Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Wish For The Past ❯ Training ( Chapter 54 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

A/N: For you die-hard Vegeta fans who insist that he never fights without his gloves, I can only excuse myself by saying that he only has ONE set of gloves (Bulma didn't buy him any at the mall) and they're in the wash right now. So, yes, he's fighting bare handed.

Disclaimer: Bardock: *nudges Brenda's unconscious body with the toe of his boot* Looks like she's out cold. Guess she stayed up too late last night, after all. *looks around in search of anyone else* Well, looks like I'm in charge of the disclaimer. Brenda doesn't own DBZ. Anyone who thinks otherwise needs their head examined... or a good konk on the head. I'd be perfectly willing to provide the second cure, but for the first, you'll have to find a licensed professional. At least my cure is free, though! *smirks*

Knowing better than to hold back, Goku sprinted towards his older brother, fist cocked for the first punch. At the last moment, he pulled up short and swung his knee up towards Radditz's gut, pushing off with his other foot to give the blow a little extra momentum. Radditz smirked and blocked the attack with his own knee, then jabbed a blade-like hand toward the younger boy's head, an attack that Goku narrowly dodged by planting his feet against the teen's chest and launching himself backwards. Flipping gracefully through the air, he landed on his feet with a light tpp about five yards from where his brother had been standing.

Not allowing the child any chance to recover, Radditz was already zipping through the air at full speed, his elbow leading the attack. Goku's eyes widened at the speed the older Saiyan was approaching at, and he quickly scampered out of the way before Radditz's elbow could bury itself in his stomach. Unfortunately for him, that was exactly what the wild maned teenager was expecting him to do. With a wordless cry of triumph, the fifteen year old whipped his leg around directly into Goku's path, catching the boy across the chest with his shin. His body doubling over Radditz's leg from sheer momentum, the seven year old gasped for breath and stumbled backwards, nearly falling down before he managed to regain his balance.

Even though he was still a little dazed, Goku used his close proximity with his opponent to his advantage, thrusting a small fist into the older boy's gut with as much power as he could muster, quickly following it up with an uppercut to the jaw. Radditz inhaled sharply, more with surprise than pain, as Goku's fist knocked the air from his lungs, hastily jerking his head back to lessen the damage that the second fist caused as it connected with his chin. Bringing a hand up to bat Goku's arm back down, the older Saiyan whipped his tail from around his waist. Like a flash of brown lightning, the furry tail lashed through the air and curled around his little brother, pinning the boy's arms to his side and holding him helplessly in the air in front of Radditz. Try as he might, Goku couldn't break free of the iron-like grip of his brother's tail, unable even to kick at it because it was out of the reach of his short legs.

Trapped in the coils of his brother's tail, Goku continued to desperately strain to free himself, coming slowly to the sinking realization that he just couldn't win this fight. A part of him buried deep within told him to stop fighting and surrender, but... it just wasn't in his nature to give up without giving it everything he had. On the other hand, he really wanted to learn what his brother had to teach him, and Radditz wouldn't do that until the spar was over. After another moment of consideration, he sighed and went limp. He was no match, and he knew it, but even in such an uneven training spar, it was no easy thing to give up the fight.

Calmly waiting until his brother stopped thrashing, Radditz ruffled the chibi's hair and smiled proudly. "You've gotten stronger, Goku! I still won, but that doesn't change the fact that you did well. Especially with that last attack. You were able to think fast and use your size and proximity to me to your advantage, and those blows carried quite a bit of power." Goku's face took on a glow of pride at the praise he was receiving, which elicited a chuckle from the older of the two. "However, you forgot about my tail and my arms. If I'd wanted to, I could have pinned you in a bear hug instead of using my tail, but I wanted to make a point. You have to keep your eyes on all of your enemy, not just the parts of him you're expecting an attack from. And speaking of tails..." Setting his little brother on the ground, Radditz curled his tail around his waist as he reached out and gently took hold of the younger Saiyan's tail, manually wrapping it around the boy's waist. "You leave your tail open to attack by letting it wave around freely like that. Keeping it in this position will help guard it against being grabbed or otherwise injured."

Goku eyed his tail in its new position for a moment, then took a few uncertain steps around the clearing they'd been sparring in, wobbling from the unfamiliar change in balance that this created. "I don't like it," he complained, looking back at Radditz. "It feels funny, like I'm about to fall down, and my tail doesn't want to stay there."

