The search

Dragon balls, time to find the dragon balls, it's an adventure for the dragon balls.

A catchy little tune that has been stuck in my head since we set out. I blame it on Kakarot as he had been rather excited to retrieve the four-star ball to return it to his grandfather after our little escapade. Finding the orbs shouldn't be much of an issue between the two of us, even with Bulma tagging along. I had asked Chichi and the rest if they would be interested in the task, but they apparently passed it up for something else. Chichi returned to frypan mountain to see her father and would be staying with him for a month or two. Krillin and Yamcha on the other hand seem oddly motivated to catch up to Kakarot and I and wish to spend this time training. I could offer them the gravity room, but I'm not sure if they'll survive as they are now. When they're stronger I'll let them join Kakarot and I in that machine.

My adventure with the dragon ball had been rather short-lived the last time, so this time around I would enjoy the search for all seven. It is exciting as I had attempted to find them so many years ago. Without the radar and had I not given up I'm sure I would still be searching to this day. Perhaps that is the point of the creations. They're so small and such a small number of them scattered across the world, it must be for some reason, no? Well, it would be logical to assume the power of wish-granting orbs to be something to use for long periods of time. I imagine it would take a whole lifetime to find them without the aid of some sort of radar, maybe even longer than that. It would feel gratifying to finally meet the dragon after dedicating your life to finding these things.

"We're getting closer" Bulma remarks as we fly over an expanse of mountains and trees, the radar beeping as it did its job. "It must be somewhere down there"

At the news Kakarot flies a bit closer to us, leaning over to glimpse at the radar before looking to the ground curiously. I watch him fly around us on his nimbus, a bit jealous of him and his cloud. It looks so fun to ride around on that thing and I'm sure it's incredibly soft. Not to mention how fast it is as well as the adorable sounds nimbus makes. That put-put always puts a smile on my face. I'm not sure if the cloud is sentient or not as it acts like a friendly pet that appears to like me a bit. It flies right into sometimes, passing through me and engulfing me in an incredible softness.

It felt nice

"Okay, it should be right down there" We come to a stop over a more clearer area littered with scattered rocks and trees. The radar shows that we are right above the dragon ball, even more so when Bulma zooms in closer.

"And so it begins" I muse when I'm handed the radar. It's easy enough to climb out of my seat of the flying car, easier still to maneuver my way onto the front of the car to gaze down on the terrain in front of us. There's a pair of men doing who knows what down there and for a moment the thought crosses my mind. Could they be searching for the dragon balls? Really goes to show how many people have heard of these things, doesn't it?

"Let's go Kakarot"

With that, I step off the car and begin a free fall to our destination. Falling in this manner felt far better than it should as the wind rushed against my face and body. Flying would be such an amazing thing. Is that possible?

Perhaps.

I break my fall in a tree, grabbing onto a strong branch before dropping down to the ground, earning the attention of the two men that are in the area.

They have guns, good to know.

Now on the ground, I check the radar once more, pointing Kakarot in the direction the radar indicates, the boy is far closer to the orb than I am. He rummages through a bush between two rocks, reaching in with one hand while remaining on his cloud. He grins after a moment, pulling his hand out to reveal our glass ball with content.

That's one down.

"That was easy" Kakarot chuckles as he tosses the ball at me. "This could be a shorter journey"

"Still an adventure"

"A dragon ball!?" The two men shout, alerting us to their presence once more. Kakarot quirks a brow as he looks at them, eyeing them before looking at me with a question in his eyes.

I'm quick to store the ball away in my pouch, not sure if I can trust these men, especially since they both have weapons.

"Hey, hand over the ball! "The human of the two shouts at me with his weapon aimed in my direction. Kakarot hops off his cloud, his movements earning him a gun in his direction as well and the boy simply faces the animal hybrid with a rather calm expression.

"So, you're threatening me with a weapon" I point out, not moving from where I stand as this man seems trigger happy. "Over a ball"

"Just hand it over!" He insists, approaching me now. "Or I'll blast you into the afterlife"

"Durian"

A look is all it takes before we're on them. They're too slow to react and their guns fall to the ground within an instant, both shocked and unable to do much before we've knocked them out with a single chop to a pressure point. They fall like their weapons, unmoving as we tower over them.

