Tarnishing of the Legendary Form! Dina, Are You as Hopeless as You Seem!?

"I'm perfectly sane, thanks for asking" Trunks replied to his forearm in a dry tone.

Said forearm began shouting incoherently.

"Supreme K-Look, just-" he took hold of his tattered hair in a huff, pieces of his coat hanging from his elbow.

The forearm maintained. All the while, violent yellow eyes staring a hole through the cloaked swordsman's back. Arc-like restraints around the "saiyan's" wrists and ankles were all that stood between he and another attempt to maul the man who'd taken him to who-knows where, as he sat hunched and in criss-cross.

"I know it seems... self-defeating... letting something like this stay here, but I've got faith in Shenron's judgement. The big guy hasn't let us down yet, and it's clear that this kid's brimming with potential. He just needs a bit of..."

Trunks turned the chair around to face the newest addition to the Patrol's forces, who met his gaze and retaliated with a ferocious, wide-eyed glare a low growl.

"Domesticating…"

"Why can't I!?"

Kora had asked herself this question ever since she'd seen the form in action. At first, it served as motivation – a legendary state that any saiyan could gain by pushing themselves over the edge served as one hell of a goal – but as she saw it more and more, the form became less a goal and more a constant reminder that she wasn't good enough. Today was perhaps the most glaring example.

She didn't even know she was a saiyan. Every myth, every tall tale, every poem offering a shred of hope. She'd never heard any of them, couldn't recite not one by heart, yet there she was.

A Fucking Super Saiyan.

Just the thought of it had eaten away at Kora throughout the day. How an arrogant earthling like that could do what she'd pushed herself endlessly for, and treat it like it was just something she'd left in her back pocket. Nothing helped, it seemed; any and all food tasted bitter, and all sparring matches were worthless. Not even good-ol' slapstick with her pal Archi could get her mind off it. Thus, she caved in to herself.

Somewhere in the business sector, a vacant, dark-blue and gadget-y room was being filled with flashing red lights and angry Dina noises.

"Stupid shit game!" Dina yelled in mild frustration as she violently shook the cabinet, which had resorted to frantically beeping in a state of panic. "What's this 'license required' nonsense about? It's a sodding arcade cabinet! Urrgh, what kinda dystopian shitshow is this where a video game about stupid spaceships is as encrypted as a fucking action-flick terminal?"

As she senselessly beat the innocent machine, Kora steadily approached her from behind.

"Trouble?"

Dina nearly smashed her head across the cabinet in shock. She spun around to see the familiar bushy-tailed brunette in bizarre, brick-red armor looking down on her.

"W-wha-I-"

"You know, there's a reason for that. Why no one's here, too. See, those who aren't lazy pieces-of-cat-scat are off working their asses off around this time of day, training or otherwise. No time for video games, you know, and public hours passed a while ago. Speaking of cat-scat, what was your name again?"

Kora was almost as good as Dina at pissing people off.

"… Sorry, but I think you've forgotten who you're speaking to, Ms. Not a Super Saiyan," the latter remarked, collecting her nerve.

Almost.

"Regardless, I'll remind you." Dina's ego soared as she dramatically pointed to herself.

"Dina Spaurk, Legendary Saiyan Extraordinaire, and somewhat of a living myth! And if you won't give me my due reverence, I'll just have to beat-"

"STOP TREATING IT LIKE IT'S JUST A FUCKING TITLE!"

Dina promptly hushed up.

"That form's so much more than that… so much more than you…"

Kora's fists balled, her nails nearly breaching skin and drawing blood.

"Why the hell is it so hard for you to understand that?"

Dina cringed a bit.

"Mate, your hair glows a bit and you can suddenly punch things harder. Think you're overselling it just a tad."

(BGM: Hunter X Hunter – Illusion)

Kora's eyes darkened. The flashing lights of the arcade cabinet periodically illuminated her glare in red. If looks could kill, Dina would've died on the spot.

"… Fight me."

"Huh? All those praises you were singing about Super Saiyans, and suddenly you want to take on the real deal?"

"No."

"Then by all means, you utter time bomb, piss off and let me figure out how to-"

"I don't want to fight a Super Saiyan. I want to fight YOU."

"… come again?"

