Chapter 4: An End And A Choice

Special thanks to my Beta Readers: Chaotic Serenity, Anime Chick (KSorgmarte@aol.com), and One-Chop (knight_0n_the_town@talk21.com)

Suru sensei was walking down a deer trail. His feet had slowly widened it twice a day, five days a week, for the last thirty years. The deer trail was now an old-man trail. It led to Suru's house, which stood in the tiny, level clearing of the woods only five days out of the week. The familiarity of the whole scene--walking through the woods with trees like living walls on either side of him--made Suru sensei feel content. It made him feel like he was doing what he was supposed to be doing. He was helping the next generation to be stronger, to have more faith in themselves. It was a worthy cause, and he could think of nothing better to devote his life to.

The contented feel suddenly dissipated when Suru broke through the trees and stepped inside the clearing. He was startled but not scared when he saw two men standing between him and his house. He smiled and waved, "Hello, Akakabu-san!"

The tall, pale man leaned against Suru's domed capsule house with his arms crossed. "Hello, Suru-san. How goes the teaching of your students?" As the martial arts teacher approached, Akakabu stood straight, and they both bowed to each other.

"Very good! I've just chosen the lucky student who gets to go to the tournament! I always enjoy that so much. But that is talk for later, we can talk about things while we enjoy some tea." Suru unlocked the door to his house and motioned for Akakabu and the short man to move inside. The door shut behind them, and pretty soon hot tea was steaming in two cups upon the table.

"So, Akakabu-san, what brings you back to my humble abode?" Suru moved through his house, packing the things he would need for the trip to the tournament.

Akakabu waited for a moment, studying what Suru had said. Was there irony or spite in the voice? No. 'His students didn't tell them about me....' Out loud he said, "Well, our conversation last week intrigued me, and I decided to come find out who you chose to go to the tournament. As you know, I am looking for someone to help me at my dojo in Eastern City. I have been seriously considering one of your students. They seem to have great potential."

Suru opened a drawer and began moving a few robes into a weathered, blue suitcase. Every few moments he would glance over to his guest as they talked. "I am honored by your words, and I suspect my students would be as well. But, to answer your question, I chose Atsui. If you remember I wasn't sure who to pick this year, but I think the choice was clear for me after they all came back with every item."

Akakabu savored a sip of his tea and set it back down on the table. "That surprises me. I suspected you would have picked Suzushii, considering you said he was so much more honorable than Atsui."

Suru stopped packing for a moment and took a breath. He did not enjoy speaking about his students' honor. He felt it was a trust he had to keep, but Akakabu had made some startlingly perceptive remarks the week before as they spoke about the students, and Suru could not deny what Akakabu had said. "Yes, well, I never said Suzushii had more honor. I simply stated that he had a kindness that Atsui lacked."

"Yes, but you looked upon him more favorably. Why didn't he go?"

Suru frowned slightly. "I sent Suzushii on a special errand." The wizened old man left it at that. An uncomfortable silence followed, but it was Akakabu who broke first.

"Um...alright. This last week I ran into a couple of your students as they were scavenger hunting. One of them had the most remarkable object I've ever seen--an orange crystal sphere with red stars in its center." Akakabu paused and took a breath. "Would you mind showing it to me?"

Suru stopped packing and turned his head to stare at Akakabu. There was something about the way he asked for the sphere that wasn't right. What was it that he heard...was it the sound of lust? Whatever it was, it put the sensei on guard. He stared into Akakabu's eyes and stated flatly, "It is not here."

The polite mannerisms and gentle words that had previously filled Akakabu's demeanor were swept away like a silken sheet that had covered a hideous gargoyle. Rage contorted the man's face into a snarl, and he slammed his palm so hard against the table that the tea bowls fell over and spilt their contents. "I said show me the dragon ball!" His voice tore menacingly through the air.

Suru sensei didn't move. He just stared into the eyes that had suddenly turned as hard as black diamond. In a growl of rage Akakabu stood up and screamed, "Give me the blasted ball, now!"

The image Hana Shukketsu Suru suddenly saw before him reminded him of a demon from the ancient legends his long-dead grandfather used to tell him as a child. Akakabu's face was one of pure hatred and his long, black hair looked nothing so much as a mane of a dark monster. The trench coat that adorned the man reminded Suru of a demon's folded wings, and his skin was as pale as death itself. Whether the body was or not, it suddenly dawned on Suru that this man's heart was no purer than that of a devil.