"You'll get used to it," Radditz chuckled. "It'll take a few days of practice, maybe a week or two, before your tail will stay there on its own, but it'll eventually become second nature. Now, I want you to walk around in a circle until you can keep your balance."

"Do I have to wear it wrapped all the time?" Goku asked, sounding unenthusiastic at the prospect, lurching and stumbling as he attempted to get used to his tail's 'guarded' position around his waist. At one point, he stepped on a loose rock and, arms flailing, fell to the ground with an oomph! as his face buried itself into a pile of decaying leaves. Undaunted, he picked himself back up and began his circular journey again.

"It'd be a good idea, at least until you're used to curling it in battle, but I won't make you. Most Saiyan children prefer to leave their tails loose when they aren't sparring or fighting. It isn't until they get older and are more prone to be attacked by surprise that they start wearing their tails wrapped around their waists most of the time." It was a simple precaution that most Saiyans took due to the fact that life on Vegeta-sei was a lot more dangerous and unpredictable. One never knew when an enemy was preparing to attack from behind, to grab your tail and render you helpless, so as the children got older and healthy paranoia set in, it was only natural for them to guard their tails no matter where they were. Chikyuu-sei, however... If Goku remained on this soft, peaceful world, Radditz could easily envision his little brother allowing his tail to hang free clear into adulthood and beyond. Until he had children, that is. Radditz smirked. Babies had a tendency to grab at anything and everything, especially if it moved, and parents quickly learned to guard their tails very closely when small children were about.

"All right, little brother, you can stop practicing for now," he called out after several minutes of watching Goku totter around the clearing. "Come here, and I'll teach you some basic ki attacks."

"Hai, oniichan!!" Goku's face lit up at the prospect and he unwrapped his tail so he could race over to Radditz's side without falling flat on his face. Sitting cross legged in front of his older brother with his tail flicking happily from side to side, he watched and listened eagerly as the teenager began to describe and demonstrate various energy based techniques. It wasn't long before he was trying to copy the things his brother was showing him, though as often as not this ended up accidentally singeing either him, the grass around him, or Radditz.

Meanwhile, in a clearing not too far from the one where Goku and Radditz were sitting, Bardock and Vegeta faced off against each other, warily eyeing the other's defenses in search of some hole or weakness that would allow them to gain the upper hand. Both Saiyans were breathing heavily and appeared rather bruised and battered, since they had been sparring intensely the entire time that Goku and Radditz had been training.

"You're pretty good," Vegeta admitted grudgingly, wiping the sweat out of his eyes, then smirked and added, "for a third class weakling."

Bardock smirked back, refusing to allow the barb to get under his skin. He knew that the young prince was only trying to get him to let his guard down. "So are you," he shot back flippantly. "For a chibi!" His smile broadened as he observed the reaction this taunt elicited, the scowl deepening on the ten year old's face and his lips peeling back from his teeth a fraction of an inch.

"I'll show you chibi!" Holding out one hand, palm flat and facing his opponent, Vegeta began to concentrate his ki in the center of his hand. "GALLIC GUN!!!" The world around him turned a bright white, disabling his vision temporarily, as the deadly ki blasted across the space that lay between the two. From the startled yelp and muttered curses, Vegeta knew that his attack had hit home, and he smirked triumphantly. "What's wrong? Too hot for you?" Kami, it felt good to be able to take out his pent up frustrations on someone else, to be able to fight and go all out. For the first time in weeks, maybe even months, he was truly testing his limits and finding them... inadequate. It didn't even matter to him that his opponent was a third class commoner, only that the man was providing a good challenge, a way to stretch his limits and become stronger. When he was fighting was the only time he truly felt at peace with himself and everything around him. In a fight such as this, everyone became equal as rank was tossed lazily out an open window. Everything was so simple, just you and your enemy and the thrill of the challenge that lay in finding a way to defeat him. With an unmatched glee glistening in his eyes, the young prince launched himself at the older Saiyan and began exchanging a flurry of blows too fast for most people to see.

