Chapter 49: Testing Barit's Power

(Opening Theme: Backbone by Daughtry)

Pearl woke up early to see Kenshiro was still sleeping. What was supposed to be a nap had become a long nine-hour sleep. She quietly got out of bed and stretched herself out for about fifteen minutes, wondering in how much worse shape any other species would be in after a fight with Helles. After stretching out, Pearl went to the kitchen where Barit was sitting down enjoying a glass of water. "Are you alright?" the Namekian asked when he saw her. "I'm fine, as long as a Majin isn't killed instantly, we can come back from almost anything; all we need is food and sleep to heal," Pearl explained before looking through the fridge and cupboard. "I think I shall be making breakfast today, you guys should relax," Pearl announced, and Barit nearly choked on his water. "Uh, no thanks, this is all I need!" "Come on Barit, I'm improving, I mean it! I won't add a lot of sugar, I promise!" Pearl said, stomping her foot a little. "Just keep it simple then, nothing sweet; like hashbrowns, toast, and eggs," Barit told her. "Fine," Pearl said, as she got ready to make the food.

Kenshiro came out of the room about twenty minutes later. "Morning Kenny," Pearl said from the kitchen, "Just five more minutes, and everything will be done." Kenshiro tried to be quiet, but Pearl could hear him say to Barit, "You let her cook…" "She's been doing alright," Barit told him, although Kenshiro looked a little…dubious. Pearl finished cooking breakfast and laid it all down for the three of them to eat.

Kenshiro steeled himself, and was pleasantly surprised, the eggs and toast were slightly over cooked, but they weren't as terribly sweet as the things Pearl usually made when she cooked. She had explained to him once that Majins needed a lot of energy and calories to function, ten times more than would be healthy for a human in fact, so they ate a lot of sugary foods and often added sugar to food that humans didn't add sugar to. To see she hadn't added any sugar or other sweetener to the food that was meant for him and Barit was a surprise. The three of them quietly ate together, enjoying the small amount of peace they had together. "So, what are we doing today?" Barit asked. "If we can, I want to spar, us, and everybody else that's in the mood. I want to see how well you're doing, Barit," Pearl told the Namekian. He smiled wickedly, "Are you sure? Being able to stop time is a pretty awesome power, I don't think another species can use it like I can. It might put you guys at a disadvantage." Barit then disappeared, Kenshiro and Pearl saw the dishes were gone, and he was already in the kitchen. The next second, the dishes were all washed and put away!

"How the Hell did you do that!? I know Hit trained The Supreme Kai of Time, and you, but I thought her time powers let her use his techniques, and you…I thought you just got faster!" Kenshiro said as Barit walked over to them. "Nope, the naturally magic abilities of Namekians allows us to use Hit's power as well, after he taught me how he does it that is. It's impossible for you to learn, it requires muscles and organs that no other species has, along with Namekians' unique abilities," Barit boasted, "You might be able to imitate it, somewhat, but only someone taught by him can truly warp time."

"Wow," was all Pearl could say. "I can't keep up with either of you, power wise. I asked the Elder Kai if he could unlock my Potential, but he told me that the power I would gain would be negligible, maybe a 2 or 3% boost in the power I have now. I can't fight harder, but I can fight smarter," Barit explained. "Damn…really?" Pearl said. Barit nodded. "Alright then, let's get ready for the day. Now I need to test you man," Kenshiro said. The three of them took their showers and got dressed. Barit decided to dress up in a set of Android 16's clothes, Kenshiro decided to go shirtless and didn't wear his armbands, only a pair of black combat boots and blue gi pants, and Pearl took longer to decide, going through her clothes before she decided on wearing the Battle Suit Kenshiro bought for her, Amy's Battle Suit. Once they were dressed, Barit and Kenshiro took hold of Pearl's shoulders and she Instant Transmitted them to Rachel and Beate's apartment first.

They arrived outside of it and Barit knocked. Beate answered, she was dressed in a blue bikini top with red gi pants, black boots, and gloves Pearl recognized were part of Amy's Battle Suit. "We were just about to go to you guys," Beate said as she opened the door. Rachel walked over drinking some orange juice and wearing a black and gold Schoolgirl's Outfit, only with normal black gi shoes instead of heels. "Alright, so, we're gonna spar, huh?" Rachel said. "Yeah, we're ganging up on Barit to test the stuff Hit taught him," Kenshiro said with a crooked smile. "Huh!?" Pearl and Barit both said. "At first," Kenshiro said, "To really test you." Barit took a deep breath, and then was inside Beate and Rachel's apartment, while Kenshiro was pantsed behind him. "HEY!" Kenshiro yelled as he pulled his pants back up. "Go ahead and gang up on me," Barit said as he walked out the apartment, "But I'm gonna totally screw with you as long as I can." "Y-you better not try anything with us!" the women all yelled in unison.

