Chapter Two: A chance meeting
Compared to my other story, I find this so much easier to write, so expect this one to be updated far more often. Something about the way Star Wars is hard for me to adapt my writing to, and with this story the dialogue and actions just come far more naturally.
Is part of it the comparative simplicity of the narrative? Maybe, but it does make it a far more enjoyable experience to mess with the characters and change the story in both minor and major ways. I hope you guys all enjoy what comes in the story, both now and far ahead, as much as I enjoy writing it.
Goku really thought the first two girls he met were odd. One kept staring at him, which was a little off putting. It wasn't the way the tigers or bears looked at the small animals they hunted, which was what he was used to. He hadn't ever really seen the look she had in her eyes before, and it both confused and frightened him to some extent.
Then the other one kept yelling at him, which wasn't very lady like according to what Grandpa Gohan had said about them. He liked the other one, Inko, far better than Bulma, even if Inko did stare at him a little too much.
He was also worried about their food situation. He had only caught enough for himself, but Goku supposed he could give enough to share with them. Hopefully girls didn't eat as much as he did, or else there would be an apparent problem. "We're almost there!" Goku stated, recognizing the area they were in thanks to the way the trees were slowly turning into stumps.
He liked to practice by cutting down trees to make sure his body was always in peak condition, which had the additional benefit of making it easy to tell where he was relative to his home. "What happened here? Did that monster you talked about do this?"
Goku shook his head and then explained the truth behind the way the forest looked, to which Bulma seemed impressed, but Inko even more so. "How can you even do that, you're like ten!" she exclaimed.
"I'm fourteen, actually," Goku revealed, hoping he had been counting it correctly this entire time. Bulma, however, doubted what he said, as evident by the face she was making.
"You can't be fourteen!" she shouted. "There's no way, you look like you're ten!" she protested, to which Goku shrugged, not really caring either way. Age didn't really matter to him, it was just a number to tell you how long you'd been alive, nothing more and nothing less.
"I'm just growing slow, but I kinda lost count, so maybe," Goku admitted. "But either way, why does it matter?" Goku asked, which seemed to only further incense Bulma.
"Because I don't want some little kid following us around!" Bulma shouted. Goku chose to ignore her, not wanting to argue any further with the irritable girl. Besides, they were just about at his house, he had to go visit Grandpa.
Taking off running, Inko shouted for him to slow down, yet Goku was already inside. The door left open, light poured in upon the last remnants of Grandpa Gohan, an orange ball with four stars on it. He sat down in front of his, putting his hands together like he was high fiving himself.
"Grandpa, I met two girls today!" he said, hoping that Grandpa Gohan could hear him beyond the grave. "One's really nice and pretty, but the other one's really mean to me! That one isn't very lady like either!" Goku explained, frowning at the thought of Bulma. Hopefully she was just hostile because he was basically a stranger to her, and she didn't treat everyone like that.
"You better not be talking about me," Bulma said as she walked in, then falling mute upon seeing what was left of Grandpa Gohan. "That's a Dragon Ball! Inko, c'mon!" Bulma exclaimed, rushing over to Grandpa. Goku stepped between her and what was left of his only father figure, scowling at her.
Goku saw Inko step into the doorway just as he yelled back at Bulma. "Back off, this ain't a Dragon Ball or whatever you called it! This is Grandpa, or what's left of him!"
"You bumpkin! This is a Dragon Ball," Bulma began, before Inko cut her off. Walking over, she got down on eye level with Goku. The two stared at each other for a moment and then Inko began to continue what she had been saying.
"I know that's important to you, but that's also this thing called a Dragon Ball. There's seven of them out there, and when you collect them all, a big dragon comes out of them and you can make a wish for anything you want," Inko calmly stated. Goku frowned, not sure if he believed them or not.
"But why would there be seven Grandpas out there?" Goku asked, ever confused, as he seemed to always be when he was around these two in particular.
"How many times do you have to be told something?" Bulma asked, before Inko once again interrupted her.
"They're not all as special as this one is to you," Inko reassured, quelling his concerns immediately. "Can we borrow the Dra- your grandpa for a bit? We really need him if we're gonna summon the dragon."
Goku hummed, thinking for a moment. "No," he began, and Inko looked dejected for a moment, but then he finished, "But, I'll come with you guys and hold on to Grandpa until we need to summon the dragon!"
"Perfect!" Inko stood back up to her full height, making her easily a foot taller, if not more, than him.
"Looks like we're going on an adventure, Grandpa!" Goku exclaimed, picking up the orb from it's pillow. Luckily it could fit in the pocket of his pants, sliding in easily without any force on his part.