"Of course not!" Bardock laughed irreverently as he blocked an elbow aimed at his ribs. "I'm just getting warmed up!" Tossing a few balls of energy at Vegeta, the scarred warrior phased out of sight only to reappear behind the young prince, slamming his doubled up fists into the small of the boy's back. Vegeta plummeted like a rock for a moment before he regained his senses and halted his downward movement. Even as the ten year old looked up in search of his foe, Bardock was already in his prince's face and ramming a fist into the child's stomach. Eyes widening in pain, Vegeta coughed up a few speckles of blood, unable to avoid the elbow that the older warrior slammed between his shoulder blades. The force behind the blow was enough to send the young prince speeding towards the ground, making an impact crater the size of the capsule house where he landed.

Groaning in agony, the battered child forced himself to his hands and knees, only to collapse again as a wave of dizziness rippled through his body. The faint sounds of someone landing at the edge of the crater told him where Bardock was, but even with this revelation he could only barely muster the energy to lift his head enough to watch the warrior approach. He half expected the older Saiyan to gloat over his victory over the Saiya-jin no Ouji, to ridicule him for being so weak. In truth, Vegeta wouldn't have blamed him for it, since that was exactly what he was thinking about himself. Even so, he was determined not to let his humiliation show, clenching his teeth while staring up at Bardock defiantly, chest heaving as he gasped for breath, but remained otherwise silent.

"Enough," Bardock stated simply once he reached the boy's side. His voice held no malice, no smugness over his victory, no taunting overtones. It was simply... enough. Vegeta blinked up at the older man and was surprised to find that Bardock was extending a hand to the fallen prince. The boy didn't know what to do! For several long moments, he stared blankly at the offered hand, then shifted his gaze to examine the warrior's face, searching for some trace of intent in the other's expressionless black eyes. If he had detected even the slightest hint of mockery, or pity, or even sympathy, he probably would have ki blasted the other Saiyan with every last ounce of energy he had. As it was, he could find... nothing... Bardock was simply offering a helping hand if Vegeta chose to take it, no strings attached.

After another few moments of scrutiny, Vegeta uncertainly placed his small hand in Bardock's calloused one, allowing himself to be pulled to his feet.

After about five minutes in the grocery store, Bulma stalked back out, dragging the two little demi-Saiyans by their ears, looking about as ticked off as they come and ready to blow up any second. Popping open the capsule car, she picked up first Goten, then Trunks, and set them in the back seat of the car.

"Now stay here! And don't you dare fly off anywhere, with or without the car! Honestly! I should have brought Bardock with me! At least he has enough sense not to grab the can from the bottom of the display, or grab twenty of anything that catches his eye, or accidentally knock over the fruit stands, or..." Bulma continued her rant for another five minutes before she finally cooled off and scowled down at the teary eyed chibis before her.

"We're sorry, Bulma," Goten sniffled, wiping the tears from his eyes. "We didn't mean to!"

"We just wanted to help," Trunks added glumly, staring down at his feet.

Bulma's anger melted away like ice in the sun and she smiled faintly. She just couldn't stay mad at those two for some reason. "Yeah, I understand, I guess. But... I think it would probably help me more if you two would just stay put in the car while I get the shopping done. I've seen you guys eat, and I've known Goku for some time now, so I can probably guess how much of everything I need to buy. Here," she said, handing a capsule to Trunks. "This is to make up for having to wait for me. I was going to save it for a treat, but I can always buy more, and you two need something to keep you occupied until I'm done." Giving the two one last, beautiful smile, the eleven year old girl waved to them. "Now, you two be good! I'll be back before you know it!"

Watching the human girl disappear into the crowd, Trunks sighed and shifted his attention to the capsule in his hand. "What do you think she gave us, Goten?"

"I dunno, Trunks! Open it up so we can find out!" The eight year old chibi had already forgotten his shame at being the cause of such trouble for Bulma and was now fidgeting with excitement. He was literally itching with curiosity to know what was inside the capsule.

"Okay, here goes!" Brushing a hand through his lavender hair, Trunks bit his lip and depressed the button on the capsule, then tossed it to the ground. When the smoke cleared, both boys could only gape in astonishment and dawning glee at what lay before them.

Twenty plastic buckets of ice cream, each a gallon in volume, sat stacked on the side walk, the words "Fudge Ripple" neatly labeled on their sides. All concerns about the earlier mishaps flew out of their minds as they literally attacked the frozen desserts, tearing the lids off and gorging themselves on the icy contents therein. The sugar instantly entered their bloodstream, going straight to their heads, and it wasn't long before both demi-Saiyans were giggling insanely, bouncing up and down as they continued on to the next bucket of ice cream.

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