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Chapter 15
Morning Stretches

As Kakarot mentally congratulated himself for setting up his deal, Chichi immediately took a deep stretch and unceremoniously said, "Well we'd better get going." Kakarot blinked a few times in response to the random statement before asking, "Going where?" Chichi immediately responded with, "To West City of course." She then gave Kakarot a confused look and asked, "You did say you were going to look for your brother in a big city, right?"

Realizing what Chichi was getting at he is quick to respond with, "I thought you were gonna teach me about Ki?" Chichi immediately said back, "I will, on the way." Before Kakarot could ask why, Chichi answered the question he had no time to ask, "I would feel bad if my teaching you about Ki got in the way of your search for your brother." Chichi turned to Kakarot with a bright smile and said, "I can teach you about Ki on the way, besides I needed to pay a friend of mine a visit anyway." Kakarot failed to come up with a response to the unexpected alteration to his deal, so he just gave her a hesitant nod. Chichi then clapped her hands together, blurting out a cheerful, "Then that's settled! This should be fun; I haven't traveled with anyone n' a long while."

Chichi's expression then dropped as she held her head before saying, "I think I need to take a short rest first; you really took a lot out of me." Kakarot meekly said, "Right…" Kakarot immediately stopped himself and mentally yelled at himself, "What the hell am I sayin'?! I don't have time to waste. Spending time on training is one thing but who knows how long it will take at a human's pace?" Chichi sees the troubled look on Kakarot's face and says, "Don't worry, I'm sure I'll be fine in an hour. Besides, West City isn't that long a journey for people like us."

Kakarot took a step back and asked, "How'd you know I was worried about time?" Kakarot worried that he was becoming too easy to read which would be detrimental in a fight. Chichi let out a quick giggle before saying, "You don't need to act so dramatic. I can understand wanting to find a long lost relative as soon as possible. If father were still alive and he was lost somewhere then I wouldn't want to waste any time either." Kakarot, realizing his mistake, takes a moment to collect himself and finally says, "I'm gonna go to camp and pack up. You go take that nap." Chichi gets the hint that Kakarot wants her to get on with her business so they can head out soon. Chichi simply said, "Alright."

After taking a single step away from him, she stopped herself, turned to him and asked, "I forgot to ask you somethin', if you can't sense Ki then how did you know the robbers are still here for you to drive off?" Kakarot stated matter of factly, "My Scouter can detect em' there all over the place." As Kakarot said this he tapped the device resting on one of his ears. Chichi is astonished by the device and immediately asks, "Is that a new capsule Corp product?" Kakarot is caught off guard by the follow up questions but is quick to respond, "Uh… No, my bo-er home made it." Kakarot nearly opened Chichi up to even more questions on its origin.

A vague title like "boss" could have led to more questions and Kakarot could have soon found himself spinning a complicated web of lies on a topic he was ill suited in explaining without breaking his story about being an earthling. Kakarot then said, "They're making all sorts of weird stuff, I couldn't begin to tell you how it all works." Chichi gave him a mildly uncertain look and said, "That's funny, I didn't hear about any big corporations catching up with Bulma's family during my last visit." Kakarot quickly said, "Well back home, we're real stingy with our gear so it's not a big surprise this is the first one you've seen."

Kakarot cleared his throat before saying, "Well I gotta get to, packen'. I'll meet up with you at yer' house later." Kakarot quickly ran off before Chichi could delay him any further. Chichi watched as he faded in the distance before saying, "He's awfully high strung…" She waited a few minutes longer, but back with Kakarot, once he escaped her sight he immediately took to the air and made a Beeline for his Space Pod. "I hope she bought that, I should of' expected Freeza's gear would raise an eyebrow or two." said Kakarot to himself, he then peered behind him to see if anyone was making an attempt to follow him.

He scanned behind him with his Scouter but found that not only was no one following him, but Chichi's power level hasn't moved an inch since he left. Kakarot muttered, "Guess she still suspects me, I'd better keep my guard up from now on." A couple minutes later Kakarot arrived at his pod and began to pack rations and other important supplies. Kakarot also collected a case full of syringes filled with a bluish-green liquid. "I'm damn lucky the doc didn't suspect anything when I asked to switch to the "alternate treatment"." Kakarot let out an annoyed grunt and said, "I hate em' but It's not like I had a way to sneak the whole damn machine off the planet." Kakarot then shook his head and said, "Not like I'll need these for long anyway."