"You shall not have it." The old man dropped his suitcase, and his arms and legs drew naturally into the all-too-familiar fighting stance he had used since his childhood. "Leave my house." The words were calm and even, and the way Suru spoke them left no doubt that they would be enforced.

The short man reached down to his belt and pulled out a gun that had been concealed in his jacket. The barrel swung up to point directly at Suru, but Akakabu suddenly barked, "Drop it, Dorei!" and the gun fell from the man's hand.

A wicked grin replaced the snarl on Akakabu's face. "I'll take care of this myself." For a heart beat Akakabu stood still... Without warning he shot forward, his fist pulled back to punch the old man as soon as he got close enough. But Hana Shukketsu Suru, sensei of hundreds and master of the martial arts, was not unprepared. He jumped into the air and sent his body spinning counter-clock wise. He stuck out his right leg, and it swung around with the force of a hammer straight at Akakabu's head. The foot stopped dead five inches from Akakabu's face. Suru's foot struck Akakabu's blocking forearm with nearly bone-crushing force, but the black-haired man didn't show the slightest sign of even noticing the blow.

Suru landed square on his feet with just enough time to dodge a punch from Akakabu's left hand. The sensei countered with his right, but Akakabu moved out of the way with inhuman speed. Suru could tell just from these few exchanges that Akakabu knew a little bit about fighting, but nothing near what some of his students would achieve with a little experience. 'But his strength and speed are incredible...' thought Suru to himself.

Akakabu tried a roundhouse kick that met with failure and left him wide open when he spun around. Suru instantly exploited the opportunity and threw his fist into a perfect uppercut... The old man's big eyes widened as he felt his knuckles crack and his skin split open as his fist met Akakabu's chin. A small cry of pain broke free from Suru's mouth. Blood flowed freely down his arm; crimson streams that found their path through the wrinkled skin. To Suru it felt like he had punched solid stone. The strike had broken his hand, but Akakabu hadn't even flinched.

Like a snake Akakabu's right hand shot out and latched onto Suru's arm like a vice. His left hand chopped down and met with Suru's forearm. The bone snapped like a twig. The sensei choked down the biting pain and struggled to get free, but to no avail.

Still holding on to his opponent's bloody arm, Akakabu stepped to Suru's side and brought his left foot down upon Suru's leg. Bones shattered and ligaments popped as the leg bent in an impossible angle. The demonic figure let go of Suru's arm. He punched up into the rib cage, and a column of ribs collapsed inwardly. In a horrific finale, Akakabu's fist shot upward, broke Suru's jaw, and sent the man flying back to land hard on the floor.

"Find the dragon ball." Only a word from his master and Dorei moved instantly to obey. He began sifting through sacks and cupboards and drawers, throwing their contents around the room, smashing things out of pure menace. The whole time Akakabu just stood over Suru, staring down at the fallen old warrior. Blood seeped from Suru's broken teeth and filled his mouth and the sensei's every breath was a muted gurgle against the flow of blood. All that filled the kindly old man's vision was the grin of pure malice upon Akakabu's face. Suru struggled to stay off the panic that was threatening to overwhelm him every time a bolt of pain shot through his body. He had to stay alive and stay calm so his students would be all right. 'What do they want with my students?' The thought echoed through Suru sensei's mind. 'What do they want with my students?'

Finally Dorei's chaos stopped, and Suru could hear the two men conversing. Suddenly Akakabu's face was replaced by the shining outline of the dragon ball. Out of nowhere Suru remembered his grandfather showing the ball to him as a child. 'It was always so beautiful...' "I have the other six. No one, especially not an old man like you, will stop me from using them."

Akakabu's hideous chuckle filled Suru's ears. The old man looked about frantically, 'No...no...what is he talking about...? What is he going to do?'

Akakabu moved, and Suru could only see the ceiling. It was quiet...had they left? The answer to the question came swiftly. A boot landed hard on Suru's chest and sank several inches deep. Suru gurgled as his breastbone split wide apart. "By the way, this is what happens when someone hits me." Akakabu stepped away from the shattered body of Hana Shukketsu Suru, opened the door, and left quietly.

