With editing from babykitune-9

The day began like what Kakarrot had heard basic was like from the soldiers.

He was kicked awake by a disciple, screamed at by Shen, and not given breakfast. He was then forced to run to the farm in the cold mourning air nipping at him. He was sort of expecting this kind of treatment but not expecting the farm.

The farm was rather large that he came to. The farm's only inhabitants besides the animals being an old smelly man. Who was drinking and watching the world from his old rocking chair. The old man looked dirty. He appeared to have no ability to notice the smells and looks of himself.

Thankfully to Kakarrot, he only reeked of cigarettes and booze. For it is far more likely he would smell of ammonia from urine and the sickly-sweet smell of death. His eyes were faded, he was virtually blind. He seemed to be wearing clothing that he was living in. He was gaunt and emaciated. This was a dying man.

Kakarrot was determined to go nowhere near this old man. If the smell was overwhelming to a human, it was suffocating to a Saiyan. Kakarrot knew from the moment he had arrived the old man would be the source of many of his future nightmares.

As Kakarrot dug into the ground of the fields of the farm he couldn't help but think about the old man. He wasn't a deep thinker, but his mind was wandering. This man had spent his life working on this farm which his family had no doubt worked on for generations.

Kakarrot pondered on how pointless this old man's life was. The old man (this dead man) for some reason still hanging onto his worthless life. This old farmer was never going to end up in one of those history books that Grandpa showed him.

He won't be a great general, statesman, or be at all important. He was nothing. He didn't even have the good sense to end himself and stop the misery that was him. It caused Kakarrot rage to no end to imagine such a fate.

Kakarrot hands dug into the earth as he was told not to use tools in the digging by the disciple. A sharp rock gave him a scratch it bled which he ignored thanks to his now obsession with that putrid smell of the old man. The field was dug up easily enough and he placed seeds into the holes he dug and covered it back up.

Kakarrot went to the old man's grape fields. His hands still sore found the grapes quite delicate. He crushed the first couple he had tried to grab. He was forced to try and get his sore hands to not squash the grapes. The same would go with the old man's apples in his orchard. He filled basket after basket with the grapes and apples while his stomach grumbled.

Kakarrot stopped and looked around. The old man was far too far to see him. But something told him he was beging watched. Skillfully he continued his work. He obscured himself with the vines and snuck some of the grapes with the slight handedness of a skilled theft. He smiled believing that he had gotten away with the theft.

He had finished with doing the picking for the day and moved on to cleaning the barn and feeding the animals. The smell was a loud but dull of shit coming from the barn. The horses, cows, pigs, chickens, and sheep were all quite unwelcoming to him. They nayed, bucked and whined at his presence. The animals all viewing him as a predator for admittedly justified reasons.

Kakarrot dodging their attempts to kick him cleaned the mountains of feces. The pens had not been cleaned for some time. Barely able to breath from the stench that was unleashed by his moving of the rotting piles, he worked as fast as possible. Most of the time making a mess that required more time to fix.

He fed the animals that were trying to bite at him which he slapped at. He took the eggs from the chicken which they squawked and pecked at him for it. By the time he was done he smelled of shit and was covered in it. It was on his scratch, on his face, it was everywhere. As he was leaving, he was forced to walk by the old man.

The old man scratched his ass and spit at Kakarrot. Nearly hitting him on the feet and said in his hard to understand rural ascent. "You smell like shit, boy."

Kakarrot was once again at hundred. He wanted beyond all other things to just disembowel and behead this odorous old man. He was just been sitting there watching him work and didn't bothering to even thank him.

It took all of his strength to not just go and kill this festering boil right now, but he knew he couldn't. He was sure to promise himself that this old man was now on the list along with the two others. He ran back to the town and went to go a deliver the newspapers but was turned down because of his smell.

Kakarrot was forced to washing himself and return after a time behind schedule. He delivered the newspapers and milk on foot around the town. To see the angry faces of the villages that were upset that their papers and milk were not on time. To his great displeasure.

Kakarrot then ran back down the road to do his construction work. He had to dig with his hands a place to put a foundation and a basement. He dug until his fingers were about to start bleeding. He had dug quite a bit considering he had not used tools for this task either as he was instructed but with the sun dipping lower in the sky he marched back to the school.

Kakarrot returned exhausted, hungry and looking for dinner but at the entrance he found Master Shen grasping a whip and staring at Kakarrot. Shen face was red, and fists were clenched. In an instant Kakarrot knew that Shen knew like lightning Shen was on Kakarrot whipping him and kicking him.

Shen screamed. "You little shit! You think that you can disobey me, you little brat! You're going to pay for stealing and being late!"

Shen kept his beating up for quite some time. Shen was beating Kakarrot so hard that he was re-braking some of his bones. Shen finally gave up leaving a bleeding Kakarrot allowing him to crawl into his bed without dinner. As Kakarrot was crawled to his bed triclops came over him. Kakarrot could sense his three eyes talking pleasure in his suffering.

