The early morning light shined on West City, the buildings causing shadows to be formed. Within the large light yellow dome that was Capsule Corp, Trunks gathered water bottles and towels before tossing them into his bag.
The other day, Vegeta decided that their next training session would be different. It being so close to tournament day, he decided to have a full on spar with Trunks to see just how much he had improved within the chamber.
Trunks would still need to wear weights on each of his limbs but other than that he was allowed to go all out.
As he closed the backpack up and put his training weights on, he smiled at how light they were in comparison to the training he had received the entire week.
All set, he made his way out the door but not before putting a note on the table telling his mother that he and his father had left.
Outside, His father stood with his arms crossed, taking in the sight of the city with the same stern expression that he usually had.
"I'm ready!' Trunks announced, upon closing the door.
Vegeta turned and nodded to his son, levitating himself.
"Good. Let's go."
With that, father and son took off into the sky, heading south of the metropolitan area. They passed a mountain range before Vegeta began descending, his son following closely behind.
They landed upon an empty area, small dust bowls blowing in the wind.
As Trunks put down the back pack, Vegeta turned toward his son to speak.
"We will be sparring until Lunch time." He said with his usual no nonsense attitude, akin to a military instructor. "How much dessert you get will depend on your performance. So you better give it your all."
"Yes sir!" Trunks fake saluted, resisting the urge to whine about not getting enough dessert should the results not satisfy his father's standards.
The two stretched their limbs before getting into fighting form, Trunks looking incredibly determined to attempt an ass whooping.
His grandmother had made mouth watering brownies yesterday and would be damned if he didn't get at least two.
"Come at me when you're ready." Vegeta said, not changing his position.
Trunks stood still for a moment, taking his surroundings while trying to formulate a plan of attack.
Finally deciding upon his move, Trunks charged in, Ki blazing as his father stood in a fighting pose.
Just as he reached half way, he abruptly stopped and began shooting out small Ki blasts.
Vegeta dodged and knocked all of them away, watching curiously at what his son would do next.
A few of Trunks' Ki blasts wavered off to the side, surrounding him. He stopped shooting energy out and began charging toward Vegeta, his blasts moving along with him before rocketing off at a higher speed.
The energy blasts closed in on Vegeta, before Trunks attempted his own attack, thinking he would be able to land a hit because of his distraction.
Vegeta however simply shot out a large ki blast of his own, engulfing all of the little specks of light that had been sent at him.
Trunks was nearly caught in it as well, but managed to jump out of the way just in time before the beam struck.
He shot out his burning attack at Vegeta midair, only to be met with a sudden fist to the face and plummeting toward the ground.
Trunks used legs and bounced into a backflip, shooting out another ki blast just as soon as he recovered.
Vegeta knocked it off to the side and entered into a barrage of attacks with his son.
Trunks grit his teeth as he desperately attempts to block all of his father's attacks, not having any time to throw his own.
Continuously getting knocked back, Trunks attempts to gain some distance by creating a cloud of dust by blasting the ground.
Rising from the dust he begins shooting at his father, who had covered his eyes to avoid getting any dust particles in them. The ground shook from the explosions, causing the earth to crack.
Trunks however, knew that Vegeta had already dodged his attacks, sensing the man coming up from behind.
He played dumb, allowing him to get close before quickly turning around in an attempt to punch him.
His fist was caught, and he managed to just barely hold on to his father's own hand before it could strike him.
The two were caught in a stand still, Trunks trying to push back against his father who was slowly pushing him into the ground.
A vein became visible from his forehead as his ki exploded around him, letting him stretch his arms just a little.
Vegeta narrowed his eyes, his own Ki managing to push his son's stubby arms back into him, causing the boy to grunt.
He split his arms horizontally from each other, back flipping and smirked after managing a clean kick to Vegeta's chin, only for him to hold his foot in pain while quickly putting distance between the two.
'Darn it! Even when I do land a hit I'm the one who ends up hurt!' He thought to himself frustrated.
Using the chance he was given, he quickly went Super Saiyan and rushed back in to begin his own assault, knowing that basking in one attack landed would just get him beat down faster.