Kakarot piled all of his supplies in a white and purple bag he grabbed for the journey to Earth. Before leaving Kakarot examined his armor and muttered, "Is it such a good idea, going about with this armor?" Kakarot thought back to the number of questions Chichi levied at his Scouter. Kakarot wondered aloud while taking his Scouter off and giving it a quick examination, "I can deal without the Scouter, that's what the lessons er' for. My armor on the other hand…"

Kakarot lets out a dejected huff before saying, "I might need to grab some Earth clothes… I wonder if Chichi has anything I could wear." Kakarot let out a short chuckle and said to himself, "Surely she has something fitting for me, she's a warrior after all." Kakarot didn't honestly believe she would have anything; he was simply vainly hoping for a solution to this dilemma. After a few more minutes of packing Kakarot put his Scouter back on and surveyed the area, "I should get to work, she won't feel like leavin' till' I get rid of these bastards." Kakarot stopped upon seeing something peculiar but soon formed a sinister smile and said, "This should be interesting." At this time Chichi had finally returned to her house feeling exhausted, in more ways than one. She let out a heavy sigh, "I really messed up."

She began to agonize over suspecting Kakarot as a robber. She muttered, "He really wasn't after Father's grave. If he was then I would have felt him coming back by now." Chichi lost her balance for a moment but caught herself on her front door. "Because I jumped the gun, I wore myself out. I'm lucky none of those bastards tried to ambush me on the way here." Chichi opened the front door and entered her house and then passed through the kitchen but stopped on the spot. Her expression turned serious as she ducked under a right hook from an unknown assailant.

She immediately countered with a karate punch sending a Dragon Man (Giran's species name, [not official]) reeling backwards a few steps. The Dragon Men are a species of dinosaur-like individuals who are bipedal. The one in front of Chichi was a large male who was round with their coloration being teal and gray. The fight wasn't over however as Chichi backflipped over a second Dragon man who attempted to tackle her from behind. A third individual threw a punch from her left. She blocked it with her left knee and exchanged blows with the individual, he threw a karate chop which Chichi dodged by sidestepping to her left before throwing a right roundhouse kick only for the individual to block it with his right forearm.

The last two Dragon Men were blue and pale yellow, and red and light purple. All three of them closed in on Chichi who ducked under a fist from one Dragon man, blocked a kick to her side with her right arm and then jumped over the third Dragon Man before he could land a headbutt. Chichi delivered a quick series of kicks and fists at the Dragon Man's back. He quickly drove her away with his tail which Chichi managed to block with both of her arms, but it forced her into a corner of the room. Upon landing on her feet she got into a more defensive stance clearly prepared for their next assault.

This is when she got a good look at the middle blue Dragon Man. "Giran." Chichi muttered her assailant's name with venom in her voice, she clearly knew who he was. The Dragon Man named Giren suddenly said, "Ah, so you've heard of me." Chichi gave a quick nod, "I remember Master Gohan pummeling you in the first round of the Twenty First Budokai Tenkaichi." Chichi gave him a wry smile as she mocked the man before her. Giren let out an angry growl before saying, "So you're that old bastard's pupil!" He gnashed his teeth before saying, "No wonder no one's been able to take care of you." Chichi immediately said, "You tried a number of dirty tricks back in the day, but I still find it hard to believe you're so low as to ally with grave robbers."

Giren let out a hearty laugh and said, "I'm only the muscle, you've been causing the local treasure hunters a lot of trouble." Chichi gave them an angry glare before talking through clenched teeth, "Treasure hunters?!" Chichi stopped herself from yelling at them further as she felt her fatigue catching back up to her. She was only barely able to handle that last exchange with her worn out body, she was uncertain how long she could keep this up. Giren let out a loud grunt, "Enough with the small talk, tell me where the real grave is. If you don't, I'll have the pleasure of using you as a punching bag."

Giren popped his right knuckles with his left hand while giving Chichi a threatening sneer. Chichi barked back at him, "Yeah right. If you couldn't take Master Gohan a few years ago, what makes you think you stand a chance against me?" Giren lets out a boisterous laugh and says with a triumphant, loud tone, "Because there were rules back then! Right here, I'm in my element, a no hold barred ambush!" Suddenly Chichi heard something loud behind her but by the time she turned her head in that direction it was too late. A pair of clawed hands went right through the wall behind her and got a hold of her, putting her into a full nelson, a fourth Dragon Man just broke through her wall just to get a hold of her.

Before Chichi could muster any strength at all, Giren had already closed in on her and delivered a strong gut punch, Chichi immediately passed out from the blow due to the strength of the attack and her already mounting fatigue. After her body went limp, the fourth, Green and light blue Dragon man dropped her onto the floor. The Second Dragon Man let out a deep exhale and said, "It was a good thing you kept him outside the house boss." The Fourth Dragon Man added, "I'm just glad I heard the commotion, if she wasn't so loud then I wouldn't have known where to bust in from."

