By Donny Cheng
His life was starting to fall into a pattern, Ranma felt as the door of the regeneration tank opened with familiarity. He pulled himself out of the tank and started to change into the pair of clothes Vejita had left for him. Before leaving the room, he gave the tank one more admiring glance before he headed towards Vejita's chi signature in the gravity room. How much further would he had been if he had such a thing to aid him when he first started out? The tank allowed him to go through days of intensive training and all out battles without needing a break. After every battle, though physically drained, he could sense an improvement that was hard to deny.
He reached deep inside himself, ready to bring forth the hidden Power he knew had grown by leaps and bounds compared to his previous level. They would be training today, so Ranma could afford to have his body fall under the strain of exerting such chi levels, without having to worry about additional factors involved in battle. His body, after over a month in the Room of Spirit and Time, was adapting very well to the test. He could still remember his battles before coming to Satan City. Though he had been much faster than Ryoga, he had had to hold back and he knew Ryoga did the same. The body could only take so much chi, before its stamina diminished at a frighteningly fast rate. Today, he intended to find out exactly how far he could push his body.
Vejita had waited to hear this from the boy. Now, with his full cooperation he could go even further. At first, Vejita had not been sure, though he did not show it, on what Ranma felt about this situation. It was not like he had been given a choice on the matter. "Is that it?"
Ranma frowned at his sensei. The man didn't move a single facial muscle when he officially asked Vejita to train him. True, Ranma had already accepted it, before this, but it had been the short menacing man doing the asking. After the announcement their training had taken a different tone. It had consisted of Ranma performing every technique that he knew of before coming to Satan City. "What do you mean, that's it?"
Vejita snorted. "Chi blasts that rely on emotion. A technique that relies on the enemy specific conditions. Another one that is useless when you have reached your current level. Dozens more locked up because of a promise between you and this Ryu. Pity, I would have liked to see how these skills would have fared with your current level."
"Hey, I hit you with my useless moves, didn't I? I can probably do the hiryu shoten ha without moving now. Your energy spirals outward when you raise it. I could stand there all day throwing them at you. And I'm working on the chi blasts. I think I can gain better control of them if I modify them with emotion."
The boy would just have to learn the hard way. Vejita was going to show Ranma even if the boy hadn't said what he said. "I went easy on you. The truth is you should be dead had you lowered your chi level to zero. You don't believe me? Do it right now."
Ranma nodded slowly and moved over to the middle of the gravity room. The moment Vejita's chi started to rise, Ranma was sure that with his skill he could fire off another hiryu shoten ha quickly. Lowering his chi to a level that was nonexistent as Cologne had taught him, he prepared himself for Vejita. "Ready..."
Unfortunately, Ranma would not complete that thought. Vejita's chi had risen so fast, Ranma didn't even have a chance to lift his hand. With only chi, his sensei had been able to force him to the wall of the room and held him there. No technique, no contact, just pure chi that the body naturally emitted and he was defeated. Giving up, Ranma let the chi flow into his body again and soon he was able to stand on his own two feet. He stared towards Vejita and could only gape in awe.
"This is transformation. There are some species that for some reason or other conceal their true strengths. We conceal it because we simply have too much power. This is not my strongest form. I can transform yet again. To remain at zero chi levels when I am in this form is pure folly."
Ranma did not know what to think. Vejita had grown slightly larger, his hair a bright yellow, and a whole lot more menacing. "I get the point," Ranma finally said. He had to forget the way he had trained and his previous battles if he wanted to reach this upper echelon of fighters Vejita seemed to be a part of.
Vejita powered down at Ranma's acknowledgement. He didn't let the humor come into his eyes at Ranma's lack of fear. The boy was too busy feeling sorry for himself. For a human this young, Ranma was certainly not as bad as he might think he was. But he would not say anything on this, since he somehow knew that this was exactly the type of motivation that the boy thrived on. "What's this about using emotion to control your chi blasts?"
Ranma perked up at this, pushing how far the gap between he and his sensei was aside for the moment. "Yeah, look." Ranma concentrated on his depression, since his confidence was at an all time low.
Vejita watched the small ball of energy wobble out of Ranma's hand. It did not dissipate for a long time and just hovered to where ever Ranma pointed, before it finally exploded harmlessly at the wall. Usually one needed a huge level of control over one's chi to do that. Kuririn was one such human that could control chi energy to a great degree for his relatively poor ability when Vejita had first met him. But Ranma had not had the same extensive training period with chi from what he had learned of the other fighters in their group. "This trick is probably useful at your current level. If I am right about the feel of the chi, that is a negative emotion, most probably depression you're using."
Ranma refused to let himself be impressed. "Yeah. It's called the shi shi hokodan. I used this as a template for my own version. I've never been able to pull off a perfect version of my own move, but I have seen one for this version. I figure if it's this strong now, when I perfect it, I can pull off a perfect shi shi hokodan about ten times, maybe a hundred times, stronger than Ryoga's."
Vejita did not know who Ranma was talking about, but this 'perfect' version of Ranma's low level chi blast sounded foolish. "A fight between two users of this 'depression' blast is a waste of time, especially if the users have relatively the same level of energy. A vicious circle would form. Depression is fed off of one another."
