Shooting off up into space, strapped tightly into a seat within a spaceship on a journey to another planet, surprisingly didn't bring about any fear, or excitement or exhilaration.
Strangely, as I watched the sky of Planet Earth be left behind and be replaced by the inky black void of darkness was space, all I felt...was nostalgic.
I was born to a space travelling warrior race and my earliest memories of being myself, of being Kakarot was looking into the faces of my parents, Bardock my father and Gine my mother before they sent me off into space within a saiyan space pod to escape Frieza, and the vast expanse of space itself.
A small sad smile splayed across my face when I thought it. The fact that there were small chunks of space dust floating around the galaxy that used to be a planet I lived, was born on and had parents that loved me on, was almost hard to believe. But I knew it was fact.
They were not the only parents I knew. I remember a kindly grandfather that imparted wisdom upon me, taught me how to care for myself, how to live, and taught me the meaning of kindness and love. I remembered the family of another man who's memories I inherited, who while they had many ups and downs, were still a family he cared for greatly.
I felt that small golden light, bigger now than when I first found it flare within my chest.
What was it Goku said?
The power comes in response to a need, not a desire. Use the pain of loss.
That pain, I knew it well. The warm mother, the gruff and rough yet proud father and the cheerful older brother of Kakarot. The kindly grandfather of Goku. And the large extended family of the man who's memories I had inherited, grandparents, mother, siblings, cousins, aunts, pets and more. I knew them all keenly, yet I had lost them all. And I would never get them back..because they are not and never have been mine, I'm a simple clone born to be a weapon after all.
My ki began to feel like it was burning up within me.
"Oooh yeah!" a cheer from the seat beside mine cut off my thoughts and that burning feeling from my ki receded. I turned to look at Bulma standing up from her seat and throwing her hands in the air, "It's been so long since I've been up here, this is gonna be so much fun!"
"You ve been to space before?" I asked, curiously. I already knew she had been to space before of course. Back when Jaco first visited Planet Earth looking for me, or well rather the original, Goku. If I remember right, Bulma's older sister Tights was an idol and got involved with him and while hanging around with her, Bulma crawled into his spaceship as a toddler and took off with it in a joyride.
"Yep!" Bulma grinned at me, flashing the fingers of her right hand at me in a 'V' shape, "We might have just found out you and Goku were alien's not long ago, but alien's are old news to me."
She suddenly giggled, "Now that I think about, Jaco actually only came to earth because he apparently wanted to find a saiyan," she shook her head, "Really, to think it was because of you guys in the first place, it's like we were destined to meet or something, being connected even that far back."
"If we never met, King Piccolo would have taken over the world, killed us all and then my brother would have shown up killed him and blown up the planet," I snorted, "Or well Goku I guess, but same thing more or less."
"Huh," Bulma blinked before slumping back into her seat, "...Putting it like that, it's less destiny and more super lucky that we met, otherwise we'd all be dead."
"Yep," I nodded, "Really, us meeting was the best thing that ever happened to Earth. Without me and you, there wouldn't be an Earth."
"Heh," Bulma thumbed her nose and grinned at me, "I guess we're just that awesome, huh sweet cheeks?"
A small laugh escaped me, "We are," I agreed, before raising an eyebrow at her, "But I think that little nickname fits you better than me."
"I do have an amazing ass," Bulma nodded, accepting it without shame, "But don't sell yourself short. You might basically be my teenage shota boyfriend right now until you hit that growth spurt Goku went through, but all that training you do has given you a nice firmly muscled little butt even with how small you are."
"Hey, I'm way taller than the original was at this point, I'm five foot even right now!" I pointed out, I could even gain an inch or so in the Ultra Form, and if I really wanted to, I could go full on massive buff with it, the same way Trunks did to create Super Saiyan Grade 3, I got a good few inches in that form. Really fucking hard to move in though. Isn't worth using at all even with the extra little power it gives unless I've got an opponent who'll stay stationary.
"Yeah, well I'm five foot four you wannabe shota." Bulma stuck her tongue out at me teasingly.
"That's not an insult when you're agreeing to be my girlfriend regardless." I retorted, crossing my arms smugly.
"Trial Girlfriend, don't forget that trial part, it's an important distinction," the blue haired beauty replied, "Keep in mind that if I don't get a good experience out of you on this trip we'll just be breaking off when we get back and you need to do a ton of training remember so the amount of time we can spend together is gonna be way more limited."
"Is that so?" I raised my eyebrows together, challengingly. When she just tilted her chin up at me, pretty blue eyes twinkling and a smug smirk of her own on her face, I decided to show her how I'd be getting around that.
A second later, with a quick flare of my ki, my power dropped by half and a perfect copy of my faced phased into existence.
"Eh?" Bulma blinked.
"Go check out the gravity chamber and get started on our training." I ordered him.
My clone scowled at me, "Fuck you, why do you get to hang around with a hot babe like Bulma while I have to go train?" he demanded.
"Pay back for you chuckle fucks pissing off and doing whatever you liked while I was getting shocked, burnt, frozen and crushed constantly while training in the time chamber." I grinned at him, baring all my teeth.
He grit his teeth before turning on his heel and marching away, "Fucking asshole other clones, it wasn't even fucking me." I could hear him grumbling.
Bulma watched him go wide eyed until he disappeared down the ladders into the gravity chamber and we heard the hatch seal shut behind him. "..You can make clones?" she asked, eyes wide, "..Wait! Isn't that, that thing Tien did back at the World Martial Arts Tournament?"
"Yup, the Multi Form technique, it splits all my abilities in half with each one made, but it's hella useful, since anything they do goes back to me." I replied. I really could do without them trying to find all different ways to get out of training or doing any work. It's just my inherent laziness popping up since they're me. I'm working so hard right now after all, so I can laze about and enjoy my life and not have to train day in and day out constantly like a tard like everybody else in the Z-squad.
"I bet," Bulma nodded, "The amount of stuff I could get done with the ability to make solid clones of myself would be amazing."
"Well I can teach you if you want," I offered, letting a naughty grin spread across my face as I leered at her, "After all, I can think of a lot things I'd love to have multiple Bulma's for."
Bulma's brows furrowed at my words before a coy look spread across her face, "Oh I bet you can, you little perv. You've spent way to much time around Roshi," she purred, "I might just take you up on that little offer. I've got no interest in learning how to punch things out existence like you meat heads, definitely no, ew. But learning that might be useful depending on how long it takes."
"Maybe a few months at most? Depends on how serious you are," I shrugged, "Still, we've got what, a week on this ship? Anything we can do to pass the time...well, besides the real fun stuff." I winked at her.
"You'd like that wouldn't you? But no, fucking's off the table right now," she denied flatly. She reached up and tapped on her scouter, and after pressing o a few buttons, to my surprise, a television screen folded out from one of the walls, alongside well a bed, and a fridge. The main command level of the space ship basically...turned into a bedroom with the click of a few buttons from the device hanging over her eye. "I've managed to make a connection with the earths internet and services thanks to studying the sheer range your scouter had, so we can basically do anything we could on Earth while confined to a house."
Disappointing, but we'd only started 'trial' dating like an hour ago now. No need to rush things and ruin it. After all, Bulma wants to trade up from the type of shitty boyfriend Yamcha was. "Works for me," I shrugged standing up, "Let's make some food and watch a movie."
She smiled at me, "Well, alright then let's give it a try," Bulma replied standing up herself, "We can lay down on the bed to watch it and even cuddle if you want." she raised her eyebrow at me, though I don't know why.
"Sounds good to me." I smiled genuinely. Cuddling with a hottie like her? Sign me the fuck up.