They all had deep bellowing voices which complimented their menacing demeanor and their large frame. Giren commented, "She went down easier than I expected, given she was that bastard's student." The first Dragon Man suddenly asked, "What are we gonna do now boss, we can't question her when she's knocked out?" Giren let out an irritated huff and said, "Moron, I doubt she would talk even if we got physical, I'll tie her up. You three search the place, see if she left any clues to its location. Heh, maybe she buried the fortune under the damn house." Giren's henchmen all nodded and immediately fanned out and began tearing the kitchen apart looking for anything that might hint at the location of Chichi's father's mysterious fortune.

Meanwhile Giren spat up a purple rubbery substance which wrapped itself around Chichi from her shoulders to her feet. With that done Giren was about to start searching himself when he heard a pair of footsteps close by. Everyone stopped upon hearing the footsteps, one of Giren's men suddenly asked, "Isn't everyone else supposed to be at camp?" Giren let out a low, "It's not them." The door opened up revealing Kakarot who suddenly said, "How primitive." Kakarot closed the door behind him, "It's not even automatic."

Kakarot ignored his irritation about Earth's lackluster doorways when he saw Chichi laying in the middle of a wrecked Kitchen. Kakarot marched over to her body before kneeling down and touching the purple substance wrapped around her body. Kakarot noted aloud, "She ain't dead." He then muttered, "Otherwise they wouldn't of bothered with all of "this"." Kakarot was about to peel the substance off of her when his Scouter came to life, Kakarot cracks a sinister smile right before he catches a fist flying to the right of his head. At the exact same time Kakarot jumped back by a single step narrowly dodging a second punch from Giren. His first attacker is shocked to find he's been yanked around since Kakarot hasn't let go of his fist yet, in fact Kakarot's grip has only gotten tighter.

Before the third one could pull off a kick, Kakarot hits him with his own kick which knocks the thug right out of the house, breaking a wall and trashing Chichi's kitchen even more. Kakarot grimaces at his failure to keep Chichi's property relatively intact. A thought pops into his head, "I hope she blames that on the thugs." Kakarot then shook his head and turned his attention to the Dragon Man who was currently trying to pry himself from Kakarot's grasp. Giren leaps backwards right as Kakarot rams an open palm strike at the Dragon Man he's holding. It makes contact with his head and right after this the Dragon Man went limp which is when Kakarot let go of him, allowing his limp body to hit the ground.

He remained motionless, Giren stared in horror at how quickly Kakarot dispatched his allies. Giren forced out a question, "D-did y-y-you just k-kill him?!" Kakarot looked confused by the question as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Giren didn't care to wait around for an answer given the Saiyan's cold blooded reaction. Giren immediately flies out of the house with his last surviving cohort in tow, breaking a hole in the roof to make a path out. Kakarot groaned at the hasty retreat before looking at the ruined kitchen around him. Kakarot groans again before saying, "How was I supposed to know human houses were so damn fragile."

Kakarot flies out of the house after Giren but stops when he sees him checking on the Dragon man he kicked out of the house. The second to last surviving Dragon Man stutters out a terrified response, "H-he killed him… he k-killed him with one k-k-kick!" Kakarot lands in front of the last two Dragon men who flinch at the sight of him. Giren immediately said, "Damn it all! I didn't know someone this strong was around this region." Kakarot smiles and says, "It's not just the region, I'm much stronger than anyone on this rock."

Giren disliked the confidence in Kakarot's voice, he immediately said, "You must be her bodyguard, did she promise you the fortune if you chased us off?!" Kakarot scoffs at that assumption, he responded with, "Like hell I need money, least of all a nonexistent fortune." Giren is surprised to hear Kakarot deny having any monetary stakes in Chichi. He then said, "Why the hell are you protecting her then, do you think you're some sort of hero of justice or something?" Kakarot snickers at the moniker and boldly declares, "I'm the farthest thing from a hero on this whole planet, but I'll humor you." Giren and the other Dragon Man's heads perk up upon hearing Kakarot's next words. "I'll act like a "hero" and spare ya, if either of you give me important information about an attack that occurred six months ago in one of yer' big cities."

Giren froze in place realizing he had no such information. Whatever attack Kakarot was referring to, Giren had little idea since he lived in a far-off village in a desert far away from any of the big cities. Giren suddenly smiled and said, "Sure, here's the information you want." Right then, Giren spewed the same purple substance that was on Chichi from his mouth. The substance restrained Kakarot just as it did Chichi earlier. Kakarot's smile dropped as he glared daggers at Giren who turned to his ally and said, "Quickly get the others, we've won!" The other Dragon Man nodded and flew off towards their camp.