Trunks had made sure to thank whatever force that compelled Vegeta to decide that he would not be using his own transformation, as obviously that would just make things even more unfair then they already were.
The boost in power and speed was barely noticeable on the outside as even with their respective movements being faster, Vegeta still looked like he had hardly broken a sweat.
He attempted to use his size to his advantage, Trunks zipped around his father's figure, never staying in one spot for longer than he needed to.
Vegeta seemed to be standing still and blocking or dodging all attacks from any direction that came at him, probably to test himself as well.
Trunks faked a punch before backing away and once again beginning a barrage of ki blasts.
As his father dodged all of them, a dust cloud began to form and it quickly covered the immediate area.
'I'm so stupid! Now I can't see him.'
Out of frustration, he let loose a burning attack, deep down knowing it was fruitless either way.
The blast covered almost the entire area they had been fighting in, shaking the earth again with its might.
Trunks closed his eyes and attempted to get a read on Vegeta's location, only to find nothing.
Frustrated, he scanned the area in an attempt to spot him. Before he caught sight of anything however, a brief glimpse of energy came into being before Trunks was knocked thoroughly into the ground.
Getting back up, he saw his father right in front of him. Trunks wasted no time in charging back at the man, unwilling to give up anytime soon. His impatience at being unable to hit his father began to make him sloppy.
He skillfully dodged and parried his son's attempted rampage, throwing counter moves, punches and kicks until eventually, Trunk's face resembled an orchid of grapes. Even with his golden aura fading, he continued attempting to fight, wobbly standing back up each time with a stubbornness so very much like his own as well as his mother's.
Vegeta caught one of his son's sloppy punches, Trunks staring at him with a hint of resignation as his transformation faded from him.
"That's enough." Vegeta said simply, causing his son to groan as he fell on his butt.
"Tell me what you can improve." He ordered, suspecting that Trunks had already figured it out.
He paused for a moment before answering his father. "...I got too careless in the end…"
Satisfied, the older warrior nodded, causing his son to scratch his cheek bashfully.
"That said, you did better than I expected…" Vegeta admitted, scratching his chin as he gestured to the hit Trunks managed to land in. "A good reaction and, for the most part, you did make use of your size and agility."
Trunks looked back up at his father with hopeful eyes, remaining quiet so that he could continue.
"Remember that losing your cool like that will only lead to a smarter opponent having a better chance at defeating you, as well causing you to do things you may regret."
Trunks nodded vehemently, then twiddled his thumbs. "...And… My dessert?"
"You can have one extra piece." Vegeta said. "But no more than that."
Trunks cheered as Vegeta turned around, ready to head back. He also wanted to hide his amusement at his son's actions.
At around 9:00 Am the sun shined brightly behind the clouds, providing a gentle shade over the small pink home of the turtle hermit.
Just outside of the house, in front of the old man, two other figures could be seen, this being Son Gohan and his wife, Videl.
"Thank you for agreeing to train with us, Master Roshi." Gohan bowed slightly, Videl mimicking his movements next to him.
"It's no trouble at all m'boy." The old man said casually. "I also look forward to seeing your progress, Videl."
"I'll do my best." She smirked, stretching her arms a little.
"By the way, where did Krillin and his family go? Aren't they gonna join us?" Gohan asked, looking around.
"18 Decided to take Krillin and Marron over to Capsule Corps so that they could train in the gravity chamber." Roshi explained. "They left earlier in the morning."
"Is Vegeta gonna be okay with that?" Gohan scratched his cheek nervously, his wife commenting on it as well.
"Yeah, he's always using it. The only person he likes sharing it with is Trunks, isn't it?"
"That is very true." Roshi acknowledged. "Thankfully though, Vegeta said he was taking Trunks somewhere else to train. Bulma told them about it yesterday when 18 asked for permission."
The two of them nodded as Roshi then tapped his staff lightly on the ground.
"Alright then whipper snappers!" Roshi said, gesturing to his side. "Put those on and let's get started."
What he was pointing his crusty old finger at was a pair of big purple turtle shells. The two of them walked over and put them on, staring it tightly around their arms and chest.
"Now let's go ahead and stand in the water." He instructed.
The three walked over, each of them taking their shoes off before going into the water.