"Someone else is looking for the dragon balls" Kakarot voices the situation as he crouches before one of the men, rolling him over to get a good luck at him.

"And they're hostile" I add, slightly nudging the other and noting the red cloth wrapped around his arm as well as the RR written onto it.

RR?

"What does RR stand for?" Kakarot asks as he hops back onto his nimbus and flies overhead, outstretching his hand to me.

I take his hand with a sigh, eyes not leaving the fallen men as I'm lifted off the ground and brought back to join Bulma in her car.

"I'm glad I didn't go down there" Are the first words Bulma says to us when we return, sighing in relief at having avoided the dangerous situation.

RR

"RR stands for Red Ribbon, right?" I ask Bulma who looks at me in utter surprise. "I'll take that as a yes"

"Those were Red Ribbon soldiers?"

"Seems so"

I return the dragon radar to her, leaning out the side of the car to look down to where we left the men, only to see another appearing and panicking at his fallen comrades. It doesn't take long for him to see us up here and he runs back to where he came from in hurried steps, almost falling in his frenzy.

We fly off after Bulma locates the next dragon ball and I'm still watching out the side of the car, a feeling in the back of my head that only gets worse once I see a camp, especially when a redheaded man runs out with a literal rocket launcher aimed right at us.

Quickly, I gather ki in the palm of my hand, the attack manifesting far faster than it ever has before. With all my control training, I'm very happy to see that it has paid off.

I fire my attack quickly, not wanting him to get a chance to shoot at us or cause any unnecessary damage to Bulma's car or possibly the nimbus. I don't aim for him, merely for the ground at his side, which explodes when my attack impacts the sand, sending the man tumbling to the ground, his launcher falling away from his grasp and successfully giving us enough time to get away.

"This journey of ours is starting off far more dangerous than the last search" Bulma mumbles as she speeds up, eager to get as far away as possible from the red ribbon camp.

I can't help but agree with her. From what I've been told, the worst they had to face was that little Pilaf guy, who wasn't even a challenge. Now, however, we seem to have made an enemy of an entire army. And not just any army, the red ribbon army. I don't know much about them but I do know that they have some destructive weapons in their hands, dangerous things to be in the possession of people such as them.

"I always wanted to take out an army," Kakarot says far too casually as he rests against his cloud. I look at him as he eats his apple, watching me in turn with a single brow raised.

"You talk as if it would be that easy" Are the scolding words of Bulma who scoffs when Kakarot merely shrugs.

"Well, if they're all as weak as the men we had run into, then yeah," I say with a shrug. "Kakarot and I combined can handle it, no problem"

"Durian could handle it alone, I'll bet," Kakarot says

"Perhaps"

~~~~~~~~

Whether Kakarot was serious or not about fighting an army, we were left no choice as we flew above jingle village. Kakarot was left to marvel at the cold weather and the snow that falls from the sky, having never experienced winter before in his life. It was amusing to watch him try to gather as many flakes as he could, and he was quite adorable in his disappointment when they melted almost as soon as they came into contact with his warm skin. Bulma wasn't as excited as Kakarot, as she is not much of a fan of the cold and had me take over driving while she finds herself something warm to wear.

Our trip across this village would have been pleasant if we did not notice the massive tower situated near the edge of the town. Ignoring it was never an option as soldiers surrounding the building took note of us and quickly decided it was best to shoot us out of the air. I'm assuming that red-headed soldier had reported us to the army so they would be on the lookout for a group of three kids.

There really was no need for that.

And this is a brand new car that I worked on with the old man. At least it was until they emptied their weapons into the machine and likely damaged the engine because Bulma lost control of the vehicle soon enough and we were plummeting rapidly.

Seriously.

I'm quick to gather everything we would need before taking Bulma as well and jumping out of our failed car. It seems we'll have to take care of this before we can be on our way. Luckily I have no issue with this as I'm well aware of all the golden hearts that run the red ribbon army.

Looks like I'm back to picking fights.

Bulma for her part is completely terrified when I jump out of the car and holds onto me like her life depends on it - which is true in this case.

Kakarot is on the ground before me, already repelling bullets with his power pole and approaching without a care in the world.

"This is a terrible situation" I have to say once I land in the snow, my feet sinking inches into the ground and sending a chill up my body. "You could get hurt"

"You just said I'd be safe with you" Bulma nearly shouts in her concern.

"I did say that" I recall as I gently set her down next to me and watch Kakarot handle the last of the soldiers. "I could send you back to West City, but I'm not sure if you'll run into any soldiers on the way"

"Durian, come on!" Kakarot calls from atop the tower.

Bulma has no time to offer her opinion on the matter before she's in my arms again and I'm dashing at full speed to build enough momentum for my jump. Perhaps I should warn her before I do these things as I'm sure I can feel her heart beating against my own chest when I pull off the jump, landing softly next to Kakarot, who nods in approval.

"Are you crazy?!" Bulma punched me in the chest, as she usually does. "This is dangerous"

"Well, I can't very much send you back on your own, so it's best you stay with us" I explain, because sending her back when she's known to the army is surely a terrible idea.

"You'll be fine," says Kakarot with utmost confidence. "We won't let anything happen to you"

"Not a single hair on your head will be out of place" I reassure