"I want to know where you've gotten such a high opinion of yourself. I mean, it can't just end at 'Going Gold' right? Fight me, without your crutch. I'll show you just how worthless you are, princess."

Dina was at the point of shaking, her crimson eyes amplified by the arcade lights. Any more and she'd've lunged at Kora's throat there and then.

"Oh, a right comedian you are. Fine, then. I've wanted to punt you square in the face ever since you opened your prissy lil' yap, regardless."

Kora grinned, the tip of her tail swaying back and forth like a pendulum in a vacuum. With one hand, she led the way out, her smug face one last wordless insult.

"Back-to-Back blast, call me Ki-Master"

"Mmh"

"Train on the daily, y'all playin' catch-up"

"Damn"

"Buu saw me comin', he runnin' faster"

"Damn"

"…tagged his ass with the final flasher"

"Ayyy."

"OK, but all the moves you could've named it, and you chose 'final flasher?' You're gonna catch a cease-and-desist or the prince's fists running around with an attack name like that. Not even in that order."

"Locard, you're worrying about the wrong stuff right now-"

"Nah, I'm worrying about your well-being, always doing stupid shit like this."

"See that's your proble-"

"H-HEY GUYS!"

The pride of young saiyans looked up (one of them down, using their tail to hang from a high-hanging bar) in unison at the namekian, who was panting for reasons unbeknownst.

"FIGHT! THERE'S A FIGHT HAPPENING IN THE CENTER OF TOWN!"

"… and why are you telling us?"

The namekian began sweating harder. "W-well, I just thought that…"

"That what? Just because we're saiyans, we all wanna digest meaningless violence on principle? That we all just drop everything we're doing to watch a fight that gets no one anywhere for the sake of some cheap thrill?"

"I… I was wrong, please forgive me…" the namekian said, shamefully hanging his head in shame before sulking away from the ledge, the saiyans seeing him off with disappointed gazes.

"…"

"…"

"… so y'all tryna watch two ignorant muhfuckas beat each other half-to-death over petty shit no one cares about?"

"Obviously! Let's get on it before we miss it!"

"You see that man's face? Priceless."

The aforementioned fight was not going well for Dina.

"Why?" she desperately questioned herself while laboring in breath, blood dripping from her mouth. "Why can't I touch her!?

"'Saiyan Extraordinaire'" Kora repeated to herself, giving a dry, lifeless chuckle. "Gosh, you're about the saddest excuse for a Saiyan I've ever seen. This was a mistake."

Dina grit her teeth, hard enough to draw more blood. "Will you just-"

With that, she dashed forward, fist raised high.

"-SHUT YOUR DAMN MOUTH ALREADY!"

Kora took the full force of the attack, ignoring her fist's existence entirely.

"I knew children stronger than you."

"I SAID SHUT IT!" Dina screamed, throwing a barrage of punches which Kora casually stepped away from.

"When I first thought of exposing you as the defenseless brat you are, I thought It'd feel amazing. But right now that I am…" she explained while slowly maneuvering around Dina's berserk-like flurries. One half-hearted deflection completely knocked the half breed off-balance. Eyes welling with tears, she whirled back around to face Kora. Feeling powerless – utterly, physically powerless – was a feeling foreign to her, and frankly, it terrified her. After a lingering glare dripping with hatred, she mindlessly lunged at her again.

"All I feel is SORRY!" Kora exclaimed before sweeping Dina's legs, causing her to fall flat on her face. Dina audibly swallowed a sob, her body shaking violently out of a mixture of fear and anger. All Kora could feel while looking down on her was pity.

"How pathetic. How absolutely pathetic. If this is all it takes to become a Super Saiyan, then…" she lamented, walking away from the wreck before her. Dina let out one last attempt at an attack before being backhanded into the pond. The crowd, which had amassed a while ago, erupted into a discord of concern and praise. A few arguments even broke out.

Kora didn't feel any pride or satisfaction. She just wanted to leave. To forget this.

But that silence she'd heard inside the school began to set again.

Then, a power dwarfing her own began to form.

(BGM: Aldnoah Zero – aLIEz Instumental)

Dina, still struggling to remain conscious, slowly stood from the fountain, both her power and her gradually-blonding hair steadily rising.

"Damn it!" Kora's expression got dire. "Should've knocked her out!"

"I'll show you."

"What?"