Kakarrot was about to get angry again at the feeling of being mocked but his mind started to flash to another place. He was remembering his Grandpa's lessons about the art of war. He had hated the stories about the spies, but an idea formed in his head.

Kakarrot sobbed, "I'm sorry about calling you a circus freak!"

Tien was about to say something but instead bit his tongue.

Thanks to his face facing the ground Tien could not see the small smile that Kakarrot had.

Tien instead scoffed then walked way not bothering to insult the pitiably monkey boy. As Tien left the fake tears stopped falling down Kakarrot face. His little act had worked. His senses had not lied to him.

Triclops might have appeared to be a ruthless killer but had a soft exploitable heart. He had noticed how consistently he was taking care of the clown and only seemed furious when he made fun of the clown. He had come to the conclusion that he now needed to make 'friends' with Tien and Chiaotzu if he ever wanted to kill Shen.

Kakarrot crawled to his room and bed as he heard the others eat. In that dark room he remembered the tortures of the day and his intense desire to kill everyone around him.

But the lessons of Grandpa were flashing into his head. "Appearance is everything. Don't attack unless you are sure you can win." Gero and he had thought he had ignored those lectures, but they were here. Clouds of doubt dissipated in a second.

If anything, he felt ecstatic to be in that dark room, bleeding. He had wanted a challenge and he had gotten it.

From now on in he had decided he was going to be a spy. He would no longer cringe at orders. He would thank Shen for his orders and become his obedient servant. He would smile at the villages and old man from now on. He would be Tien's friend greet him with smiles and have an easy-going attitude. Yurin from now on would see him as family. Not all at once mind you just gradually. To make it look like this torture was working on him. He could fool them like he had fooled Red. He could be a good monkey if just to fool them he thought as he fell asleep.

He won't teach Yurin tonight due to exhaustion, but he would, oh yes, he would teach her.

Days flew by with Kakarrot over time showing his token resistance to which he knew Shen expected. Kakarrot learned how fake a smile and fake a laugh. He learned how to work with chop sticks despite hands that were twitching with pain and a stomach growling for more.

At night regardless of his hunger, pain and exhaustion he taught the basic stances to Yurin using his energy to keep the room lit. Over time he had developed a prefect system to all of this, and Shen's beating became less frequent.

Days turned to months and the villagers grew to smile at him. Tien no longer seemed interested in causing him pain. The old farmer stopped spitting at him as he passed. Yurin started to hug him before bed which he appreciated. He had fooled them he was sure, but he was not so sure about Shen. The man had no tell. Sure, he beat him less but that could mean anything. Shen watched him and he was smart, Kakarrot was sure of that.

Another day had come like any other. Kakarrot in his black gi ran to the farm, but instead of just finding the farmer he found Shen wait for him on the road right before the farm. Kakarrot was confused and looked at the old man who was staring off into the wildness off the side of the road.

"You are a good actor boy."

Shen's words made his skin spaz. His fingers twitched and his heart skipped a beat. Shen looked at him like he was looking through glass.

"You are good at pretending when the time calls for it. You have good instincts, a fighter's instincts. If you can't beat an opponent though normal means you find a new route. I thought you were stubborn at first which is true but you're good at improvising. In all honest you are like a young me. A hunter forced to play nice. Creatively you turned your punishment into a way to build yourself up not crumble apart. You have earned the chance to learn the Crane style but first a reward is in order. Do you know what that reward is?"

Kakarrot bowed to Shen. "What is the reward master?"

"The reward is. You can do what you want with the farmer and his farm."

Kakarrot smiled like a hungry wolf that was finally being fed. He marched passed Shen and up the farm to the old man that spit at him once.

Kakarrot with joy snapped his old neck with ease. Killing him like nothing. He dragged the dead man into the house. Dumping his body on a heap of filth that had accumulated in his house. Kakarrot turn his oven on and let the garbage next to the oven catch fire. He left the house as it burned.

Shen was waiting outside and Kakarrot came alongside him. They both stood watching the fire burn.

"I thought you wanted to do far worse?"

"Maybe but then it might not be taken as an 'accident'."

Shen nodded to that as the sound of fire trucks could be heard approaching. As the fire caught the nearby barn on fire.

Shen and Kakarrot began walking away down the road to the school. He said, "Your technique was good with the neck snapping but you could do better. You used far too much energy then was necessary."

"I guess I need more practice master."

Shen then began in detail to describe what was needed as the sounds of burning, popping and crackling took over the area.

Kakarrot took to the real training like a fish to water. In mere days he mastered the stances and forms of the Crane School. He was cleaving through disciples like they were nothing. Soon even Shen was impressed by this quick learning and he began spending Kakarrot on missions with Tien and Chiaotzu

One late night by a campfire while on a mission by Shen to get some money from some gullible villagers. They were by a campfire. Chiaotzu was asleep as well InoShikaCho the purple boar butterfly creature that they were using to acquire said funding.

