Discovery (Open)

[Deleted]

A flock of majestic and oddly colored birds burst through the tree line, shortly followed by the young, shirtless boy. Blue eyes, blond hair, and what was a reasonably toned body bore the resemblance of a certain someone, but for Ritoru, this was just another day.

Catching one of the large birds by its back tail feather, the bird had no choice but to plummet to the ground, taking Ritoru with it. Swishing through the tree's the bird finally found itself face first in the dirt, however ritoru was no where to be found.

"Sq...sq...sqawk?"

The bird said confused and disoriented from its fall. Looking around briefly for the boy who had startled them so, only to find that he had disappeared. This however was short lived as the young boy leapt out of a nearby tree, fake tribal paint over his face yelling.

"Now I have you!"

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Hours later around a small fire, Ritoru ate his spoils. The four year old had finally become accustomed to his new lifestyle. At the orphanage food came to him without so much of a cry, but out here he had to fend for himself, and that was fine, nothing wrong with a little work. But for Ritoru it wasnt work, this was the best adventure he had ever been on. He had met new friends, said sad goodbyes to a few, and always had a hearty meal at the end of the day.

But something was missing. It was lonely out in the wilderness, sitting around the fire as the smoke rose up into the sunset, Ritoru was reminded of the other children at the orphanage, and how much he missed the socializing. I suppose not everyone is meant to have a friend...

[Nam Reikonaga]

Anytime now… he thought, observing the oddly passive Yunzabit Heights. How many times has he been through here? It only made sense. This was probably the most lonesome place he could find –that is, except for the Frozen Tundra, but that place was too cold and unnecessary. He was still wearing that leather black cloak; his identity hidden within the shadows of his hood.



The sun was setting. But Nam felt too restless to just hide in some cave and take a nap. The five years of peace were up and everything was quiet –even the non-forgiving winds of these plateaus were silent. It was an eerie and strange feeling. “Anytime now…” he repeated, so he could hear himself admitting to it. Anytime now, Geurin would make a move. In fact, the reality that he hasn’t detected any actions worried him. When will it begin? How will it begin? Maybe it already began? Maybe… Nam was being watched…

[Deleted]

The nightmares, they were happening again. It seemed as if every night a new terrifying dream was breaching Ru's reality. His ability to tell the difference was frayed, much like any four year old, he was not able to tell the difference. He had fallen asleep infront of the fire that was now a small bit of embers burning down the last of the twigs. He had begun to sweat as the dream intensified.

"YAKEDO!!!!"


The brunette man yelled as his energy broke the barrier, countering the massive bright sun that appeared to be falling into the Earth. Ru did not understand the word, Yakedo. It sounded funny, and foreign. Perhaps the brunette man was not from this area, or perhaps he had mispronounced something. Either way he could not over analyze the dream as the ball exploded in a light of red and purple.

The light was so intense that it did wake Ritoru up. Shooting up from where he was at the boy sat up breathing heavily. Looking around to make sure everything was as it should be he let out a sigh and stood up, walking over to the tree line, pulling up his shirt, down his pants, and doing his business. Nightmares always made him want to pee. As the urine trickled out onto the bush a shiver ran down Ru's spine. Looking around, the blue eyed child felt that something, or someone was there.

Pulling his pants back up quickly, and tying the rope that was acting as a belt, he quickly jumped up into the tree he had just violated. Making his way to the top of the tree line, jumping from branch to branch Ru found himself gazing out on the Yunzabit area, it was beautiful in an eerie way, but what was more interesting was the hooded figure gazing on the landscape just a few tree's over.

Occupied in thought Nam would not notice the young by shimmying over the branches to the tree he was on, and finally tapping him on the shoulder casually saying.

"Hiya! Watcha doing out here!?"

He said with a big smile, it had been far to long since he had seen another person, and this was his opportunity to meet someone new.

[Nam Reikonaga]

"Hiya! Watcha doing out here!?"

From the first syllable, Nam’s eyes shot wide open, nostrils flared and his image immediately vanished out of thin air. He was standing behind the being that had crept up to him. His hands were charged with energy he gathered within an instant, he only needed to manifest the yellow hue over his palms and toss it at the creature. But to his surprise, it was only a child. Nam let out a large sigh of relief, his eyes softening towards the kid. If he had acted any sooner, he’d have the death of an innocent child on his hands. What grief it’d bring to this saiyan to have the blood of this kid in his hands. The energy gradually faded as his body relaxed.

He idly watched the back of his head, observing the blond strides of hair. The child was probably confused beyond repair, wondering where the hooded man had disappeared to. But Nam was as freaked out as the little guy. He had been in deep thought, so deep he couldn’t sense him coming. Good thing it was him and not something else though. This experience also made him realize how the life of a refugee and nomad had changed him. He was forced to live on his toes and not being able to trust everyone he meets. But he hadn’t changed so much as to not leisurely speak to a child.