~~~~~~~~~

Muscle tower is the name of this castle as one general White had informed through a broadcasting system throughout the structure. And the tower has multiple levels leading to the top, where he will be found, which essentially makes this somewhat of a game. I do remember playing a video game of this nature and wonder if they could have simply built this place in the image of that one game. Wouldn't be the most absurd thing. Level one had been skipped as Kakarot and I placed ourselves onto Level two. Level two turns out to be filled with soldiers who seem more than happy to fight us, believing us to be nothing but a group of dumb kids who have a death wish.

That is quickly proven to be entirely false not three minutes later when Kakarot and I easily take these men down, despite their guns and knives and whatever else they had as weapons. And as promised, nothing had happened to Bulma, not one man even got within three meters of her before they were taken down in an instant.

With level two handled, it's off to level three.

Level three holds a single man, though he's massive in stature.

"Welcome," the big man greets us as he stands from his equally big chair.

Seeing him, Bulma quickly moves behind me, knowing very well that this can get out of hand rather quickly

"The stairs to go up are right over there," Says the man, his voice filling the entire room as he speaks. He points to his right, where there are indeed a set of stairs leading upwards. "But unless you can beat me, you won't be able to go up them"

I can't sense anything from him and Kakarot must have the same issue from the way he's looking at him like some anomaly. Technically speaking, he is an anomaly if his ki can't be sensed. No matter how much a person suppresses their power, it can still be sensed as no one can drop it to nonexistence. Such a thing is truly an impossibility, so I cannot understand how we can sense nothing at all from this giant of a man.

"Let's do it then" Kakarot challenges the man after placing his power pole on his back.

If Kakarot distracts this guy, I could attempt to go up those stairs, couldn't I?

Yes, I could.

I once again find myself grabbing Bulma like a sack of potatoes and making a mad dash for the stairs, swiftly jumping over the massive arm that attempts to stop me and ducking just as Kakarot flies over my head to send the giant flying with a kick.

"I'll handle the next floor!"

"I'll be there soon!"

Running up the stairs we come out into a completely different-looking room. I come to stand on grass, the room mimicking a small and peaceful clearing bordered by trees and the likes. In the middle of it all is a Japanese-styled cabin, with the koi pond and all.

"Are we ou-"

I had already deduced that there was someone - multiple someones - else here from the ki signature some distance away, so when kunais are aimed at us I'm quick to react, jumping into a tree to avoid the multiple stab wounds that such a thing would result in.

"I regret coming with you two" Bulma whines when I set her down for a moment, cautious as I duck low on our branch and search for our attacker. They're sneaky, that's for sure, but I can still sense them.

"How cruel of you to abandon your comrade" a voice echoes throughout the room, this one different to general White. "Do you really think he'll be making it out alive?"

Cocky one we have here.

"Though I could say you coming up here is far worse than facing General Metallitron" the voice continues, bouncing off the walls of this place in a way that makes it hard to pinpoint the enemy's exact location.

Smart.

"Not only has there been no one who has ever defeated me, there is no one who has been able to see me face to face" the man boasts from his hiding spot.

He's basically saying that he fights like a coward.

"Stay here," I tell Bulma as I leap out of the tree, having already pinpointed my enemy through his ki signature alone. I'm more than happy to break this winning streak he apparently has.

