon Balls can help…" Kaoru shook her head, "We asked Supreme Kai of Time-sama after we learned of the Dragon Balls. She explained that because we came from another universe, the Dragon Balls could not help us. That the dragon Shenron could not affect other universes, only ones where there were Dragon Balls." Beate swallowed then, and Rachel stood up and turned her backs to the Himuras. "I am so sorry. I promise, the man who destroyed your world will pay for his crimes," she said, and flew off. "I'm sorry for reopening old wounds," Beate said. "No, we needed to say this," Kenshin said, "Thank you." Beate nodded and flew off as well.
Pearl walked up to the Himuras and said, "If you want, I can take Kenji-chan now. I'm sure I can find some games we can play, and new clothes for him as well." Kaoru nodded and said to Kenji, "Now Kenji, you listen to Pearl-san, she will be taking care of you for a little while." "Okay, Oka-san," Kenji said as Kaoru and Kenshin gave him a hug. Pearl quickly thought of something, and saw a stray rock, and used Majin Materialization to turn it into a piece of paper with her address on it. "I'll probably be at my apartment, when you're ready to pick him up," Pearl said as she gave the paper to Kenshin. "Thank you," Kenshin said. Kaoru and Kenshin gave Kenji one last hug, and Pearl took his hand, the first place they were going was to get him some new clothes.
While Pearl was babysitting Kenji, Bage was just finished taking care of June's babies when she arrived. "Be quiet, I finally got them to take a nap," Bage said. "Did you use Warper's Will darling?" Amaya asked. "Uh…y-yeah…" Bage said, worried about how June would react. "It's alright Bage," June assured him, "It won't hurt them. They need a nap anyway. Why don't you and your fiancé go spend some time together." Bage was dumbstruck for a second before finally saying, "O-Okay." He and Amaya headed out to a café, he wanted to talk with her. They sat down and ordered, and Bage asked Amaya, "So…how do you like things, in Conton City?" "It's rather nice actually," Amaya said, "Though I wish there were some more forests here." "Oh, so, you like the forest huh?" Bage asked. This was really the first time they talked about something other than training, the Infinite Multiverse, or Warper Powers. The truth was that he hadn't learned much about this girl that he had been engaged to marry.
"Yes, my family often train in forests. I'm more used to the concealment, as well as watching the animals go about their lives," Amaya said as their food arrived. "I'm more of a city boy," Bage admitted, "I camped out for about a year before I came to Conton City, but that was only because I was flat broke. Living off the land sucked." "I felt more alive in the forest," Amaya said, "Using my wits, keeping insects off me, hunting and gathering my own food, it felt more natural for me than all this." Amya waved her hand around to show what she meant. They ate in silence for a while, until Bage finally said, "Amaya, don't you think that this whole thing is kind of…crazy? I mean, we barely even know each other, yet we're engaged, all because my Father was a chickenshit that lost a duel to yours. Honestly, I'm not sure how this can work out well."
"It doesn't have to, necessarily," Amaya told him, "Father told me that if I did not like Raphael's heir, then I didn't have to marry them." Bage choked on his food, but managed to force it down when he heard that. "R-Really!? I-I thought that this whole thing was…I don't know, a matter of honor, duty, and life or death or something!" he yelled. "Why?" Amaya asked. "Truth be told, you and June are the first nice warpers I've ever met. I've seen what Ryo does as well, he's a badass sure, and good to his friends, but he's scary when he fights. I honestly don't know if I like being a warper either now, after seeing how he almost tore down the barriers between our worlds. And as for Taoretta…I saw what he did. He can't blame Shadlyn and Jigoku for all of it. I don't totally trust that he won't just turn back to being evil. What I'm trying to say is…I don't have good experiences with a lot of warpers, and I thought that they were a lot more…tyrannical."