Giren then let out a triumphant laugh and said, "And with that I've won, that woman will tell me all I want to know now that I have you as a hostage." Kakarot scoffs at Giren's cowardly strategy not caring for someone as weak as Giren acting this overconfident. Kakarot then says, "Did the woman give you a good fight?" Giren was caught off guard by the random question but answered it anyway, "She put up a good defense but honestly she was a bit disappointing." Kakarot cracks a smile and says, "I doubt she really gave you her all." Giren is confused by the statement and immediately asks, "What do you mean by that?" Kakarot let out a short laugh and said, "After our scuffle she was pretty worn out."

Giren repeated the word "scuffle" with fear in his voice which is when Kakarot easily peeled the Mary Go Round Gum off of him as easily as one peel back a rubber band. The gum shattered like glass and Kakarot was free to do as he pleased. Giren yelped and took a step back, Kakarot then said, "If that was your best then this next part will be brief." Giren looked terrified of the man in front of him but right when Kakarot took a single step toward him Giren suddenly blurted out, "W-wait, about that information!" Kakarot stopped where he was, which is when Giren said, "I-i heard something happened, something about a farming village getting wiped out, but I didn't hear anything about the culprit. I thought it was just a rumor but m-maybe not."

Giren managed to remember a small piece of info, but he wasn't sure it was satisfactory given the displeased look on Kakarot's face. Kakarot began to float in the air which freaked Giren out even more. "W-w-what are you doing?" Giren stammered unsure of what was about to happen to him. Kakarot stopped when he reached above the tree line and said while stretching out an open palm and pressing a button on his Scouter, "Dealing out your punishment." Suddenly Kakarot fired off a purple Ki wave which stretched out into the distance before landing on a far-off set of trees.

An explosion erupted at that location followed by a small shockwave which Giren felt regardless of the distance he was to the explosion. Kakarot floated back down to Giren who asked what he hit, though Giren had a dreadful feeling he already knew the answer. Kakarot answered with a stern expression, "The camp yer' thug ran off to, I blew it to pieces." Kakarot then said, "Consider that, a punishment for that dirty move you just pulled." After a moment of silence Giren looked unnerved. He then said something that invoked a severe reaction from Kakarot. "I-is that i-it?"

Kakarot exclaimed, "What?" "I gave you all the info I had, a-a-and you punished me already, we can't even harass the woman anymore so I can head off now, r-r-right?" Giren stammered with his response, he hoped he could get out of this situation alive and was desperately hoping Kakarot was done with him. Kakarot however, couldn't believe what he was hearing. Speaking through barely restrained disbelief Kakarot said, "I just wiped out a camp full of your people, why the hell aren't you furious with me?!" Giren answered honestly, "T-they were just a bunch of bozos I recruited for this job. Just some hoodlums from my village, no one important." Total shock turned to blood boiling rage as Kakarot fully registered what was being said to him.

The complete lack of empathy for one's own species was infuriating to the Saiyan warrior. As someone who has lost most of his people and could only trust an exceptionally untrustworthy few, this was unforgivable. The veins in Kakarot's forehead began to bulge, becoming totally visible. His muscles tightened and expanded as his rage boiled to the surface. Thoughts of the Prune Commander Jade re-surfaced, Kakarot couldn't do anything to stop his fury from boiling to the surface. Giren froze in horror as Kakarot gave him the most terrifying glare he has ever seen in his entire life.

Fearing for his safety Giren flew into the sky as fast as his wings could carry him. Kakarot's eyes stuck to the cowardly Dragon Man's back, Kakarot yelled out, "Cowardly bastard, don't you dare run away!" Kakarot threw out his right open palm and fired off a purple Ki wave which caught up to Giren before he even had the chance to see it coming. He was enveloped in the wave and completely vaporized, leaving nothing but ashes behind. It took a solid minute for the blast to fully dissipate and by that time Kakarot froze in place. Kakarot stared off at where Giren used to be and after a long moment of silence he sat down on the ground and fixed his gaze on the ground.

Kakarot thought back to how Jade gave up only when he knew there wasn't a point in fighting. He thought back to the moment when that Prune Tank crew made a similar decision. Kakarot couldn't make sense of it back then, he still can't, however Giren's complete disregard for members of his own species was even more baffling to him. After a moment of deep thought Kakarot glared forward, stood up straight and turned on his Scouter. He then spoke with pure malice in his voice, "Let's get this over with." Kakarot disappeared into the forest in front of him and sometime later the echoes of pained screams and terrified yells filled Mount Paou until total silence remained.

Author's Note: Just added the Power Levels section to the chapter.

Power Levels:

Kakarot: 4,000Chichi: 800

Giren: 150

Giren Henchmen: 100