'No...where are they going...?' Suru sensei's eyes paled, and he no longer knew he was lying upon the floor, slowly losing life. No, he remembered something familiar. Walking through the woods with trees like living walls on either side of him. The whole scene made him feel content. It made him feel like he was doing what he was supposed to be doing. He was helping the next generation to be stronger, to have more faith in themselves. It was a worthy cause, and he could think of nothing better to devote his life to.

And then he breathed his last.



Atsui made his way down the street of a sparsely populated sub division in Helmstead. He had just passed through the gated entrance of this high-class section of the town, where grand houses and mansions owned by the rich sat; hidden away from the lowly poorer-classes that weren't worthy of setting their eyes upon the grandeur. Atsui's home was one of the farthest down the meticulously kept street because that was where the wealthiest of the wealthy stayed.

About an hour had passed since Atsui had learned he would be going to the Tenka'ichi Budokai. Suru had given Atsui a wonderfully uplifting talk, and the boy left the forest in good spirits. He was instructed to have everything packed and be back at Suru sensei's dojo in three hours. 'No problem packing,' thought Atsui, 'it's what I have to do before packing that's the problem.'

A grimace passed like a shadow over Atsui's face. He slowed his pace and tried to keep from screaming in frustration. He knew what was going to happen when he got home; his parents weren't going to let him go. There would be some fighting and some screaming, and he'd run into his room, pack, and sneak out before his parent's knew he was gone. They wouldn't look for him. He would fight at the Budokai and the only person at the tournament who would even know his name would be his teacher.

Atsui quickly ate away the remaining stretch of road that led to his home. It was not long before he had passed through their own private gate, and an even shorter time before he was standing in front of the carved and polished double-doors that led inside the large mansion. Atsui laid his hand upon the gilded handle, but he hesitated before entering. All the confidence and pride that had earlier swelled the boy's heart had dried up in the heat of hate. Hate for his father, revulsion of his mother, and pure rage at everything surrounding them both. His teeth clenched together and he could feel his face contorting in fear and anger at what was behind the door. Atsui took a deep breath, and stepped inside.



"You're not my son! My son would obey me. He wouldn't go running off to some idiotic tournament to-" "I don't care what your son would do! Leave me alone...I never want to see you again!" Atsui slammed the door to his spacious room and left his father fuming on the bottom of the spiral stairs. The freckles on Atsui's pale face burned furiously as the boy leaned against his door and breathed in an out, trying to fight away the tears that were welling up in his eyes. He loved and hated him. He wished to make his father proud, and he wished for him to die.

Atsui growled at himself and wiped away the vanishing tears. He strode stiffly past his canopied bed to the armoire that housed his expensive clothes. He almost wrenched the carved wooden doors off in frustration. The feeling grew larger when he saw his wardrobe. Everything was exquisite. Silken shirts and coats and shoes that cost hundreds of zenii seemed to fill the armoire from left to right. Atsui began jerking the clothes off the hangers, tearing them from their hooks and flinging them across the room. Every piece of clothing he found that a normal child wouldn't wear made him feel worse, and every time he ripped a piece of cloth or marred a costly shoe it made him feel better. Atsui almost cried out in joy when he finally found what he was looking for. A tee shirt. A plain, old tee shirt. Gingerly he took it from the closet and laid it on his bed. After more frantic searching Atsui found an old pair of almost unworn jeans. In a few moments the gi he had been wearing, embellished with golden, hand-painted traditional Japanese characters, had been flung from sight and replaced with the average, everyday clothes that almost everyone in the world wore. Atsui walked over to the full-sized mirror that sat reverentially in the corner of his room. He looked at himself, and the sight made him happier than he'd been in years. His blond hair was ruffled, his eyes bloodshot, and his clothes were...cheap. The word was beautiful to Atsui.

"Finally...finally, I will be my own person." The stern face that said the words suddenly laughed at how ridiculous it sounded. Atsui wore a smile as he walked to a nightstand drawer next to his bed and pulled out a few hundred zenii and a capsule and stuffed them in his pocket. "Goodbye, dad...mom..." Moments later the young martial artist scaled down the side of his house and was running to a new life.



