Rumination

Durian is something unlike anything Kami had ever seen and the longer he follows her journey the more he has to scratch his head as more questions fill his mind. He was very well aware of the child being some sort of Saiyan, however, her ki felt so unlike Kakarot it was as if they were not even the same species. At first, he had assumed that it had to do with the human blood flowing through the mixed breed, however, Durian manages to feel completely distinct from the humans as well, giving rise to even more confusion to Kami. It had only been because of King Kai that he learned and understood that both Durian and Kakarot were an alien species. It was concerning when he was told of their dreadful ways and how bloodthirsty the creatures could be, the reason why he kept a very close eye on both of them. For over three centuries he has been the guardian of this earth and before him, there was the Kami of the last generation. He had learned many a thing from the former guardian, told of the many things that had taken place before his guardianship.

One particular thing stuck with him, the one thing that made him pay far more attention to Durian and Kakarot, Durian especially.

Troublesome thing it is and he is getting far too old for this. He's honestly quite tired of this existence, fed up and disappointed in the people he is meant to protect, angry at their selfish ways and their abuse of the gift he had given them. The dragon balls were created to give the people of Earth hope for the future after the wreckage caused by the conflict with King Piccolo's Demon Clan. However, humans are truly weak creatures and succumb to their selfish ambitions, hunting down the dragon balls to grant their voracious wishes instead of using them for the good Kami had hoped. He regrets creating those things sometimes and because of this, he is not fond of Kakarot and Durian endeavoring to make the balls stronger. Though, their desire is not entirely selfish, at least not on Durian's part as she is solely doing this to help her friend.

She's strong and will only get stronger with time, and with her vast knowledge and respectable morals, she would make a good guardian for the earth. Truly, Kami could see something great within, sadly, she's not much of a candidate with a darkened heart. She's in no way evil and what's within cannot even begin to compare to the likes of the evil Piccolo. There is more good than there is bad within the child and spending time with that Saiyan, scientist and the rest of the friends she has made has greatly helped overpower whatever darkness may be within.

There's hope for her yet.

Perhaps he shall indulge them and allow them to approach him.