"This has to do with how you were raped, doesn't it?" Amaya asked. Bage grit his teeth and said nothing, just nodded. "Bage," Amaya said, slowly taking his hand, "I don't care what happened to you. If you think that you are weak, I can tell you that you're not." Bage nodded then said, "That's not all. Before you arrived, I was hoping that me and June…and well, ah Dende, this whole situation is fucked up, like a crappy soap opera." Amaya laughed at that, "I wouldn't know, my Mother despised soap operas, said that every problem in them happened because no one could keep it in their pants. I wouldn't say that we have a problem like that. It's too soon for us to decide, I think. We should just see what happens for now, and if it doesn't work out, then I'll go visit other worlds I suppose." "Okay," Bage said.
After a few hours of shopping for new clothes for Kenji, taking dozens of pictures of him in the various outfits, in the end he only liked six of the outfits Pearl chose for him: Gohan's Demon Clothes he wore as a kid with Piccolo training him, an orange and green qipao, General Red's Outfit surprisingly, Bardock's Saiyan Armor, a simple Latest Fashion outfit with a green shirt, jeans, and red shoes, and finally Krillin's Battle Armor. All the outfits were inside Capsules that Kenji was carrying in a backpack Pearl bought for him, right now they were heading back to her apartment. Pearl checked the time and saw it was time for Kenji's dinner. Barit was nowhere to be found in the apartment. She had no idea what to do, she knew the ways to cook, but she had never cooked anything that wasn't something sweet, too sweet for a little Earthling child to eat. Alright…I can do this! Papa showed me all the essential stuff, I've seen Barit, Kenny, and Shurayuki cook before…I can do this!
Pearl quickly got out everything she figured she needed, she decided to just have a simple meal of rice and chicken with vegetables. She used ki to thaw out the chicken quickly and started cooking then put the rice in the rice cooker. The vegetables were microwavable and she popped them in for five minutes like the bag said, the whole time praying that nothing would go wrong. She kept her eye on the rice and chicken the whole time, making sure to turn over the chicken as it turned white. The vegetables were done first and Pearl took them out of the microwave and on a plate for the bag to cool off, then the rice was finished too. Pearl opened the bag of vegetables and mixed it with the rice, and once the chicken was done she cut it into small pieces and spread it with the rice and vegetables. When it was all done she made a sigh of relief, Thank Dende it went alright…
"Alright, Kenji-chan, dinner's finally ready," Pearl said, going to the living room and seeing him looking at a scroll. "Hmm? What's that?" she asked. Kenji looked up at her startled and guilty, but he handed her the scroll. Pearl read it and saw it was a manual on controlling ki. "Where did you get this?" Pearl asked. "It was a few days ago, it showed up while Tou-san and Oka-san were sleeping. There was a voice from it, saying that it was from a friend, Ryo. I recognized his voice this morning, when he was fighting that monster girl. Pearl-san, I want to get stronger! Oka-san and Yahiko-onii-chan told me stories about how strong Tou-san was before I was born. I remember Sanosuke-ji-san, he was so strong, he could punch trees in half! Yahiko-onii-chan was the 'Man Who Caught a Thousand Blades'! And then everyone here is so much stronger! If we were stronger…we could have saved everyone!" Kenji said, tears welling up in his eyes, but he refused to let them fall, the look in his young face was all determination as he bowed to Pearl, "Please, teach me, Pearl-sensei!"
Pearl saw the determination in his eyes, for a child so young, he had seen too much death already. She took a deep breath as she thought things through before finally saying, "Kenji-chan, if I do this, we need to keep it secret. This is serious, ki will make you stronger, but it could also put you in danger if you can't control it. You won't become as powerful as me overnight, I trained hard for my power, you will have to train hard as well. Do you understand?" Kenji looked at her and nodded. "Then, first we must eat. You'll need all your strength for this," Pearl said. Kenji and Pearl ate, Kenji practically attacking the food, if Pearl hadn't known better she would have sworn he had Saiyan blood in him. After dinner was done, Pearl had Kenji get into the Lotus Position and meditate. "Now, look for that power," Pearl started, only for Kenji to instantly start glowing. Pearl could sense his Power Level rising, astronomically. This is impossible! Pearl thought as she quickly stretched her arm into her room and grabbed her Scouter.