Atsui had been running for a long time and he was breathing raggedly when he finally reached the tree line of the forest. His destination was close at hand--Suru sensei's dojo. He hoped the old geezer was ready to start the drive to the airport. Maybe he could get out of town before his parents noticed he was gone... Atsui's mind was occupied with these thoughts, and his reactions dulled from the fatigue of the recent run, so he didn't notice the blur of motion that suddenly lunged at him from behind a tree. All that alerted Atsui to his danger was a sharp pain in his arm. The boy cried out and slapped at the wound, and that's when he finally saw his attacker. It was a short, slightly pudgy man in a black coat holding a gun with a needle on the end. Atsui looked down at his arm and realized the man had poked him with the needle.

"Wha..." Atsui finally broke free of the confusion, spread his legs, put up his fists, and was prepared to fight. In a suspicious and edgy tone he asked, "Who are you and what did you do that for?"

"No need to get upset," a new voice said. Atsui turned his head as another man walked out from behind a tree. He wore a black trench coat and had long, spiky hair that fell down his back. "My name is Akakabu. We don't want to hurt you--we just need your assistance."

Fear began to show in Atsui's face. He swallowed and said, "What did he poke me with that thing for?" Thoughts of infectious diseases slowly eating away at his body began filling Atsui's mind.

"Do not worry, it's just a little test we have to perform." Akakabu nodded at Dorei and immediately the pudgy man inserted the needle into a complex little machine and began pressing buttons that made the machine hum. "My name is Akakabu," repeated the trench-coated man as he bowed in greeting, "pleased to make your acquaintance."

Atsui didn't return the bow. "What do you want?"

Akakabu smiled as though Atsui's words were a joke. "Right to business, I see. Your mother and father taught you well." The man's words caused a flame to blaze in Atsui's eyes and Akakabu smile widened.

"I am here to make you an offer...one that you likely can't refuse. I have been talking to your sensei and he tells me that you have potential. It must be a great honor to have been chosen for the Tenka'ichi Budokai."

"Yes, it is." Atsui kept his eyes rotating between the two men, and he stayed in his guarded position.

"But, did you know that Suru gave Suzushii an even greater honor?" A sudden image appeared in Atsui's mind; he remembered seeing Suru talking with Suzushii, but he hadn't given it any thought in the heat of the excitement. "He gave him something very special, indeed."

Atsui glared spitefully at the man, "You're lying. What do you want from me? I won the trip to the Tenka'ichi Budokai and Suzushii did not!" The fire in the boy's bosom burned hotter with the memory of his recent victory over his rival.

"True, but he has sent Suzushii to train with someone named...what was it again? Oh yes, Kame-sen'in Muten Roshi."

Atsui's mouth dropped open and the boy could hear his heart beating dully in his chest. Molten ice began rushing through his veins as the implications of what Akakabu just said began dawning on him. "He...he sent him to train with the Invincible Turtle Master?" Atsui began shaking with emotions he could hardly control. He felt shame, despair and, towards Suzushii and his master, nothing but pure rage. He wanted them both dead.

Akakabu felt the threads of his plan weaving together. It had paid off to eavesdrop on Suru's tri-annual ceremony. "You see? Your own sensei has dishonored you. He sent you to the tournament in mock glory. It was really Suzushii who he exalted today."

The shame burned through Atsui. He no longer doubted the man in the slightest. What he was speaking was true. He knew it in his heart.

"But, young Moenokori Atsui, I don't want you to fail. I believe you deserve to be the one who is praised. I believe you are better than your parents, better than your disloyal sensei, better than Suzushii." The man spat the last word from his mouth as if it were filth.

"What do you plan to do about it, Akakabu?" Atsui's words were carved from solid bitterness.

"Hit me!" The man in the trench coat roared.

The sudden command of violence compelled Atsui. He longed to destroy something, to release the pressure that had been building within him. Almost before Akakabu had finished his words, Atsui launched his fist toward the man who was now only a step away from him. Every ounce of anger, of frustration, of shame that Atsui had ever harbored was weighed into his fist as it struck Akakabu square in the stomach.

The bones in Atsui's hands split apart.

A grief-stricken shriek pierced the heavy air of the forest and Atsui grasped his arm. Tears ran down his cheeks and fell to his mangled hand like little angels trying to sooth the pain.... Akakabu didn't waste this moment.

"Did you feel that? Do you feel the power I hold? I can give you that power! I can give you vengeance!"

"How...How?!" Atsui screamed into the man's face.

Akakabu looked over at his companion who was still fiddling with the small machine. Dorei looked up and nodded.