Water began to rise around the enraged girl. Dina's scowl was weak. Without a doubt, she'd been absolutely defeated, absolutely humiliated. And yet…

"You heard me, you bitch. Whatever it takes. I'll show you. And when I do…"

"When I DO…"

Waves began to rise and crash around her. In an instant, all her rage exploded.

"I'LL MAKE YOU RUE THE DAY YOU EVER MET ME!" she roared, donning the unmistakably violent golden aura, teal eyes, and flaring hair.

"AND IT'LL BE ON MY OWN!"

"WITHOUT THIS STATE!"

"AND THERE WILL BE NOT ONE BLOODY THING YOU CAN DO OR SAY ABOUT IT!"

"I SWEAR I~T!"

Using up what little strength she had for her bold declaration, Dina's knees gave way, and she fell unconscious over the decorative pond's railing.

Once again, she was the first to find the young half-breed. She also, once again, attempted to walk off. A small, defenseless groan was all it took to make her, once again, fail to be indifferent.

"That was…"

"No way…!"

"Shit we missed it!"

"… I doubt it."

Dina's eyes shot open to a dim, starless "night" sky. She attempted to get up, only to be greeted by a surge of pain on her everywhere. The hissing noise she made caught the attention of her temporal caretaker.

"Was beginning to believe I was dealing with a coma. Welcome back, princess."

Dina shot up again at that last remark, this time ignoring the pain.

"THERE YOU ARE, YOU BI-Oh. It's you!"

The sincerity in Dina's voice almost put a smile on Ayeva's face.

"It's a small city."

She examined the warm, heated blanket on top of her, as well as her surroundings.

"So… instead of taking me to a hospital… or emergency room, or whatever's used here… you simply sat me on a bench and placed a blanket over me?"

"You couldn't have gone to the ER. You were still attending classes."

Dina suddenly fell speechless. A smile gradually overtook her face.

"Thanks."

"Now, then. Is there a reason you were definitely in school?"

Dina suddenly took a deep breath, her expression shifting into a furious scowl. Ayeva's eyes widened in abstract horror upon realizing the door she'd just opened.

"OKSOIWASINCLASSLEARNINABOUTHISONESHINYBLOKEWITHGOLDENHAIRANDSOIWASLIKE"BLIMEYHESURESTRIKESMEFAMILIAR"SOIWASLIKE"ICANDOTHATTOOWICKEDRIGHT"BUTTHENTHISABSOLUTECUNTANDAHALFGETSONMECASEOUTOFTHEWOODWORKLIKE"YOUCANTDOTHATBUHBUHBUHIMASTUPIDBITCHANDMYFATHERDIDNTHUGMEENOUGH"ANDTHENSHEHASTHENERVETOPUTHERFILTHYMITTSONMELIKEWHOTHEBLOODYHELLDOESSHETHINKSHEISSOIMRIGHTFULLYLIKEPISSOFFMATEANDTHENTHISSHITHEADOFATEACHERTELLSMEOFFLIKEPISSOFFWHATABSOLUTEBOLLUCKSANDALSOTURNSOUTIMHALFSPACEMANANNND THEEEN… NOTEVENAMOMENTLATERIM-"

Dina fell silent for a moment.

"…-TaaaAKINGABITTORELIEVEMYSELFANDTHERESHEISJUSTOUTSIDEMEFUCKINDOORLIKESOMEPERVERTEDTWATTALKINEVENMORESHITLIKETHEJEALOUSSLAGSHEISSOIMLIKE"THEREAPROBLEMHEREMATEIMJUSTTRYNAGOBACKTOCLASSANDLEARNABOUTTHETHINGSLIKEAPROPERSCHOLAR"BUTTHENSHE'SLIKE"FUCKOFFYABASTARDFIGHTME"ANDSHEGIVESMENOTACHOICESOIGOOUTANDATTEMPTAPEACEFULNEGOTIATIONBUTTHENSHEJUSTSTARTSDECKINMEANDIHADNOCHOICEBUTTORETALIATEANDIMHOLDINMYOWNFORATIMEBUTTHENSHETHROWSAMASSIVEFUCKOFFSLAMMERHOUSEONMYBLINDSIDEAND-"

Literal sparks began to fly from Ayeva's eyes.

"Please! Summary!"

Dina nodded her head.

"… and I want to become stronger."