"If you're coming with us, there's a lot you're gonna have to know," Bulma said, sounding a little irritated that Goku was coming along. "Even if you are some freakishly strong guy, you can't just be some socially unaware idiot." Her tone was softening the more she spoke, which hopefully meant that he was growing on her.
"That can wait, can't it?" Inko asked, to which Bulma nodded.
"We've gotta get moving if we're gonna find the others in a timely manner. We've got three of them now, the two star, the five star, and the four star." Bulma digged into the bag dangling from her neck, taking out a small case with many small devices.
A little confused, Goku could only watch as she thought for a moment, "Okay, we're gonna need a vehicle with at least three seats..." Upon counting the devices one by one, Bulma picked one numbered seven. She pressed the button on top and tossed it on the ground.
In a cloud of smoke, a strange beast, no, a 'car', appeared once where there had once been only empty space. This one, however, was much smaller and had a more sleek design. Instead of being white, it was a deep red with a black top. The same emblem was on the left side of the car, the double C.
Shuddering, Goku muttered under his breath so as to not be heard by Bulma. "Witchcraft..."
"Come on, we better get going," Inko encouraged, entering the car from the right side door. Bulma took her place in the left side, and then looked expectantly at Goku, who was left confused
"What? I can keep up with you guys on my own," Goku said, to which Bulma rubbed the bridge of her nose.
"Of course you can..."
Toshinori Yagi's life had changed a lot lately. It all started when he met Nana Shimura, a local pro hero who was climbing the ranks as of late. They had a heart to heart on what the world really needed after he risked his life to save a family from a fire that had engulfed their house. He had barely gotten out before the fire reached the gas main, destroying the house in an explosion that made sure nothing was left of what was inside.
Something about his words connected with Nana, who then revealed the truth about her Quirk, which he had heard was an odd one. She could float in the air, which would usually be the only part of a person's ability, yet she also had power greater than most strength enhancers out there. It was that Quirk that she offered to him, a unique ability about her Quirk, which was called One for All.
It was that Quirk that he worked for the past year to gain. An intense regiment that made sure his body wouldn't collapse from simply having possession of the mighty Quirk, and now he had that power to it's fullest, even greater than what Nana had. Not that she herself wasn't impressive, it was just that One for All grew stronger the longer it existed and the more it was passed along.
Toshinori was the eighth wielder, and he was also supposedly the youngest to ever wield it. He was only fourteen and yet he already possessed a mighty Quirk, one that no one else could ever dream of having. It was a power born to defeat a terrible villain, one greater than any other. He didn't know the name of the villain, but he was going to fight him one day, it was only a matter of time.
"Toshi, is your head in the clouds again?" Nana asked, flying above him as he soared through the air from the force of his jump. The amount of power he was able to put into his legs allowed him to remain aloft for so long it made others believe he too could fly, although that wasn't one of the benefits he got when he claimed One for All as his own.
Toshinori shook his head, his eyes on the area around them. If he was correct, he was much farther south in Japan than he usually went. "Just thinking about how weird this is," he admitted, thinking about the way he was before he got his new Quirk. "If you would've told me last year that I would've gotten a Quirk, let alone one like this, I would've called you crazy!"
Nana laughed. "Remember, you didn't only receive a Quirk, you earned it!" she corrected, her ever present smile forcing one to rise upon Toshinori's face. His teacher's mood was always so infectious, though he had yet to figure out why. "That heroic attitude of yours is gonna change the world one day, Toshi, and I can't wait to see the day you stand atop us all as the pillar of society you wanna be."
Toshinori didn't answer, his thoughts shifting from his past as a Quirkless reject to the future he envisioned. One day, one day soon, he would become the greatest hero ever, one that would pull society into a golden age where there would be no massive villain threats. Not that there were many now aside from the old foe of One for All.
"So, where's this camping spot you picked out?" Toshinori called, scanning the surrounding area. There was a highway not too far away, though it seemed all but abandoned. A stone bridge connected the land separated by a ravine, where fish swam with the current.
"It's not too far now," Nana answered. "You best be prepared for the time of your life! I still can't believe you've never gone camping before!"
Toshinori felt his face flush with color. Embarrassed, he rubbed the back of his neck as he slowly began to lose altitude with Nana. He was lagging behind just enough that he could roughly see where she was going. The camping supplies were in a few capsules they had brought with them, and Nana had them each in a case in her grasp.
"It's not my fault. My parents never really were the outdoorsy sort," Toshinori protested. "I'm glad I'm finally getting the opportunity to try this out, though. How did you convince them to let you take me along?"
Nana looked back at Toshinori, locking eyes with him. "They were concerned for your safety, but all I had to do was remind them that I did rank at number twenty four on the hero charts!" she said with a hearty laugh. Toshinori's parents had yet to learn that he had manifested a Quirk, and preferably it wouldn't be until he applied for Yuuei that they would learn of that fact.