"I'd never do that," Barit said, but then was walking away, leaving Rachel and Pearl realizing he had just trolled them by switching their glasses! They returned each other's glasses and followed behind Barit, giving him a wide berth. "I can't sense Bage or Amaya, guess they're in another Universe or something, enjoying their honeymoon," Pearl said, "But I can sense the Himuras. It feels like they're already training in the Bamboo District." Everyone headed to the Bamboo District, where they saw Kaoru and Kenshin were practicing their Ki no Ken technique, their ki-blades clashing together, sounding like electricity going off. Everyone watched as Kaour dodged Kenshin's blade and went for a stab that he ably blocked. Kenshin jumped over Kaour, but she blasted a ki ball at him just as he landed. Kenshin countered with one of his own ki balls, and once again the married couple's ki-blades clashed together. While they sparred, Kenji was practicing the punches and kicks that Pearl had taught him to the air.

Everyone silently watched for fifteen minutes, wondering if Kenshin or Kaoru would win, before Kenshin charged forward and placed his blade at Kaoru's throat. "This one wins, Kaoru-dono," Kenshin said. "Right," she said with a smile before they both dispelled their blades. "Holy cow! That was awesome!" Beate yelled excitedly, "It was actually hard for us to keep up with you guys, you were both so fast!" "Oh!" Kaoru and Kenshin both said, "How long were you watching us?" "About a quarter of an hour," Barit said. "We came here to try to test out my own power. Everyone against me. You want in on it?" the Namekian asked them. "Are you truly so strong?" Kenshin asked. Barit then appeared behind him, making Kenshin, Kaoru, and Kenji's hairs stand on end before he said, "I've learned a few tricks from my Master, Hit." "Whoa!" Kenji exclaimed. "Very well then," Kaoru managed after she calmed down.

Barit took his position in the middle of the Bamboo District, while Pearl, Kenshin, Beate, Kaoru, Rachel, Kenshiro, and Kenji all surrounded him, their auras glowing wildly as Beate went Super Saiyan 2, Rachel's blood-red aura swirled around her, while Pearl and Kenshiro Unleashed their Potential. Barit's own purple aura swirled around him as he took his fighting stance, his face was completely blank, showing that he was taking this sparring session seriously. All of them surrounded Barit, cautious about his Time Skip power, before with a wild yell, Kenji flew forward, and everyone followed suit.

What happened next was a mystery, one second, they were charging at Barit, then the next Pearl hit a mountain, Kenshin and Kaoru were facedown in the dirt, and Kenshiro was getting kicked in the stomach by Rachel, who was getting punched in the face by Beate. Pearl looked and saw Kenji was away from everyone, looking confused at a stick of peppermint candy that was in his hand…and Hit was standing right next to the young boy! "SENSEI!" Barit quickly yelled and bowed to him. Everyone else scrambled up and bowed to the Sixth Universe's Most Powerful Assassin. "I sensed your ki charging up," Hit said, "And I decided to check on my student's progress." "What happened?" Kaoru asked. "To put it simply, my student, Barit, stopped time, and manipulated you all into the positions you found yourselves in. I pulled the child back so he wouldn't get hurt," Hit explained. Everyone stared at Hit in amazement, and Kenji looked at him like he was a god among men.

Hit turned his attention to Kenji, "This is beyond your level, child. It would be best if you enjoy your treat while you watch and learn." "He's right, Kenji-chan," Pearl confirmed, "I'm afraid you'd only get in the way." "Yes, Sensei," Kenji said, sounding disappointed at he sat down to watch, and licked the peppermint candy Hit had put in his hand. "Continue," Hit ordered, and the adults all got up, getting ready to try again. Barit took his stance, and once again they all flew at him. The next second, Pearl was head butting Kaoru, Kenshin got hit with a ki ball from Rachel while Kenshiro and Beate had kicked each other in the face. "OW!" Pearl said, rubbing her head. "You're playing games, Barit," Hit said. "Should I stop, Sensei?" Barit asked him. "As long as you're avoiding injury to yourself or innocent bystanders, I don't care," Hit told him.