"You know," Ayeva said, holding her chin, "School's a great place to get stronger."

"Oh like HELL it isssS definitely a great place. Knowledge is power, and all that! I'd know. Never skipped a day, I haven't!"

"You're a terrible liar."

"Or maybe you're just very good at deduction?"

"."

"Touuuuu…ché?"

"No. School."

"But come on! Doesn't being immobile and listening to draining lectures for half the day seem a bit counter-intuitive in regards to helping you punch things better?" Dina questioned in a last-ditch effort to have someone see things her way. Needless to say, Ayeva wasn't having it.

"So you really haven't stayed for more than 30 minutes, huh?"

"Eh?"

Ayeva rose from her seat, pulling up a holographic screen of what seemed to be rows of fluctuating bars of data.

"I won't spoil the fun for you, but… Patience. Have patience. And power will come to you. Get some sleep, wake up early tomorrow, make a B-Line for Orange Star. You only need to attend for the equivalent of… say, 9 months in your timeline. You'll be stronger by the end, I promise."

Dina puffed her face in a huff. Ayeva sighed as she adjusted the hologram.

(BGM: 14? Ft. Substantial – When the Luster Fades Instrumental)

"I'll leave you with this, then: 'I want to become stronger, therefore…'" she said, looking Dina in the eyes as she suddenly exploded into tiny cubes and vanished.

After hastily looking for where Ayeva could've gone, Dina kicked the ground.

"BLAST…! Just leave me with some cryptic Shaolin rubbish, will you?"

She calmed down a tad, glumly looking upward into the surreal velvet strands of ether flowing through the dark-violet blanket of void passing itself off as what she knew as night.

"Whatever it takes. I'll show you."

"Whatever it takes, huh…"

She pulled the damp, indigo blanket over her shoulder, making her way from the vacant plaza toward her flat.

"I sure hope I'm up for this 'it'…"

Yo! OP here!

So yeah. 2 weeks have technically not past. That means I MET MY DEADLINE BABYYYY!

No but seriously, 2 weeks should be my sweet spot for making something that I'm confident in. If there's ever a set schedule for this fic, It'll definitely be bi-weekly. Had a Neoru segment in here describing his brief stay in the ER ward, but ultimately decided against including it, just felt out of place.

Regardless, I really enjoyed making this chapter. Introduced the next character in a subtle-enough way, fleshed out a character I never even originally intended on making prevalent (she went from tournament throwaway to one of the primary fighters) and most importantly, Dina's character is finally going somewhere! Not Gohadie Kane's becoming one of my favorite characters to work with, won't lie.

Oh, let's try a character bio for the fist time! Starting with the definitely main character that isn't Dina for some reason, even though she's definitely the main character at this point!

Name: Neo-Ru

Age: 15

Height: 170cm (5'7)

Attire: Scruffy, dark-grey, short-cut short-sleeve duster covered in stitches with a violet tribal design alluding to a dragon on the back. Underneath, a light-grey shirt sometimes blank, sometimes advertising something. Varies frequently. Shoes are worn, dark blue. (Similar to Trunks's or Videl's kicks. Dunno, regrettably haven't spent much time on shoes.) Black/blue Single-strap bookbag serves as makeshift sheath for blade, too big for a dagger and a bit too small for a genuine sword. Lightweight with a bizarrely-malleable metal that seems to absorb kinetic energy. Dark beige, black-highlighted kapris adorn his bottom half (the fuck?), coming up to his calves.

Appearance: Brown Complexion (Think a Hispanic look, Neoru's background is pretty indigenous-esque), floofy hair coming off in front of his face/back of his head in spike-like straight tufts, violet eyes are sharp-yet-rounded (think a fusion of Yamcha and Tien's eyes, best analogy I could come up with.) He's quite scarred.

(Future-Future OP here. Never again. Never. Again.)

This was a pretty... no, this was entirely a Dina-focused chapter, so naturally, next one's gonna be centered around Neoru and his red-hot, searing, absolute indifference (or so he thiiiinks) towards his recent L. Should also have the reveal of this mystery saiyan I've been overhyping for a minute now. Maybe a bit of Zinco and Voshyo, as well, still setting it up and thinking it out.

Hope y'all are having a good one, be safe as always, and uhh... yeah.

That's about it. Later.