"You know Gohan…" Roshi said, nostalgically. "This was an exercise I used to have Krillin and your father do when they were both training under me…"
"Really?" Gohan said, looking interested.
"Yes." He laughed in remembrance. "Your name sake also did this too. Funny how things work out."
"My name…" Gohan's eyes widened in realization. "You mean Grandpa Gohan?"
"The very same."
"Oh Right…" Videl said, suddenly remembering that this old man had in fact trained the legendary fighter. "Can you tell us a little bit about him?"
Gohan looked to his wife before looking back at Roshi with an eager expression, the old man nodding in response.
"Of course!" Roshi said, happy to share those precious days. "After the lesson, I'll make you some tea. I have a lot to share!"
The exercise began with them simply focusing their aura around their bodies and seeing how it affected the water at their feet, changing the amount of aura in the area for varying results.
Videl smirked and had her ki in her feet rise highly, causing the water to splash over her husband and the old turtle master.
"Hey!" Gohan smirked while Roshi got the water out of his glasses. Gohan then repeated what his wife did to splash her in return, commencing a water duel between the two of them.
"Ah! Hey!" Roshi groaned, covering himself as much as he could. "This ain't a game! C'mon I'm a gettin soaked!"
After a while, Roshi stood in front of the couple, who at least had the decency to look bashful.
"Alright, now that the warm up is over…" He said, glad that they at least became serious about it after joking around at first. "Time to show you two those exercises I mentioned."
The two of them nodded, gesturing for him to continue.
"First, focus the energy all over your body into your chest."
The two did as instructed, all of their ki flowing toward the designated area.
"Use that ki to enhance your lungs." Roshi explained. "After that, take a deep breath and dunk your head underwater. See how long you can hold it."
The two closed their eyes in concentration, taking deep breaths to prepare their lungs while subsequently using the feeling of their chests expanding to guide their aura for easier augmentation.
Afterwards, the two of them kneeled down and dunked their heads beneath the gentle waves.
Roshi stood there for a few seconds before pulling out his trusty magazine, waiting for the two of them to rise back up.
His peeping has become a little more rare with each passing day. How could it not? all of the beautiful women he would like to look at were married to people who could blow up planets.
Not to mention that all of the women were more on the strong willed type spectrum, and he didn't want any of them to break his glasses with their fists...
…again…
Three minutes passed before Videl rose her head up from the water, coughing while covering her mouth.
"You alright?" Roshi checked. "That was a lot better than I expected."
"Thanks…" She smiled in a disappointed fashion. "I would have lasted longer but I lost control of my ki…"
"I see." Roshi nodded. "Well, don't worry about it. Happens to the best of us."
They both looked towards Gohan, who still didn't even look close to rising back up.
"Looks like he won't be finishing up anytime soon." Roshi remarked. "Keep practicing until he rises up again. Let's see if you can maintain your Ki and stay longer this time."
"Got it." Videl nodded, not moving from the water as she repeated her breathing exercises and dunked her head back in.
As the exercise went on, Videl would raise her head up six more times before her husband himself arose. She was proud when Master Roshi informed her that she had managed to hold her breath longer each time.
"Next thing we're gonna do is control our ki externally." Roshi declared. He held out his hands and produced a small yellow energy ball. "We'll be moving this near our bodies at high speeds while making sure it doesn't hit us accidentally. Remember to start slow."
The two nodded and held out their own hands, mimicking the old master.
Videl's chi energy was smaller compared to the average sized ball of Goihan and Roshi due to less experience and spiritual power.
The exercise started with the three of them simply moving the energy ball around their body in a similar fashion to how the moon orbited the sun.
Then they began doing more complicated manoeuvres such as moving it bot horizontally and diagonally over their bodies, so close to their skin that they felt the heat it radiated.
Videl cough a faint smell of burnt hair as her energy passed over her head,
They then proceeded to make the energy circle around the arms, legs and head all while increasing the speed of the exercise.
Vdel began to sweat as she was barely able to keep up with the speed of the other two, her energy ball moving at a more forced, yet sluggish pace compared to the quick fluid movement of the other two.