Perhaps

~~~~~~~~~

Durian has lapsed into silence after the whole tail debacle, the girl sitting on the edge of Korin's housing and overlooking the earth beneath. Her new appendage is now wrapped snugly around her waist after she had become somewhat adjusted to the new muscle and nerves. Her mind is quiet as she watches the earth beneath, feeling an odd sort of tranquility as she falls into a sort of meditation, focusing on everything around her as she allows a moment of mental relaxation. There are things to do, questions she does not have answers to, thoughts that refuse to leave. It becomes overwhelming at times and when this happens it is best she silence everything and cut herself off from the world around her. Too much of her mental marathon would only end in frustration and when she's frustrated she needs it taken out on something and she'd much rather a calm mind.

She can sense a presence above her head, far above from where she sits, a power that can almost match her own, yet something else accompanying it, something she cannot understand. That must be Kami, an easy enough deduction as she's well aware of his whereabouts. He must know they are there and must know that they would seek him. She doesn't think he would be too happy about it, or perhaps he simply does not care. She does not know. Quite fascinating that she's stronger than the God of earth, indicating that the guardian does not necessarily have to be all-powerful to perform their duty.

She wonders what it's like watching over an entire planet. Must be a headache and a half, especially since humans can be such selfish creatures and so easily give in to any hate that may foster.

She would know.

"Durian, are you alright?"

Durian hums to the question, shifting slightly to allow Bulma to join her. For a moment she wants to remark about Bulma being mad at her, but keeps her thoughts to herself. Some other time; she muses.

"No, I'm not" Durian answers with a smile that Bulma cannot understand. "I've said this before, I should really work on fixing that"

But it is a lot easier said than done and now there's this sudden discovery to worry about and all the questions that come with it.

She's a Saiyan, though perhaps not full-blooded

But it really makes her wonder.

Are her parents truly her parents? Was she sent to this earth like Kakarot? If she truly was born here, why has no one told her of this? Did her parents even know? Are they Saiyans as well? How far back does her bloodline go if she were truly born on earth and were her parents were half breeds as well?

And most importantly; will she ever get the answers to these questions?

Durian does not like not knowing things, it is an odd feeling for her when she already knows so much. There is not a thing someone could say to her that she would not be aware of and here she is, completely unaware of her own lineage and her own existence. Her master did not tell her of this, he does not have the answer now and she wishes he were here to give them to her. He would know, wouldn't he? He always knows because knowledge is power and Master Lao was the most powerful of all.

"Life is odd," She says after another moment of silence. "Master always said that, I suppose he was right, which makes sense, he's always right"

Well, no one can be right all the time, but so far, all his words have been true.

"Will you be fine?"Bulma rephrases her question, genuinely concerned for Durian. Learning that she's not human would be something significant to her mentality and could have her questioning everything. And knowing the person Durian is, she won't actually talk, or she'll likely be overly casual about it as some sort of defense, the same way she is with the death of her family. Durian keeps the bad things to herself and has only once spilled most of it to Bulma and the next day it was as if she had not been on the verge of some sort of breakdown. That's not very healthy, at the very least, Bulma didn't think it is.

"With time" Durian shrugs, casual, just as Bulma has come to expect from her. "I mean, I am questioning my entire life, but I'll be fine"

Yeah, she's really not fine, but Bulma won't probe.

"On the bright side, I'm stronger now and that much closer to Kami" Durian smiles more genuinely now. "And Kakarot had always been curious to me with the whole Saiyan thing and now I know I'm one of them, there's so much I can learn"

"Are you just seeing the bright side to find some sort of reprieve from your concerns?" Bulma asks bluntly, earning silence from Durian who looks at her with an incredibly neutral expression before turning her attention back to the world beneath them.

"It appears I am" She admits. "There's not much else to be done when these questions cannot be answered"

It is something Bulma understands as the only people that would have these answers would be her family. Even then, there's no guarantee as they had not informed Durian of her heritage before their passing, so it's likely they too were unaware or did not see the need to inform her.

But there is another option, no?

"You could ask the dragon, or even Kami" Bulma suggests hopefully. "The dragon can grant any wish, so he could give you the answer you want. And since Kami watches over this earth and has been for centuries it could be that he knows what you don't"

"Not the worst idea"

And yet, Durian doesn't seem too enthusiastic.

"I'm sorry, again" Durian suddenly apologizes to a confused Bulma.

"Why exactly are you apologizing?"

"I'm apologizing because you were worried about me" Durian explains. "I put my life at risk without thinking of the people that care for me"

"Yeah that was stupid," Bulma said with no hidden amount of displeasure

"I do stupid things" Durian chuckles. "And I can be very impulsive"

"You don't say" the sarcasm is heavy in Bulma's voice as she regards the now smiling Durian who seems to be feeling a tad bit better.

"I won't do it again," Durian says. "Well, maybe I will, but I'll do my best not to so you don't have to worry about me"

The only thing Bulma understands from those words is that Durian will try her very best to stay alive solely so she does not worry Bulma, which is heartwarming, she'll admit. Though it shouldn't be.

"You being the person you are I doubt there will ever be a time when I'm not concerned" Bulma mutters. Because Durian has gotten herself into near-death situations, twice already, both of which she could have avoided.

"So you admit you care about me?"

Bulma looks at Durian, not at all amused by that smirk on her face or the mischievous glint in her eyes. Durian can be very innocent in her behaviors and questions and actually...she is, but she has made it something of a habit to tease Bulma about her affection since the day she brought up Bulma's possible attraction.

Because why not, right?

"Would you stop?"

"I didn't do anything" Durian defends with her hands up. "Just asking a question"

Bulma glares but Durian's smile does not waver.

She's not mad, Durian knows Bulma's not mad. She's gotten to know her quite well with all the time they spend together and by now she knows when Bulma's angry. She'll pretend to be maybe, appear annoyed even as she's not much of a fan of Durian's teasing. She gets flustered sometimes, not expecting Durian to tease her or say the things she does and such interactions often have Bulma cursing Durian's incredible awareness. Because Durian notices everything, pays attention to everything, remembers everything that is said to her and she always uses said information against her.

"What are you going to do now?" Bulma asks, disregarding Durian's question entirely. "Wasn't this trip completely unplanned"

"It was" Durian sighs and gazes at the sky, avoiding the moon as she does. She did not transform, maybe she cannot, but she'd rather not test this theory. "We'll go home and just wait out the two weeks. I'm sure Kami all mighty has already taken an interest in me so I doubt it'll be long before I'm invited"

Well, that was all speculation and she hopes she's right about the assumption.

