Asia and Tamari (36.2)

Game

Thoughts

"Talking"

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"Arrival will occur in ten minutes," A robotic voice rang out from Gray's Saiyan pod, and he blinked his eyes rapidly as he opened them. 

Already? Did I sleep for that long?

He had been purposefully exhausted so that he would sleep through the majority of his boring trip back to Planet Vegeta, but to sleep through all of it?

I guess I was more exhausted than I thought. I might've gone a little too hard on the training.

Despite the 'train until your body physically breaks' mindset of most Saiyans, proper rest was still important.

Gray leaned forward, staring out the front glass of his space pod as he readied himself to descend toward Planet Vegeta. As he did, he blinked abruptly.

Am… Am I seeing this wrong?

He reached up, rubbing his eyes with his hands. 

I really went too hard on the training, hah. I almost thought Planet Vegeta looked different for a sec-

Gray blinked, staring out the window at the planet. Notably, it did not look like Planet Vegeta. What should've been a near-blood-red planet was instead a dull, dusty gray one.

That's not Planet Vegeta.

As Gray stared at the rapidly approaching planet, he could only think of one word.

"Fuck."

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Planet Vegeta - Three Days After Gray left for Earth.

"He's definitely going to try some shit," Tamari said bluntly, sitting in a semi-circle with her friends/group.

"Maybe he had a change of heart?" Asia, ever the optimist, suggested.

"If he's anything like his brother… I doubt it," Ochaco chimed in dryly, shifting uncomfortably at the mere mention of Bareth.

"I agree," Raphtalia said simply, nodding along at Ochaco's statement.

"It doesn't matter if he does," Ren said confidently, holding up a fist as his eyes shined with vigor, "I promised Brother Gray I'd protect you all, and I will! Me and brothers will teach him a lesson if he does anything!"

I'm glad he's on our side, but…

"This'll all depend on how strong he's gotten," Tamari said through gritted teeth, "We'll be measured for our initial rankings tomorrow."

Tamari wanted to be able to trust in Ren and his group of brothers, but in all honesty, she wasn't confident. She knew Dareth would target her and Asia while Gray wasn't here.

Hah. I didn't realize how much I was relying on that idiot.

Her relationship with Gray had been weird - it had started off with her protecting to weak boy in Class-F, and then somehow the roles had reversed. She hadn't realized how unsafe she felt now that he was gone.

Ever since that day he had beaten up Dareth, he had been different. She didn't realize it until now, but he had given off this aura of safety. Even when they were on Vargon - when they were facing down squads of recruits that were multiple times stronger than them - she had felt safe. Secure. As if him just being there meant that everything would work out fine.

Now, he was gone, and while she didn't mind Ren, he was a poor replacement for Gray.

"Don't sound so dire, Sister Tamari! Dareth was only ever a little bit tough back in Class-F, remember?" Ren said confidently, grinning at her. 

He's right.

Dareth had been a lot stronger than her back in Class-F, but that didn't mean the boy was particularly powerful. He was towards the top of the class, but he wasn't in the same tier as someone like Ken and his brothers.

"I hope you're right," Tamari sighed, leaning back as she stared up at the ceiling, "I just… have a bad feeling about this."

Hurry up and come back soon, please, Gray.

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Planet Vegeta - Four Days After Gray left for Earth.

"Rank 180: Asia, power level 1,775,250!" 

Tamari frowned as Raki rattled off the initial rankings, openly telling the rest of the Class-C recruits that Asia was in the bottom half.

I wish he wasn't just announcing them out loud to everyone.

Asia had actually become a lot stronger after Vargon - she was leagues above her power level back in Class-F, but it was still near the bottom of Class-C.

We all got a lot stronger.

Tamari had no way of knowing that their large jump in power was due to Gray's party system, and she would never think too deeply about it. She didn't realize that their jump was extraordinary - mainly because they hadn't been the only recruits to experience such a power-up.

While Gray had been the only one to truly fight to near-death on Vargon, and as a result become much stronger, that wasn't true for the rest of the recruits. Any F-Class recruits who managed to survive the exam only did so through pure luck or from experiencing a strength boost of their own.

The Class-C recruits had just been evaluated, and their power levels had been ordered from weakest to strongest. Now, Raki was loudly announcing each rank for everyone to hear.