As the exercise went on, she finally began getting the hang of it. Which was good considering she almost kept burning herself.
"Alright, let's take a short breather." Roshi finally said, levitating his ki in front of him before dispersing it harmlessly.
Gohan and Videl followed suit, the latter letting out a puff of relief.
"You did really well on that one Videl." Roshi said, acknowledging her performance.
"Yeah! Great work." Gohan chirped, happy to see his wife do well.
"It wasn't that hard…" Videl tsk'd at her husband's doting behaviour. "Sides you guys literally did a million times better."
"That's just because we have more experience." Gohan stated factually.
"Yes I am pretty old." Roshi acknowledged. "When you keep repeating this for as long as I have, it becomes far too easy"
Videl shrugged, eying Roshi. "How old ARE you anyway?"
Roshi took a second to ponder before half heartedly shrugging. "At least 3oo years old… I think."
"That reminds me, I always forget to ask…" Gohan mentioned. "How did you gain immortality?"
"Oh, well that's thanks to my former pet Phoenix." Roshi grinned. "I found it long ago and saved it. In return it granted me immortality!"
"You have a Phoenix? As in, the mythical firebird?" Videl asked, her head tilted.
"How come we've never seen it?" Gohan inquired, looking to the sky to see if maybe he could spot it.
His face looked solemn as he remembered something painful, looking away slightly. "Oh… You see, I'm afraid it died after I accidently gave it bad food…"
"Oh…" Gohan and Videl both looked saddened before suddenly looking confused.
"Wait, hang on…" Videl backtracked, her eyes furrowing. "Being a Phoenix, didn't it just revive itself or something?"
"It did…" Roshi said, not losing his glum expression.
"Ah, is it because it left you after that?" Gohan asked carefully.
"…Yes."
"The Phoenix also burned his favorite magazine." The turtle stated, looking disappointed in the old man as he came up from behind him. "After which he kicked his family Jewels before flying away."
Roshi winced at the painful memory, the couple giving him blank stares unsure of how to react.
He really really liked that Magazine, too.
"Do you guys need anything else?" Bulma asked Krillin and 18.
The three of them stood just outside of the gravity chamber, their daughter inside of the building playing with some of Trunks' older toys.
"This will be enough, thank you." 18 stated.
"Yeah, thanks Bulma! Please watch over Marron for us." Krillin thanked her, grateful.
"No problem. Be careful!"
The chamber shut behind them, 18 cracking her neck before turning to her husband. "You better give it your all today. I'm gonna make sure that we're both exhausted after this."
Krillin sweat dropped before quickly regaining his composure. A playful smirk made its way onto his face "Honey, please! What do you think Vegeta would do to us if he found out?" He winked at her.
He laughed as his wife quickly lost her composure and turned away to hide her cherry red face.
"Damn it…" She muttered.
Marron walked into the kitchen where Bulma was, her toy dragging on the floor as she kept a strong grip on it.
She walked up to Bulma and tugged on her apron, the woman turning to her and smiling.
"Miss Bulma, Do you need help?" Marron asked.
"Aw I'm fine sweetie." Bulma replied. "You're so polite! I can already tell that you'll be a lovely woman when you're older."
"Like Mommy?"
"Yes." Bulma chuckled, ruffling her head. "Just like her."
"Did you really know daddy when he was a kid?"
"Yeah, I sure did!" Bulma replied, crouching down beside her. "Do you want me to tell you what he was like?"
"Yeah!" Matron nodded vigorously. "Uncle Goku told me he's always been really short!"
"He sure was!" Bulma laughed, picking her up and walking over to the table. She gently sat the little girl down on one of the tables.
"You and Teddy wait here, okay? I'm gonna get you some lemonade and I'll tell you about him. How does that sound?"
"Good! Thank you!"
Bulma went back into the kitchen as Marron scooted to the edge of her chair so that her teddy bear could sit beside her, giving it a gentle pat on the head.
Bulma grabbed two glasses of lemonade and put them in the refrigerator, intending to save them for when Krillin and 18 came out of the chamber. She then grabbed another two and went back to where Marron was.
"Thank you!" The little girl said, a wide smile plastered onto her face.