This time, Ranma was not able to hide his respect. He grinned at the idea that someone could think as fast as him. "Exactly. The perfect shi shi hokodan draws power from a person that has nothing left within him but depression. I can't seem to make an upward spiral of my emotions into pure confidence with my own technique. Ryoga used some cheesy trick to get depressed, but it took me a while to realize that it really wasn't needed. All that is really needed is to keep the vicious circle from breaking..."
"Eventually, this perfect technique you speak of would be useable by both practitioners," Vejita finished for Ranma, but he had not been even aware that he had said it out loud. A vicious circle. Depression. Anger. "Show me again, this shi shi hokodan."
Ranma felt the urge to flee as Vejita stared at him. Although Vejita was not in his 'super' body, he seemed so much more dangerous with his teeth flashing and his eyes giving off some strange glint. Ranma quickly performed the shi shi hokodan again and his sensei left as soon as he was done. Vejita had not even bothered opening the door, opting to blast through the wall. Ranma did not want to be the person the older man met up with.
Goku looked up at the ceiling, knowing that a person was just above the thick walls. It was Vejita. Apparently, his rival could not wait the two days. That was good, because he couldn't either. "Chi-Chi, I'm going out for a second. Keep the food warm."
Chi-Chi turned around to glare angrily at her husband, only to find empty space. She went over to the window and Vejita's unmistakable form stood floating in the air. She sighed. Men! Goku was going to need a big meal tonight.
Goku sat cross-legged on the ground waiting for Vejita to finish preparing. He sat on the other side of the clearing, cross-legged as well, meditating. What was wrong with Vejita today? Usually, Goku knew his rival to be much more aggressive and sought to begin the battle as soon as possible. "Vejita? Are still hurt from the last time? I didn't mean to punch you so hard."
Vejita opened his eyes. Trust the idiot to say something tactless to start the ball rolling. "Kakaroto, you imbecile! You are always mocking me with your stupidity. How could one with such intelligence best me?"
Goku blinked. Vejita hadn't insulted him that hard in years. Sure, he had been called dumb on many occasion by his rival, but never three times in succession. It was then that he saw a ball of chi fly in his direction. Automatically he batted it back at Vejita, knowing it to be quite weak in power. What surprised Goku was that the other man just stood there and took the blast.
The blast barely tingled Vejita. But it registered enough on his mind. "There you go again! Scoffing at my power. Just because you had reached the third transformation of a Super Saiyajin before I had."
Goku scratched his head. Vejita's power had raised slightly. But not nearly as high as the two of them were used to fighting. He again batted the next ball of chi back to Vejita and again his rival just took it.
Vejita felt a larger tingle when his own chi blast collided with his thigh. "I, the Prince of the Saiyajins, can't even defeat a lowly foot soldier!"
Goku blinked again. This time a familiar grin appeared on his face. Who would have thought that Vejita could think up such an ingenious plan? His power level had again risen a notch. The chi blasts sent his way became progressively stronger and Goku could tell also 'heavier'. It looked like he might have speed up the process. Thinking of some insult that might work, he set about to work. "Your hair is funny!"
Vejita could feel the anger rise up within him at Kakaroto's stupid words. The idiot had obviously figured it out. He concentrated on the depression of that little fact. Always the genius when it came to battle. Always one step ahead. "Because of you, I have see the depths of hell!"
Goku settled into the rhythm of sending insults and blasts at Vejita. It took them five minutes before Vejita reached Super Saiyajin one form. It was going to take awhile.
"You caused me to return to Freeza a broken man that first time!"
Goku sighed. A very long time.
Goku brushed the hair from his eyes. The chi blasts had grown progressively faster and more destructive, causing him to change into his Super Saiyajin three form. What he couldn't counter with chi blasts, he had resorted to using his body to block and it had taken its toll. Vejita was hovering in the air, his eyes blank, at the peak of the Super Saiyajin two form. It would be close now.
"Because of you, I will die an old man. If you had killed me all those years ago, I would not have to live with the unfulfilling death of age. Where is the honor or the glory in that? The only way I could die now is if the blasted sun exploded. Even then, I would not be too sure," Vejita said, his voice breaking, with anger and sadness.
Goku didn't even have time to blink as the ball of negative energy sped past him in another direction. He was too late to use a chi blast. Instead, he immediately teleported in front of the rapidly descending bomb. He was just in time to block it with his bare fists and deflecting it harmlessly into the air. Turning back to look at Vejita, Goku cheered silently as he could see the beginning of the new transformation.
Vejita could literally feel the shifting of the his bones to accommodate the excess mass he had seemed to gain. His face burned with pain as the bones shifted so that his brow resembled those of their other more simian transformation. If Vejita didn't know better, he suspected that he was turning into a gorilla with each successive change. However, it was still not enough. His hair slowly began to shrink back and the density of his body drastically lessened. Because of you I will lose... Bulma will not... I will not be able to see her....