~~~~~~~~

Even with my new strength, the gravity chamber is still something I must learn to conquer. Kakarot had followed Bulma and I back to capsule corp and he has fallen in love with the chamber. He's struggling, just as I am, however, since I have been doing this for a while now I'm more or less doing better than him. I had made a calculation of how long it would take for me to get used to this pressure and I have scrapped it after the time I have spent in here. I have a body that grows rapidly, something I had amounted to luck and talent before but now know is because of the Saiyan blood running through me. Kakarot grows rapidly as well, though not as fast as I do and his explanation is simply that half breeds would naturally possess far more potential than a simple Saiyan. I have been training in this room for around two weeks and now I can walk around with a little less effort but am still forced into a hunkered position with the gravity pressure. Now then, if I manage to get used to it enough to stand up straight in the next two weeks, I'll be overjoyed. At the rate things are going it won't be ridiculous to assume it'll take almost a year for me to fully master ten times gravity. I need to be so used to it that it feels like nothing, so used to it that I can walk around as I would outside this room.

There's a loud thud of something hitting metal and I turn to see Kakarot on his knees, groaning as he tries to get up.

"This is amazing" He manages to say through gritted teeth as he stands once more, knees bent and hands clenched as he attempts to take a step.

Usually, I spend around three to five hours in here with breaks in between, but with Kakarot insisting on staying longer, it has already been almost six. I can't just leave him, as he's entirely new to this and if something should happen I should be here to make sure he's okay. Also, Kakarot ignores his body's warnings and would work himself to death if I don't check him. If he lasts for eight hours we're stopping and giving our bodies the rest they deserve. Kakarot should really understand that he can't spend his entire day training, which might be hard, as fighting is the one thing Saiyans love the most.

Good to know I don't have that intense bloodthirst.

I do get a bit excited when someone can either keep up with me or outright beat me, as I had been notably excited fighting Roshi. However, unlike Goku, I won't go out of my way to find someone strong or let an enemy get the time to become stronger than me. That's just suicidal to its maximum.

Kakarot continues his struggle as the hours pass by until it hits the eight-hour mark and I turn off the machine. Kakarot whines about not being able to continue, but I don't let him try to talk me into extending our time in this machine. I grab him when he attempts to turn it on, the boy completely ignoring the fact he can barely walk and I drag him out of my gravity chamber so he can get cleaned up and fed. He'll forget all about his displeasure the minute Panchy places food in front of him. I had told her that Kakarot has a monstrous appetite, and she happily took on the challenge.

"Just a little more, Durian " Kakarot pleads.

"No," I say firmly, holding him tighter when he tries to break out. "Your body needs rest, we can attempt other forms of training"

He grumbles, but obviously cannot be mad about training.

"This tail of mine is a great weakness, so I want to make it stronger," I tell him and watch him brighten up almost immediately. "I'm assuming you have trained yours?"

"Yeah, it's a weakness as much as it is our strength," He says, his tail moving this way and that, displaying his excitement at being asked for help of this nature. He must really be happy to have another Saiyan around, no matter how things came to be this way. "You probably noticed by now that if someone grabs it hard enough you're effectively immobilized"

Sadly, I have become aware of this, twice in the time I have grown this new appendage. First was when I accidentally grabbed it a bit too hard, second time happened when Bulma got curious and she too held it a bit too hard, resulting in a literal paralyzing pain to overtake my body. I have never felt something like that and what's worse it was near impossible to move and I was sure I would fall on my face.

If I won't be getting rid of it, the tail needs to be trained.