"You're welcome!" Bulma replied, sitting beside her. "So what do you want to know first?"
Marron took a sip of her lemonade through a pretty pink straw before answering. "Can you tell me how you two met? I already know him and uncle Goku met at old man Roshi's house."
"Well, your daddy and I met the first time he and Uncle Goku competed in the tournament."
"Like the one from before? Where Goten Trunks and Mommy fought?"
"Yup! Like that one." Bulma nodded. "I remember when I first saw him. He and Goku were both wearing suits. They looked very adorable."
"Was Daddy always shorter than Uncle Goku?"
"Oh yeah. Even back then Goku was still a bit taller than him." Bulma grinned at the memory. "He was always a little jealous about it. Still is."
"Who did Daddy fight? Did he look cool?"
"He looked VERY cool." Bulma said, winking at her. "As for who he fought…"
She took a moment to try and remember the events from all those years ago. It had been so long, now that she thought about it. During that tournament she was still in her teens…
Funny how time seemed to fly by…
"Well, I think his first opponent was a really stinky guy." Bulma said, covering her nose to gesture how bad it was. "Smelt so bad a few people in the audience passed out. Your uncle Goku even mentioned feeling dizzy."
"Oh! I get it!" Marron nodded. "Daddy beat him easily cause he doesn't have a nose right?"
"Yup!" Bulma nodded. "After that, he fought a powerful old man named 'Jackie Chun'!"
Bulma had already learned that the mysterious man was, in fact, Master Roshi in disguise. He had revealed the identity of his alter ego shortly after Goku had bested Piccolo in the tournament.
"So he didn't fight Uncle Goku?" Marron tilted her head cutely. "I swear he mentioned it sometime…"
"That was during his second tournament." She informed the young girl. "It was a pretty big fight too! Everyone was really surprised by how strong the two of them were."
"I bet there were a lot of explosions and cool fighting moves, right?!" Marron grinned, drinking her lemonade afterward.
"Not too many explosions…" Bulma shook her head. "But definitely a lot of cool attacks and moves. When Goku was about to kick him, your daddy managed to dodge it by inflating himself like a balloon!"
The little girl gaped before beginning to laugh hysterically, tears near dripping down her face. Seeing her so entertained made Bulma grin.
"Tell me what else he did! How did their fight go? How did Uncle Goku beat Daddy?"
"Krillin was losing pretty badly to Goku." Bulma remarked. "Goku honestly wasn't taking the fight too seriously because he wanted to see how strong Krillin was."
"Oh. So Daddy didn't stand a chance?" Marron said, not surprised but feeling bad for her father.
"I'm afraid not kiddo…" Bulma responded before raising a finger. "But… there was a moment in that fight where we thought Krillin could've won…"
The little girl immediately looked entranced, and so Bulma continued.
"Just before the end of the fight, Krillin shot out a Kamehameha beam." Bulma recalled. "Goku managed to stop it pretty easily though."
Marron didn't look surprised at that. Bulma continued.
"It caused a pretty big explosion. All of that dust meant that Goku couldn't see anything." Bulma elaborated. "So your father managed to sneak up from behind and grabbed Goku's tail."
Marron stared at her for a while, before a confused frown made its way onto her face. Her eyes quickly widened afterwards. "Oh yeaaah! Uncle Goku had a tail back then!"
Bulma nodded, rubbing her head. "That's right! Do you remember what kind of tail he had?"
"Yeah!" Marron said smugly. "It was a monkey tail!"
"Correct!" Bulma threw a thumbs up before going back to the story. "Did you know that squeezing his monkey tail used to be his weakness?"
"Really?" Marron looked awestruck. "So, if Daddy grabbed it, why didn't he win?"
"Because Goku was smart, and made his tail stronger." Bulma said, making a squeezing motion with her hands. "So when Krillin squeezed it, it didn't hurt Goku anymore."
"Aww…" Marron said, looking upset. "Poor Daddy…"
Bulma nodded sympathetically. "After that the match was basically set. Goku won and went on to fight Tien."
"Isn't that the guy Daddy's gonna fight?"
"Yeah. The one with three eyes. Remember?"
Marron nodded vehemently. "I saw him at the party!"