The creature scared villagers and then they would defeat the monster for the reward. Rinse and repeat easy money. Tien and Kakarrot remained the only ones awake watching the crackling fire on the cold night.

"Tien?"

"Yah kid?"

Kakarrot feigned innocence. "Do you know who your father is?" Tien tried to not show his supreme discomfort at that question but failed miserably as he cringed and sunk his head into his shoulders.

Tien in a pained voice, "No. I don't know who my Father is. I'm an orphan."

Kakarrot said in mock surprise, "Oh I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It's an old wound. I believe I was abandoned as a result of my looks."

Kakarrot feigned some sincerity. "Still it wasn't fair to me to ask. But I guess we have something in common."

"Why were you abandoned? Was it because of your tail?"

Kakarrot shook his head then said with mock tenderness. "No. I'm an alien. Everybody in my race had tails. I was deemed weak at birth, so I was sent away at least what the ship's recorder says. I wasn't good enough." Some of his crocodile tears fell down his face. "Then as I left my planet..." dragging it out like it hurt. "It was destroyed I'm the last of my kind. Saved because I was deemed not good enough by my parents."

His act worked wonders on Tien whose eyes now were now filled with a righteous fury. While on the inside Kakarrot was giggling. He just knew that Triclops would be manipulated by his little story. The story even had the benefit of not being a total lie just given a sappy spin to it.

Tien raised his voice in frustration, "Who needs them! Our parents were the worthless ones not us. Kakarrot you are my brother and so is Chiaotzu. They did nothing for us so who needs them. We are family. You are not worthless. You are one of the best fighters I have ever meet. You are younger than me, but you are already approaching my level."

Kakarrot sobbing and giving his voice a tremble, "Brother?"

"Yes, you're my brother."

Kakarrot smiled a bit. "Brother. I never had a brother before Tien." He wiped away some of his tears. "Thank you for being my big brother Tien."

Tien smiled at him. The plan had worked like a charm from then on in Kakarrot was welcomed to sleep by Tien's side next to Chiaotzu.

Kakarrot was now allowed to spar as often as he wished with Tien. Kakarrot learned quickly the Dodon Ray, the Solar Flare, and the ability to Flying. The techniques came to him like everything else had easy and without much effort. All of this occurring under the watchful eyes of Shen who stoically watched all of this develop.

Kakarrot stepped into the Zen room, bowed to Shen and sat below him while Shen sat on his rock.

"Your progress has been adequate child. In only a small time you have mastered what took years for me to make." Shen had allowed an opening to see if he would interrupt him with some self-congratulation, he did not. "You have learned much but there is still much more for you to learn. Very soon the World Martial Arts Tournament will begin. If you are not familiar with the tournament it is a way to decide who is the best martial artist on the Earth in theory. The prize will be a paltry sum of money and a very gaudy belt. We the Crane School shall be attending the 21st Tournament. I had not planned on subjecting my pupils to such inferior stock of fighter but Roshi by the sounds of it has taken on at least one pupil. I am sure he plans to test her. I wish to prove to Roshi that his pupils will always be inferior to my pupils. You, Tien and Chiaotzu will be attending this Tournament. You will crush Roshi's student with ease and gift me the money if you win the prize. You are dismissed."

Kakarrot got up from his spot and walked out of the room silently cheering to himself that he had another chance to take on Roshi and Chi-Chi. But something had occurred to him he turned back bowed to Shen and asked. "May I ask my adoptive Grandfather attend Master?"

Shen without any emotion nodded in the affirmative. Kakarrot bowed again. He could now barely contain himself. He hurried out of the room and to his own. He would get to show his Grandpa all of the progress he had made over the last year or so.

That day he had pushed himself harder than normal against Tao leaving himself a mangled wreck for his trouble but Kakarrot had long ago had figured out that his people had a wonderful ability to grow stronger after getting the crap kicked out of him.

Grandpa had noticed too. He sometimes called him a 'Nietzschean Hero'. Something related to the idea of 'What doesn't kill me makes me stronger.' It had been in one of the books that he insisted he try and read.

That night despite his pain, his mind was all a flutter with his favorite recurring dream. Kakarrot found himself one of those ridiculous seats that Red loved so much. He saw himself sitting above the world. Blood was on his hands that he was licking which was clearly not his.

There was an olive branch on his head like a crown. He was wearing some gold plated ancient human armor. An ocean of people where before him bowing. They were proclaiming him their god as he licked the blood off his hands. The world had become his as he knew it all always was.

Kakarrot woke the next day from his wonderful dream in an ecstatic mood. He knew his best way to get all of his plans started would be by winning this Tournament.