They soon touched down on solid ground, at which point Nana opened the case holding their capsules. "Now, we're gonna be doing this the old fashioned way!" she explained, dropping the capsule a few feet away from her. From the capsule, two tents and several stakes appeared. "Including the set up!"
Toshinori smiled, picking up the stakes and tossing half of them to Nana, who caught them easily. Nana in turn slid one of the orange tents his way, and Toshinori watched Nana carefully to see how she did it.
She slid one of the two rods that came with the tent through a small hole near what should be the bottom of the tent, and Toshinori did the same. She then pulled it through the opposite side, and repeated the process with the other rod.
Using the strength of One for All they put a stake on each corner of the tents, and in no time at all there was two fully functional tents for them to sleep in. "Toshi, hold down the fort, I'm gonna go get some firewood," Nana said, withdrawing to the forest nearby, leaving Toshinori alone to his thoughts.
Camping seemed relatively easy, which made Toshinori wonder why his parents were so opposed to it. Even if they didn't like this sort of thing, he saw no reason why they would keep him from doing so with the few friends he had back home. He was grateful for Nana taking him, he really was.
Maybe he could get some practice in while he was away from home, but that wasn't his priority at the moment. He had plenty of time to master his control of One for All. If he was going to become a hero, he would need to work on keeping it in check. As of late, if he used One for All, it was all or nothing, and most people couldn't take a punch from him.
Nana was one of the few people who could handle him, but even she usually ended up with a few bruises when they sparred. Granted, Toshinori had accidentally leveled a forest when he first got One for All, throwing the media for a loop as to who was responsible for such a thing.
The sound of a running engine caused Toshinori to snap out of his thoughts. Looking down the road, he saw a sports car racing down the road, the windows rolled down. That would be odd enough, considering how far out of the way the road they were on was, but even more odd was the fact that there was a boy with a tail running alongside the vehicle, looking as if he weren't breaking a sweat.
The car began to slow down as they drew nearer to the campsite they had set up. As the sun began to sink below the horizon, the car stopped in front of Toshinori and two girls stepped out.
Neither walked up to him, but the boy accompanying them eagerly approached him. "Hi!" he greeted, a faint, innocent smile on his face. "I'm Son Goku, what's your name?"
Deciding to humor the small boy, Toshinori answered. "Toshinori Yagi, huh?" the blue haired girl repeated. "I'm Bulma Briefs, daughter of the founder of Capsule Corporation!" she said, emphasizing the latter half of her sentence far more than the first.
Toshinori's eyes widened a little, surprised, but not all that impressed. Meeting someone like that was nothing compared to someone like Nana, or quite frankly, himself.
"Inko Midoriya," chimed in the green haired girl.
"Nice to meet you all," Toshinori said. "My... friend should be back soon with some wood for the fire. Stick around a while, we could use the company!"
Bulma seemed hesitant, taking out a case similar to the one Nana had. Taking one of several out, Bulma chucked it as far as she could, and a house appeared, one capable of housing a couple people. "No thanks," she decided. "I'm gonna stay inside, where the bugs can't get me!"
As Bulma walked away, Inko called after her. "C'mon Bulma! It could be fun, just give it a shot!"
"No thanks! I'll enjoy my bathtub in peace!" Bulma yelled back, shutting the door to the house behind her. Toshinori shrugged it off, finding her too similar to his parents in some ways.
"Your loss," Inko added, sitting on the ground a few feet away from Toshinori. Goku sat across from him, staring at him. "So, what are you and your friend doing out here?" she asked, breaking the ice.
"Truth be told, this is my first time camping," Toshinori admitted, expecting a big reaction yet finding there was none at all. "When my friend, Nana, found out, she decided we had to go immediately." Toshinori looked at the two of them, and then to the house Bulma had went inside of. "So what're you guys doing out if your friend, Bulma, can't handle the outdoors?"
Goku decided to chip in. "We're on a quest! We're gonna find the seven Grandpas!"
"Truth be told, this is my first time camping," Toshinori admitted, expecting a big reaction yet finding there was none at all. "When my friend, Nana, found out, she decided we had to go immediately." Toshinori looked at the two of them, and then to the house Bulma had went inside of. "So what're you guys doing out if your friend, Bulma, can't handle the outdoors?"
Toshinori frowned, understandably confused by the bewildering answer.
"Toshi! You made some friends!" called Nana from behind him. Toshinori looked back, seeing a pile of wood high enough that he could barely see Nana's face. Nana set the wood down in between all of them and then sat between Toshinori and Goku. "Well, are you gonna introduce me?"