Goku was about to yell another insult when the transformation process seemed to stall. But it resumed again after only a small delay. That last insult about the way he dresses was probably what put him over the edge, Goku guessed. Anything to help out a friend.
"Shi shi hokodan!"
Goku looked up into the sky and stared. A ball of energy, roughly the size of a small hill slowly descended upon the earth. He could destroy it he was sure with a blast from his palm, but there was no telling what would happen when such a large ball was dispersed all of a sudden. He would have to do it the old fashioned way. Push it away. Determined, he flew over to the ball and placed his hands on the searing underbelly of it.
Vejita's hair stopped growing. He stood in that one spot for roughly a minute before finally letting go of his iron grip on his anger. Slowly the negative feelings within him ebbed and his sanity came back to him. He had done it. He had caught up to Kakaroto's! Vejita turned around to look around for the fool. The last thing he had remembered was something incredibly heavy coming out of hiis hands. It was then that he noticed he stood in the middle of a large crater with Kakaroto's limp body lying on the ground. The fool was grinning like an idiot.
"Hey, you did it! How'd you ever think of something like that?" Goku asked as he pushed himself off the ground. His hair back to the normal shade of black and his body bloodied in many areas. That last blast of Vejita's was as strong as a fully powered Kamehame-ha.
Vejita's mood was indescribable. It was an exhilaration similar to when he had his first win, his first kill, the first time he transformed to his first two forms..., and when he had married her. Smirking, he lent a hand down to his fallen rival.
"We have to have a rematch soon," Goku said earnestly. The thought of fighting another Super Saiyajin three form was making him giddy with excitement. "Of course, we'll have to find some place safer. I think the earth was already beginning to strain just with the power of two of us. If we were to have another fight, I don't think she can handle it."
Rematch. The words gave Vejita a sense of satisfaction. It was Kakaroto that asked for a rematch this time. Vejita generously nodded. "Let's fly to Bulma. With those injuries, you won't be able to fly very fast and your woman is much father away."
Goku gave a Vejita a friendly smile, but was inwardly puzzled at his behavior. This was the first time that he had ever offered his arm and home to Goku. "Vejita, you're not sick are you?"
Vejita wouldn't let his good mood be ruined by Kakaroto this time. "Let's just go home."
Piccolo didn't have to look at the sky to know that it was once again its pure blue color. Two Super Saiyajins at level three. It was a wonder that they were all still standing on this planet. Instead, he concentrated on himself. After a day of intensive searching, he had come to the conclusion that he had reached a limit. He could not push past this invisible block that prevented him from taking his training to the next step.
There was a way though. It had been something that Piccolo often thought of but had never implemented due to his pride. But at his current rate, pride was not going to get him anywhere. With that thought, he concentrated on Nail, the first Namek he had fused with. Nail was always there hidden somewhere in his mind, healing from the wounds Freeza had given him. Piccolo, however, knew that Nail would be fully healed if he came out at this time.
A wrenching pull on his body caused him to fall to the ground of his campsite. His limbs, body, and mind felt as they were being slowly stabbed. He was being split apart, he felt, by the a dull edge of a blade. With one last grunt he pushed.
Beside him lay Nail, equally gasping for air.
Goten applauded loudly. "You almost did it that time. If you held it for a few more seconds, I think you would have been able to do it."
Trunks flashed Goten a grin. This will show his father. The image of his father staying up all night watching Ranma in the regeneration tank brought a sharp pang of jealousy to his heart. "You know we will have to make you transform to Super Saiyajn two also. Gotenks just wouldn't be the same if I was so much higher than you."
Goten bigsweated. His friend had to be kidding. Thoughts of his beating up of Trunks to create anger came to his mind. "Can't we skip it?"
"No."
Pan stretched lazily. It didn't matter that Bra was older. Pan had spent much more time training. "Why are we doing this again?"
"I'm sure we can change into Super Saiyajins. It was easy for Trunks and Goten because all they had to do was get angry for a few seconds. It's easy to feel pure anger as a child since the brain is still young and other thoughts do not cloud it. We never had the chance to take advantage of that. So, it'll probably take an all out fight to bring it out," Bra said. All that she said was theoretical at best from her mother's studies on her father. She had no idea if a girl could transform, however.
Pan sighed. Her grandfather had tried to help her transform when she was five, but Pan just couldn't get angry at him no matter what he did. It didn't help that Goku sucked big time in the insult department. "Maybe, you're right. So you sign up for the Tenkaichi-budokai yet?"
"Of course. When I saw Daddy fly to Mr. Satan's dojo, I knew he had that thought in mind. If Ranma is his student, he has to show up."
Pan nodded. A good fight was what brought grandfather Goku and grandmother Chi-Chi together, she had been told. Her mother also fell in love with her father because of a fight. It might even be a family curse for all Pan knew.
Vejita saw that Ranma had used the gravity room on his own. The machine indicated that a pressure of twenty times the force of gravity had been used. He must have trained all day to from the looks of the sweat that plastered the clothing to his body. Vejita had a strange smile on his face as he watched the boy sleep for a moment before taking Ranma to his room where he could be more comfortable.