For a third time, they all got up, and prepared to go at Barit again. Barit took a lower stance this time; and was smirking now. "You guys won't expect what's coming next," he told them. "Attack in groups!" Kenshiro said as he and Pearl charged forward. The next thing they knew, Kenshiro, Pearl, and Rachel were all a jumble on the ground, Rachel sitting on Kenshiro's groin while Pearl was sitting on his face, while Beate was kicking Kenshin in his nuts, and Kenshin accidentally unleashed a ki blast into Kaoru's face! A bluching Rachel and Pealr got off Kenshiro, while Beate was apologizing furiously to Kenshin, as he was checking to see if Kaoru was okay while trying to ignore the immense pain in his scrotum. Luckily it was a weak blast, and Kaoru was alright, no broken skin or bones. "Seriously! What the Hell!?" Rachel yelled at Barit, blushing. "Just helping my friend live one of his fantasies," Barit said. Kenshiro was blushing completely red at that, "I TOLD YOU TO KEEP THAT BETWEEN US!"

Pearl was quiet, but blushing so much she looked pitch black, oh man…I knew Kenshiro had a lot of Shurayuki in him, but I didn't know he had that much… Kenshiro got close to Barit and the two of them quietly argued, and Pearl went to see if the Himuras were alright. "You okay?" she asked, "Do you need me to heal you?" "This one will recover," Kenshin quietly said, "Although, this one thinks my training is done for today." "I don't think we can beat him, we're only slowing the rest of you down," Kaoru admitted. "Sorry," Barit finally said as he walked over. Beate got between Rachel and Kenshiro as he said this, and wrapped an arm around her, possessively. "Seriously?" Kenshiro said to her. "You had your chance, I got her now. So you can't have her back, even in your wet dreams," Beate said, and Rachel just looked at her like she had lost her mind. Rachel pinched Beate's cheek to make her let go before telling her, "Knock it off. We're not exactly right to judge since we-" "Please don't finish that sentence," Kenshiro pleaded, and Rachel shut her mouth.

"Anyone want to try again?" Barit asked. "Yeah, me," Pearl said, "Just the two of us." "You sure, Pearl?" Kenshiro asked. "Yeah, before I was distracted, thinking about everyone else, about coordinating with everyone. But if it's just me, I can focus entirely on Barit," Pearl said. "I got this." Pearl looked confident in her strength and gave her fiancé a thumbs-up. Kenshiro smiled and said, "Kick his butt." Pearl and Barit assumed their stances, while everyone else gave them room. Pearl focused all her senses, she had studied the fights the Z-Warriors had been in even before joining the Time Patrol. She knew how Goku was able to go toe-to-toe with Hit, and even eventually defeat him. She was certain she was almost at that level of power, since she had been able to defeat Helles. All she had to do was let go, and focus.

Focus…

Focus…

Focus…

It was all over in the blink of an eye. Barit and Pearl were both standing in the middle of the Bamboo District, having landed stunning cross punches on each other, knocking each other down on the ground. "You did it!" Kenshiro said as he went to help Pearl and Barit up. "Man," Barit said as he wiped some blood off his face, "I didn't think you'd get it so quick." "It took a lot of concentration," Pearl admitted. Hit stepped forward and said to Pearl, "Good job. You're becoming quite the warrior." Hit turned to Barit, "You're improving immensely. Now I'd like to test you myself." "Yes, Sensei!" Barit said as he and Hit assumed their stances.

Pearl recognized Hit's stance, it was the same one he used during his final clash with Goku in the Universal Tournament. Barit assumed a similar stance, and Pearl focused everything she had, hoping to be able to catch even a slight glimpse of what was about to happen.

In the blink of an eye, Barit and Hit were back to back from each other. Hit's head snapped to the side and he also bent double as if he was kicked hard. Hit stood up straight and said, "You've truly improved, Barit." Barit's body seemed to go into an epileptic fit just then as if dozens of blows struck his head, stomach, legs, arms, and back, before the Namekian collapsed to the ground, unconscious. "But I am still the Master," Hit said as he walked off. Pearl went to Barit, but he was already regaining consciousness. "Thank you for the lesson, Sensei," Barit said as she helped him stand. "Keep training. I think I'm done here. I'll return in a year, to check on your progress," Hit told Barit. "I will train until I am stronger than you, Sensei," Barit told the assassin. Hit smirked at that and walked away. For the rest of the day, everyone simply hung out and talked about how they could improve from that experience.

(Ending Theme: Confident by Demi Lovato)