Startled, Toshinori quickly introduced everyone. "Nana - Goku, Goku - Nana," he said, gesturing towards the small boy. "Nana - Inko, Inko - Nana," Toshinori continued, pointing to Inko.
Nana looked at Inko, specifically her hair, which was similar to her own in style. "Hey, you did a pretty good job with the bun. It could be better, maybe I'll give you some tips sometime!" she said, her smile present, as always.
Inko looked at Nana with awe. "Oh my God! You're the Nana Shimura?" Nana nodded, laughing lightly. "I should've realized when Toshinori said you were Nana earlier, but I thought I was mistaken! I'm your biggest fan!" Inko exclaimed, her excitement overflowing to the point she seemed to be vibrating in place.
"Always glad to meet a fan!" Nana said between laughs. "But please, don't treat me like a hero, I'm not on duty."
Inko nodded. "When I was little, I wanted to be like you," she added, smiling at her idol. Toshinori was a little surprised at how big of a fan Inko seemed to be.
"You're a teenager, right?" Nana asked, to which Inko nodded. Nana let out a sigh. "I'm getting old, Toshi. The youth are younger than my career as a hero."
Toshinori shook his head. "You still look young!" he protested, which Inko echoed. Inko also apologized to Nana for making her feel old, which was a nice gesture.
"Lady, you sure look strong," Goku added, not having paid attention since she had gotten there. "Can you show me a thing or two?" he asked.
Nana bent down to be at eye level with him. "I'd be glad to! Anything to help an aspiring boy with a heart full of dreams!" Nana flexed jokingly, which made Inko just about pass out, which made Toshinori laugh. "Toshi, why don't you come help too!"
Toshinori looked at Nana, surprised she wanted him to fight a little kid. "Are you sure? You know I'm not great at controlling One - my Quirk," Toshinori reminded.
"I think it'll be fine, Goku looks like he can handle it," Nana said. Toshinori stood up and walked with Goku and Nana a little ways away from Inko, who began to watch from her position. "This will be a good exercise for you, Toshi. Even though Goku can probably take it, do your best to limit the force behind those punches of yours."
Toshinori nodded, and Goku and Toshinori stepped away from one another. Standing in a triangle, the three stretched for a moment before the match began.
"Okay, on three," Nana began. She pulled her arm across her chest, "One." Goku hopped on his feet lightly, rolling his neck as he did. "Two." Toshinori pulled his leg back to where it hit against his rear. "Three."
Toshinori immediately threw a punch at Nana, who rolled out of the way of both that and the kick coming from Goku. Goku kicked himself away from Toshinori and rushed back to him. Toshinori blocked the next attack, noticing he actually felt the blow. Maybe Goku could take a couple hits from him.
Nana kicked Toshinori in his back, taking advantage of the fact that he was distracted by Goku's surprising strength. "Keep your head up, Toshi! This isn't a one on one fight!"
Inko was amazed by watching a pro hero, her protegé, and a martial artist fight. Granted, she didn't know much about fighting, but seeing her idol in action was amazing.
She was getting rather excited about the rest of the adventure. They had only left a couple of days ago and they already had met so many unique people, including her favorite hero. It made her wonder what else would happen as they tracked down the other four Dragon Balls.
Speaking of, Inko decided it would be a good idea to check on Bulma, who had yet to come out of the house. She stood up and jogged at a brisk pace, entering the home and finding herself admiring yet again the remarkable technology Capsules truly were.
She could hear water running, so Inko decided to rummage through the fridge for some food. She hadn't eaten since they set out again that morning, and after everything that had happened, she was quite hungry.
The half empty gallon of milk, leftovers from the last couple of days breakfast, called out to her. Inko decided to satisfy the urge and took out a bowl from a cabinet nearby, grabbing some cereal while she was at it. The cereal went in first, like any normal person would do.
Inko resigned to eating her cereal after she had put the milk back. By the time she had finished, Bulma had finished taking her bath, coming out wrapped with a towel around her body and another on her head.
"I'm surprised you aren't out there with your boyfriend," she teased, laughing at her own joke as Inko felt her face turn cherry red.
"He's not my boyfriend!" Inko moaned, which seemed to only push Bulma further.
"Come on, I saw the way you looked at him when he beat up that dinosaur!" Inko shook her head, then deciding to have a little fun of her own.
"I can't believe you got taken by a dinosaur when you were squatting!" Inko shouted with a laugh. "Goku had to save you while you were half naked!"
"Shut up!" Bulma complained. Inko laughed, knowing her friend couldn't take what she dished out.
The two continued to talk for half an hour before they both decided it was about time to clock out for the night. It had been a long day, hopefully tomorrow would be less eventful.