"Rank 125: Tamari, power level 3,252,900!"

Tamari blinked in surprise, not expecting to hear her name so soon.

I'm this low?!

She had also gotten a lot stronger after Vargon, and her strength now exceeded even the Class-C Saiyans that they had fought on Vargon - who were supposedly rather average within Class-C.

I thought I'd be about as strong as the weaker Class-B recruits, but I'm barely top half in Class-C?

"Rank 80: Yen, power level 5,452,200!"

That should be a top-level Class-B recruit, and yet he's only 80th.

Tamari knew that there would be some steep competition in this class - Celia had warned her that the Vargon test had been harsh for everyone, and that those who survived likely got a huge power boost from it, but she hadn't expected the power boost to be this large.

That was a good sign at least - one of Ren's brothers was decently high up, and it wasn't even the strongest one. His name came out a bit later.

"Rank 25: Ren, power level 9,860,290!"

Nice. He's towards the top, but…

There had notably been two names that Raki hadn't called out yet.

"Rank 15: Bareth, power level 12,820,400!"

Shit.

Bareth was strong - even stronger than Ren.

But, it's fine. With Ren, Yen, and their other brothers, we should be fine. Dareth can't be too much higher.

However, Dareth's name didn't come out of Raki's mouth next. Or after that. Or after that. 

Name after name continued to be called, and Tamari felt a small sense of dread fill her.

No way…

"Finally, our top-ranking recruit! Rank 1: Dareth, power level 52,755,920!"

Tamari's eyes went wide, and she unconsciously took a step back. She wasn't the only one surprised, as Raki himself even seemed shocked as he read out the power level.

How?!

Dareth was strong - he was even stronger than Gray was. 

What the hell happened to him during the exam?!

This was the worst-case scenario. Tamari promptly grabbed Asia's arm, dragging the girl away and ignoring her surprised squeak as she stomped out of the room. She bluntly ignored the way Dareth was staring at her as she did, his eyes boring into her head.

"Fuck, fuck," Tamari gritted out, her hand clenched a little too hard on Asia's arm.

"C-Calm down, Tamari!" Asia squeaked, but it didn't soothe the girl at all.

"This is so fucked. We're so fucked," Tamari bit out, her head and heart pounding as her steps quickened, "Fuck. What do we do? Should we just leave the academy now?"

Everything was ruined, and it was ruined badly. Even if Dareth and Bareth were both stronger than Ren and his brothers, they wouldn't have been able to do anything drastic. After all, the looming threat of Gray coming back would've scared them into behaving.

Now, though? Now that Dareth was stronger than even Gray?

He won't just stop if I bring up Gray. He might actually try to kill us.

"Sister Tamari! Come meet my brothers before you leave!" A voice called out behind her, and Tamari stopped and turned around. Behind her, Ren was walking forward hastily, leading a group of three other muscular boys toward them.

"Ren," Tamari greeted, but her stoney expression didn't change, "This isn't a good time. You just heard how strong Dareth is, right?"

"I did," Ren confirmed, frowning slightly at her words, but then seemed to brush them off, "But don't worry, we'll protect you guys! Come on, brothers! Introduce yourself to Sister Tamari!"

"I'm Yen!" The bulkiest boy answered, his face being square-shaped with a mound of black hair on his head, "Nice to meet you, Sister!"

Tamari had already seen the boy before, but she hadn't met him properly. He was the second strongest after Ren.

"The name's Ten!" The shortest boy said with a grin, though he was still rather tall and muscular despite being smaller than the other three.

"Len," The final boy nodded, his equally square face set in stone as he stared at Tamari with a deathly serious look, "Don't worry about a thing, Sister Tamari! If Dareth tries anything, we'll teach him a lesson!"

"You will?" Tamari froze as another voice spoke from behind the trio of boys. As Yen stepped to the side, turning around to look at the voice, Tamari's hand clenched into a fist.

"Dareth," She muttered, spitting out the word like a curse. The boy looked a lot different from when they were in the same F-Class group. Instead of a skinny body, with only a decent bit of muscle, the boy now looked much more muscular. His frame was also bigger, and he had grown a couple of inches - standing now at close to six feet as opposed to his previous short height.