The second my feet touch down onto a rock, shurikens are heading my way, ones I avoid as quickly as I had the last attempt, only to be assaulted with another group of sharp objects. I see this man fancies himself a ninja then.

Dodging for the fourth time has me snatching one of his weapons out of the air and sending it right back at him, fully intending to harm him in one way or another.

I know I've hit my target when there's a shout of pain, followed by a man falling out from behind some bushes. There's blood between his fingers where he clutches his shoulder and a pained glare aimed at me.

"That was quite the lucky shot" he manages to sound just as cocky as before, despite there being a kunai deep in his shoulder.

Lucky shot?

"You think that was a lucky shot?" I wonder as I grab another one of his discarded weapons and smile at him. Its been a while since I enjoyed throwing things, wouldn't mind picking up the childhood practice again "That was no lucky shot, I knew exactly where you were"

"You liar!" He shouts like some child, his face red and steadily losing color from the blood he's letting slip through his fingers. "There's no way a novice like you would be able to see me!"

I didn't even need to see you

"Let's try this aga-"

I don't let him finish as I rush him and introduce his face to my knee before he can fully register my movements. I'm sure I've broken his nose and opened up his skull when he flies back and his head hit a stone with a very obvious and very painful resounding crack.

He's still alive though, just unconscious and may remain that way for a few days at most.

I don't know what he thought was going to happen, but I'm not one to play around with my enemies, so he was severely unlucky to have run into me.

The same goes for whoever else is in here. I can sense about four others scattered about the room and from the way they're moving I'm assuming the sudden knockout of their ally came as a surprise. The ki signature all seem to resemble each other, though, so perhaps this guy works with his family or something.

"I sure got myself quite the adventure, don't I?"

~~~~~~~~

Bulma barely held in a scream when a kunai zips past her head, the speed with which the thing had been thrown pushing a noticeable wind against her cheek. It was a frightening thing as she scrambled away from the spot, eyes wide as a man that looks exactly like the one Durian had knocked out tumbles off the branch behind her, blood trailing after him from where the weapon his embedded itself in his stomach. When Bulma turns to Durian again, the girl is right in front of her, surprising Bulma to the point she flails and almost falls out of the tree, only saved by Durian grabbing her last minute.

"You're alright?" Durian asks, making sure Bulma doesn't lose her balance once more. She's looking away a moment after the question is asked, eyes darting to their left for a moment.

"That thing could have hit me" Bulma grazes her cheek completely in disbelief at how she's unscathed at the moment.

"Never," Durian says firmly. "I wouldn't have pulled that stunt if there was a chance of hurting you, bunny"

Durian is very confident in her aim if her words are anything to go by. She stands once she's sure Bulma won't plummet out of the tree and is gone in the blink of an eye, leaving Bulma by her lonesome once more.

As suddenly as she had disappeared, she reappears in the middle of the clearing, a sword stopped between her palms and a familiar ninja trying to force the weapon through her grip. Bulma has to glance down to make sure the ninja is still passed out beneath her and he is. The other is also still knocked out further down against a rock, which must mean these guys are siblings, and identical.

"Damn you!" A curse as another appears with his sword aimed at the already occupied Durian, who has her back turned to him.

Matters little when Durian, in a flash, twist her entire body, showing off her strength as she forces her opponent to turn with her through gripping the sword tighter. She grins even as she kicks the man in the gut, sending him straight into his sibling who stumbles to avoid impaling his brother.

"Quintuplets, I see," Says a casual Durian as she plants the sword in the ground and sidesteps another attempt from behind, elbowing the stumbling man before kicking another into a tree. The last is down before he could even attempt to gather his throwing weapons, falling to his knees when durian hits him in the gut. Bulma winces when the man empties his stomach onto the ground as a result of the hit, even more so when he falls right into the contents "I see now why that one boasted about his victories"

Single hits are all it takes to defeat them and Durian stands in the middle of the unconscious men, observing the sword she had taken from one of them.

If she had been in search of a fun fight she might have pulled her punches a bit more, held back the force as to keep them conscious. Sadly, she's not the type to play with her opponents, at least, not when it's a serious situation. The chances of them targeting Bulma in an attempt to beat her were high, and as such, she had to handle it quickly.

Now, if Bulma were not present, then perhaps she would have drawn it out to see what these guys could actually do as they were not much of a threat separate or combined.