"Atsui," Akakabu laughed gleefully, "you are the heir of a birthright. A birthright of power. I own that power as well, and I have the ability to give you what is rightfully yours. All you have to do is accept my gracious offer, and I guarantee that you will win your precious tournament. You will put Suru sensei to shame. He never believed you could win, but I can change all of that. You can go to the tournament, and with your birthright you will become the greatest fighter these people have ever seen."

"What...are you talking...about?" The pain made speaking almost impossible for the youth, but he clenched his teeth and bore it. The tears still streamed down his face, though he no longer cried.

"My name is Akakabu, and we are related, you and I. In our blood we share...this." Akakabu unbelted his trench coat, and tossed it aside. A tail, long, furry, and brown, whipped out and danced in the air. With a swift roundhouse Akakabu planted his foot into the trunk of a mighty pine. The tree snapped like a candy-cane in the hands of a child. Its towering bulk crashing to the forest floor shook the very ground with its passing. Akakabu's tail flicked in glee.

Atsui stared at the tail loathingly. "Is that...what gives you...your power?"

"Indeed. I am going to tell you a story. If you can listen despite the pain, please do so."

Atsui nodded, still grasping his injured arm and struggling to stay standing on knees weakened from pain.

Akakabu smiled in pleasure and continued, "Everyone has a hobby, and mine is the research of ancient legends. One day I came upon some manuscripts that are...oh, about five hundred years old. They were actually old papers documenting the events of quite a few decades of history in a great amount of detail. They told of a boy with a tail whose name was Goku. He was powerful, and as he trained he grew more so. He became a great martial artist, and eventually made himself the hero of the world by defeating a horrible Demon King. Goku believed he was just a human born with a tail until one day a man came from outer space who had a tail also. This man revealed that Goku was not human at all, but a member of a race of beings called the Saiya-jins. The alien told Goku that the Saiya-jins' planet had been destroyed, so there were only four Saiya-jins still alive in the universe. But what is amazing is that these Saiya-jins are one of the most powerful races that ever existed. With this knowledge Goku continued to grow and to train. He fought off aliens, more powerful than himself, that threatened to destroy the Earth. He flew into outer space and fought one of the greatest tyrants the universe has ever known...and won. He became a legendary creature of great power and faced every threat the cosmos could throw at him until he proved that he was the greatest warrior of all time. But Goku had loved a woman, and they had raised a family together, who lived on Earth for all their days, and his children were great warriors too, and their children as well, for many generations onward."

Akakabu stopped and waited for Atsui to respond. The boy had sat down upon the ground as Akakabu spoke, and was gently rocking himself back and forth. When the supposed Saiya-jin stopped talking Atsui looked up into the man's black eyes and his expression basically said, 'Are you done yet?'

A growl erupted from Akakabu and he spat out harshly, "Don't you get it, boy? The 'legend' was no legend at all! It was true! We are descendants of the last Saiya-jins! We have the blood of the most powerful beings in the universe, and I am offering you their power!"

Atsui climbed weakly to his feet and stared unblinkingly at Akakabu as he said, "What do you want in return?"

The anger faded from the Saiya-jin's eyes and he smiled again. "Once I give you the power and you win the Tenka'ichi Budokai and prove that you are indeed the strongest under the heavens, you will work for me. A good paying job from one of the wealthiest men in the world, away from the life you do desperately wish to leave."

The man's words pierced deeply into Atsui's soul. He looked away from the black-haired man and stared down through the forest to where Suru sensei's dojo stood just a few miles away. Atsui wanted more than anything for his sensei to appear at that moment and take him away from these two men, to bandage his wounds and drive him home. But another part of him never wanted to see Suru's face ever again. He turned his head the other direction, toward his home in the gated community where he had lived his whole life. He thought of his parents, about how they had raised him and about his love for them...and about how he hated them. Atsui turned his eyes back to Akakabu, the long-dreamed of savior coming to grant him freedom from the painful chains that bound him to the world he had known for so long.

A tear formed in the corner of Atsui's eye, and it fell like a perfect crystal sphere to the ground. A whisper issued from his lips, barely discernable it was so quiet, "I want the power."

Akakabu smiled a sharp, wicked grin. "Good." He reached behind a tree and pulled out a brown sack and turned it upside down to let its contents spill upon the ground. Seven glittering spheres thudded in the pine needle covered forest floor and Akakabu stated, "Then let us begin."