"So how would one train a tail?"

"Well, my method was very simple," Kakarot says with a shrug. "Do something long enough and the body will adapt"

Basically, he tortured himself through his tail until it stopped being a literal pain.

Good to know.

"You know, if a Saiyan is beat to an inch of their life and gets the chance to recover, they get a boost of strength," Kakarot says randomly as I throw him a towel. It sounds like nonsense but things suddenly make sense as I watch him walk off towards the bathroom. So this strength after almost dying is something that Saiyans just get? Because I remember feeling a bit stronger after getting my ass handed to me by Master Roshi. And that was definitely a near-death experience.

Oh wow.

I guess now I shouldn't be surprised if Kakarot lets me beat him to an inch of his life. I do have some senzu so he can recover instantly and enjoy his boost.

Odd creatures, these Saiyans.

~~~~~~~~~~

Since Kakarot came to capsule corp, Durian has been training for more than usual. Understandable seeing as Kakarot loves to train and fight her and she herself would not turn down the chance to get some sort of training in. Her five hours turn to eight and her time in the lab dwindles as Kakarot constantly comes to get her. Sometimes Bulma would just sit out in the yard and watch them go at it, still amazed by the strength those two hold and marveling at the things they are capable of. They fight with these energy spheres Durian had explained to Bulma. She went so far as to make an entire chart detailing everything about ki and how it works to the point Bulma understands it as well as she would the things she does. It is still weird to see them throwing around energy spheres and seeing the destruction they can cause if they're not careful. Kakarot is bleeding excessively with this bloody grin on his face while Durian is almost completely unscathed. From what Bulma understands, Durian is maybe twice as strong as Kakarot, making her someone Kakarot cannot easily beat, if at all. He hasn't won a round so far. It just looks that he keeps taking a beating but Durian has told her that he comes back stronger and faster each time and she's loving it almost as much as him. Soon he'll be able to match her and she'll have a worthy opponent. She cannot grow fighting someone weaker, so she wants to make him stronger so they can both benefit from each other.

It's been almost five days of their training, Bulma has gotten used to it and memorized their schedule by now to know when to have Panchy make them food or when to have their towels hanging on the bathroom doors.

Kakarot falls as he often does, panting as he rests on the ground until Durian offers him one of the beans she had gotten from Korin. She hardly uses them as she only has around ten to fifteen of them, and so far she has used only two, both of them for Kakarot. She's also trying to farm them herself as she has been told they need magic to flourish. So far she has no luck as she isn't very skilled in the use of her magic, only using one ability that came far easier than anything else.

"Okay?" Durian asks once Kakarot stands up and does a stretch.

"Yeah" He smiles and continues his stretches." Has it been an hour and a half already?"

"An hour and forty-five actually," Durian says with an eye roll. "I indulged you this time"

Kakarot grins.

"You two done?" Bulma calls from her place a good distance away.

"Yeah!"

"Good" Because she has been needing Durian's help in the lab for some time now and ended up watching her fight instead of requesting her aid.

Durian is quick to approach and wordlessly knows to head to the lab. After training it's straight to the lab because Durian is Durian and she loves the lab. She has been working on that hoverboard she had stored away, making improvements and adjustments to make it that much better

Kakarot follows and separates at the smell of food, quickly directing his attention to the feast Panchy has laid out for him and quickly forgetting that he wanted to help with the heavy lifting in the lab.

Apparently, the senzu has no effect on his hunger. Either that or he has forgotten that he's full for the moment.

Durian smells food as well and almost leaves to fill her stomach until Bulma offers her a protein bar to distract her for the moment.

"Do you think we can make a protein bar capable of satiating a Saiyan's hunger?" Durian suddenly wonders as she eats her snack. "Or at least fill someone for a while, like the senzu"

"Will you let me study the senzu for me to attempt it?" Bulma asks in turn and happily receives a small bean as answer.

"Would be a fun experiment" Durian muses. "And helpful so we don't need to have a feast each time Goku's hungry"

"You really think he'd have one protein bar over actual food?" Bulma asks with full skepticism

"Good point"