Dareth was standing in front of the door to the training room, which Tamari, Asia, and the four brothers had just left. He took a step forward, the same usual pretentious look on his face as he approached them.

"Just ignoring me, eh?" Another voice spoke, and Bareth's ugly mug appeared as he peeked out from behind Dareth, taking a step to the side to stand behind him. The boy looked pointedly at Asia, his face making a rather gross expression as he did.

Pig.

"That was quite the claim to make," Dareth hummed, his eyes sharp as he stared directly at Len. He continued walking forward casually, not looking bothered at all by Len's previous words.

"Dareth!" Ren spoke abruptly, taking a step forward and blocking Tamari's vision of him, "I hope you didn't come here to try anything! Brother Gray entrusted me with protecting these two, so I'll have to step in if you try to harm them!"

"You'll step in? You're speaking pretty carelessly for someone so…" Tamari couldn't see what happened next, but a split second later her eyes went wide as Ren was flung backward, his body blitzing past her and barreling into the hallway behind her.

"Weak."

"R-Ren!" She stuttered, spinning around and watching as the boy's body soared through the air, eventually losing height and slamming into the hard floor. He tumbled backward for a moment, his body rolling, and then he stopped - his body completely limp. Tamari's eyes went wide, staring in horror as her friend lay motionlessly on the ground.

Tamari turned back angrily, but froze, her heart starting to pound in her chest as nothing blocked her from Dareth's vision anymore. The boy smirked, an evil look in his eye as he stared at Tamari.

Tamari unconsciously took a step back, her body revolting from the way he was looking at it. It was as if he was a predator staring down his prey.

"Did you think Gray could just humiliate me like that and get away with it?" Dareth asked, his grin growing bigger and turning into a smirk as he stared intently at Tamari, "No, I won't just forget that happened. He humiliated me and took Celia, so it's only fair that I get revenge and do the same, right?"

"And that bastard took my toys!" Bareth whined, an equally evil smirk on his face as he stared intently at Asia, practically drooling as he did, "So it's only right that I take his!"

Tamari's body tensed, her blood feeling cold at their words. Around her, Yen, Len, and Ten all readied themselves for a fight to the death.

Gray… I really wish you were here right now…

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Unknown Planet 

"Where the fuck am I?" Gray asked blandly, looking around the empty planet in front of him.

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Gray Tanaki:

[Saiyan Squad Captain]

Age: 18

Wallet: 4,595,770 Coins

Lvl: 23 (3,922,770/10,000,000 XP)

PL: 3,637,430,200

Available Points: 450

HP: 1,889,950/1,889,950

TKI: 2,582,475/2,582,475

STR: 1525

AGI: 1780

END: 1340

INT: 1415

CHA: 1245

LUK: 795

KI: 1655

HREG: 1176

EREG: 1176

Skills: [Observe LVL 10], [Running LVL 17], [Determination LVL 20], [Ki Control LVL 17], [Ki Gun LVL 14]. [Ki Enhancement LVL 10], [KI Suppression LVL 12], [Ki Sense LVL 9], [Pushup LVL 17], [Punch LVL 17], [Kick LVL 17], [Jump LVL 17], [Flight LVL 9], [Prediction LVL 7], [Zenkai Boost LVL 6], [Cognitive Acceleration LVL 9], [Ah! Lord Freiza! LVL 7], [Mouth-Beam LVL 6], [Ki-Blade LVL 8], [Cooking LVL 10], [Ki Barrage LVL 9], [Ki Explosion LVL 7], [Ki Vision LVL 7], [Attack Boost LVL 1], [Swimming LVL 9]

Perks: [Gamer's Mind], [Gamer's Body], [Double-edged Sword], [Legendary Super Saiyan], [Perfect Ozaru], [A Cute Pawn], [A Humble Master], [Ladies Man]

Fighting Styles: [Boxing Style: Kolra LVL 2], [Fighting Style: Broly LVL 1]

Party: [Saeko, Celia, Asuna, Ranfan]

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AN: Thank you for reading! Posting both parts of the chapters at the same time today because I'm feeling like a chill guy 

As always, you can read a bunch of chapters ahead at Patreon.com/Koyon ! (I've been seeing that some of you are itching for more lemons - well, a full-chapter (two-part) one was recently posted on Patreon, but it's about nine chapters away from public release)