She then went back to the previous topic, leaning forward after putting her glass down on the table. "So how did Uncle Goku beat Daddy? Did he punch him or kick him really hard?"
"Goku took him by surprise. He moved so fast that your daddy couldn't see him. He then appeared behind him and spooked him off the stage."
Tien had already told them that Goku had actually kicked Krillin off, the kicks themselves being to fast for her to see, but she decided that a few creative liberties never hurt anyone. Plus it would probably be more entertaining for Marron.
"Like a ghost?"
"Sure." A super powerful 15 year old monkey boy ghost.
"Wow…" Marron's eyes shined. "Uncle Goku is really cool! I hope he doesn't hurt Daddy too badly when they fight!"
Bulma looked to the gravity chamber where 18 was, without a doubt, pushing Krillin to his limit.
"I'm sure he'll be fine."
Krillin and 18 continued their sparring, both sweating as their respective limbs ached from nearly Three hours of exercise in the heightened gravity..
"Can't we take a break?!" Krillin cried out, gasping and panting as avoided a kick aimed at his head.
"We will…" 18 grumbled, far less exhausted than him. "Just a bit longer! Don't start getting lazy."
The entire fight consisted of 18 getting close to Krillin, him dodging hits as best he could, earning more bruises before backing away and then the cycle repeats.
"D-damn it!" Krillin cursed, getting knocked aside. He hurriedly picked himself back up before continuing to evade his wife.
He had been instructed to not use any Ki outside of enhancing his body, as they were working on his physical fitness and ability to avoid, parry and block attacks from stronger opponents.
Krillin parried a jab and ducked under a cross, quickly jumping over his wife to evade a spin kick. Seeing an opening, he went for a jab into her ribs only for her to side step and knee his stomach.
He gasped, falling to the floor while clutching his body in pain.
18 stepped back, allowing him space to get back up. When he did not however, she slowly walked toward his body. Her concern increased when he became motionless.
"Krillin?" She called out, kneeling next to his body. She breathed out a sigh of relief when she saw that he was merely unconscious.
'Damn it. Looks like I put too much force into that.' She thought to herself, walking over to the main console and turning the gravity off.
'That and the gravity was probably getting to him. I guess that's enough for today. I'll leave him somewhere comfortable, heal him and do some training of my own.'
She walked over to his body and picked him up bridal style. Carefully holding his head, she made her way out of the dome.
A few seconds after knocking on the door, Bulma opened it and quickly ushered them in, gesturing for 18 to place Krillin on the couch.
"Mommy!" Marron cried out as she smashed into her mother's leg hugging it. "Are you and daddy done training?"
18 patted her child on the head with a smile before picking her up. "That's right. Daddy did a really good job today. I'll be going back for more so please take care of him. Okay?"
She nodded before turning, seeing her father lying on the couch. she turned back to her mother with a knowing look in her young eyes. "Did he fall asleep cause he was tired again?" She asked, used to the sight of her father passed out from exhaustion after a training session.
18 nodded, looking a bit guilty. "I think I might've hit him too hard. I'm going to heal him with my energy now so he can feel better."
"Ok!" Marron said, being placed back down and then running toward the kitchen. "Mrs. Bulma made you lemonade. I'll bring it to you!"
"Oh! W-wait for me." Bulma called after her, quickly following Marron to make sure she didn't spill the drinks, as well as to help her get them out of the refrigerator.
Turning back to her husband, she stroked his black haired head before beginning the healing process.
She didn't know what kind of training Tien was doing, nor whether he would beat her husband or not. Either way, she knew Krillin had become stronger in this short time, his energy control becoming better as well, if only slightly.
Whether Krillin won or not, she would be sure to support him and cheer him on along with Marron.
Knowing they would do the same for her, she vowed to give it her all.
A/N
Hey guys, sorry about the chapter being a bit late, I had a pretty busy week. I hope you liked it though!
I'm taking a short break from this story to focus on some stuff I have to do. Next chapter will be out sometime in late July/early August. This story is nearly complete! I just have to write the tournament as well as Nanika's plans and that should wrap everything up.
Thank you all so much and I'll see you all in the next chapter of Dragon Hunter ZX!