She put it on and measured Kenji's Power Level, 600, 700, 800, it kept on rising! It finally stopped at an even 1000! "Holy Shenron! Kenji, you've been practicing before, haven't you!?" Pearl exclaimed. Kenji opened his eyes and smiled, "Yes, Sensei! I've watched Oka-san and Tou-san, so I know how it works, and I've been meditating on my free time!" "Alright then, this will be easier than I thought…" Pearl said. She looked and saw some leftover chicken. She used Majin Magic to turn the chicken into some targets, three to be exact. She grabbed them and told Kenji, "Alright, Kenji-chan, focus your ki into your hands, and try to let it out to hit the targets as I throw them." Kenji nodded and stood up, his aura glowing around him. Pearl tossed the first target, and a blue ki wave blasted out of Kenji's hands, destroying it.
"Alright, you have power, now, focus on precision. Shoot it out of your pointer finger, like this," Pearl said, and blasted a small ki wave from her finger into the wall, leaving a small scorch mark in the paint. Kenji nodded, and his little right hand glowed. Pearl tossed the second target, and Kenji's ki blast went right through it, leaving a small hole in it. "Yes! You're a natural at this! Now, for speed. Do that same technique, but this time do it as many times as you can before the target falls," Pearl said, and Kenji pointed both pointer fingers ahead. Pearl tossed the second target again, and Kenji yelled as a barrage of small ki waves came out of his fingers, hitting the target twelve times before it hit the ground. Pearl nodded and presented Kenji with the last target. "This time, make a ball with your ki, this is a basic shape for it, try to hit the target while keeping it as a ball," Pearl told Kenji.
The boy nodded and brought his hands together. Pearl tossed the target up, and Kenji formed a blue ki ball between his hands and tossed it as hard as he could, the ki ball destroyed the last target easily. Pearl clapped her hands, "You're so good at this! That scroll must have really helped you understand the finer points of ki!" "It did, but, I still don't understand how to fly," Kenji said, "I heard how you explained it to Oka-san and Tou-san, but I don't understand…" Pearl went to him and patted his head, "It's okay Kenji-chan, you're already much more advanced than I was at your age. I couldn't do what you just did until I was eleven. And how old are you now?" "I'm seven," Kenji said, "and a half!" Pearl gave him a smile, "See? You're a genius with this, but no one can learn everything easily. What's giving you trouble?" "I'm not sure how to not make my ki all…damaging?" Kenji tried to explain.
"Ah, I understand," Pearl said, he had focused on offense, he didn't know how to control his power. "Alright, you need to focus on lessening your power. Your Mama was a kendo master, right?" Kenji nodded. "Did she ever seriously injure her students when she trained them?" Pearl asked. Kenji shook his head. "It's all about control. Not using too much power, or too little. That makes the difference between a little pat," Pearl patted Kenji's head, "And a smack." Pearl hit Kenji's head, not hard enough to hurt him too bad, but enough for his head to go down a little. "Oh! I see!" Kenji said. "Now, focus on controlling the power. Just enough to push yourself off the ground and into the air," Pearl explained. Slowly Kenji floated up. "Now, keep that control and stop rising," Pearl said. Kenji stopped before he hit his head. "Now, fly around the living room a little," Pearl told him. Kenji slowly flew around the living room, keeping his control the whole time. Suddenly he wavered, and started to fall. Pearl jumped up and grabbed him before he hit the floor. "I feel tired," Kenji said. "It's okay, you did a lot of hard work today, I'd be more surprised if you weren't tired. It's about time for a bath for you," Pearl said and took him the bathroom and took a bath with him.
Kenji didn't like the shampoo too much since Pearl had him close his eyes while she washed his hair, and insisted he wash his body himself. Pearl let him, there wasn't too much splashing around. When he was cleaned up Pearl put him in one of her shirts and got in her own pajamas. When she was done getting dressed, Kenji was already sleeping on the couch. Pearl smiled and picked him up, carried him to her bed and tucked him in before falling asleep with him.
(Ending Theme: Whispers in the Dark by Skillet)