“Hi there…” he finally spoke. His voice was low and monotonous. “What’s your name?”

Nam’s hood stood out longer than most would and therefore it practically hung over half his face, keeping him completely submerged under his shadows and the safety and comfort of his anonymity. Keeping his identity from the child was more for his sake rather than his own. If the kid were to see his own, he’d be in danger of interrogations –or something worse. Nam still didn’t know what boundaries Geurin was willing to cross and he didn’t want to find out. From afar, under the starry sky, Nam almost seemed completely camouflaged with the darkness surrounding the plains, and the shadow cast before him by a nearby tree only helped further mask his presence.

[Deleted]

Poof, and the man was gone. There was no following his movements, just poof. The Ru turned is head slightly to the right, his lips curling a little bit.

darn

He pouted in his mind. He had finally met a new friend, and had scared it off before catching its name, and unlike the other animals in the woods, this one was too fast for him. The bright light behind him however changed his tune. The boy smiled turning around. He would have said something but as he opened his eyes he came face to face with a large concentrated yellow energy. Swallowing slightly there was an awkward pause as the boy stared at the deadly energy.

After a few moments the stranger deactivated the power, and in a seemingly relieved, and confused voice asked for the boys name. Without a moments rest Ritoru smiled and answered.

"My name is Ritoru! But my friends call me Ru for short... You can be my friend"

He said with a bright toothless smile. It was an interesting juxtaposition, the boy was missing one tooth on the left side of his mouth, and the rest were all baby teeth. Ru put his hand out to shake the warriors extended hand, the one that seconds earlier had nearly killed the boy. His hand was much smaller than Nam's of course the age difference only intensified the situation, as Nam had never been forced into interaction with a child. For that matter Ru did not often see adults.

[Nam Reikonaga]

Nam stared surprisingly at the child as he shook his gloved hand. He reminded him of Iau, except he seemed a bit younger and therefore more benighted. Nam was seconds away from erasing him off the face of the earth, yet he called him a friend without even knowing his name first. He either, was unaware of energy or simply didn’t care.

Pressing to other matters, Nam was in the middle of nowhere with a kid called Ritoru standing over a branch and his parents nowhere in sight. He reminded Nam of someone, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. He couldn’t help but smile as Ritoru bared his baby teeth. “Nice to meet you, Ru.” Nam replied. “What are you doing all the way out here?”

While he entertained the kid with conversation, he began to ponder on what he should do. He couldn’t just leave the kid here now that he found him. –or, that actually depended on what Ritoru answered. Maybe he was camping out with his family and for some reason he’s alone at the moment, this late at night? No… He probably got lost, but it wouldn’t take long to find his parents.

[Deleted]

Ritoru did not let go of the man's hand, pulling it closer to him and looking at the gloves he began to giggle, not bothering to explain the laughter but moving on to answer Nam's question.

"Im an explorer!"

He said with an adventurous smile, finally letting go of Nam's hand and then jumping up to the branch just above them, hanging from it.

"I twavel the world beating up bad guys and saving people!"

He said making little fake kicks off of the branch towards nam, his legs to short to reach him. Ru was actually a skilled fighter, for literally no reason. He never had formal training, and he had never actually fought someone of any consequence, but naturally he had always been capable of kicking butt. Of course he had no control of his power level, and so Nam would only be able to sense a power-level of about 5, the average for an adult human.

[Nam Reikonaga]

An explorer? Great, a lost child. He thought. Nam watched amusingly as Ritoru started demonstrating his ‘skills’. The branches shook with the vigorous movements and leaves glided to the ground. The moon was smiling tonight and the sky was cloudless with uncountable stars spread throughout the entire sky. Then, something his mind had continued to ignore kept wagging behind the little boy. Nam’s eyes widened. A saiyan? He thought.

Thinking about it, Ritoru’s power seemed a bit off for a normal human child. He was either a half-saiyan or labeled a ‘low-class’ and dumped on earth. He took a closer look at the kid. Blond hair… Nope, this was a half-saiyan, definitely. Nam sighed. Now he really got involved. A war was about to take place and this kid was born at the wrong place, at the wrong time, and in the wrong race. His eyes softened. “Poor guy,” he murmured.

“Hey, what’s with your tail?” he asked, unsure whether he was too blunt about it. Nam needed to know how much this kid knew about his heritage. He needed to know whether Ritoru knew what that tail meant –and then, he needed to find a way to get rid of that tail, so the child can live a normal life. The problem was, the tail would regrow and continue to regrow until he reached a certain age. Nam’s tail hadn’t grown back ever since he cut it off five years ago.

[Deleted]

Ritoru couldnt make out what Nam had said first, it wasnt important, he was so focused on beating up the invisible bad guy that he would not pause until Nam asked about his tail.

"Wadda you mean?"

He said, his tail wrapping around the tree branch, allowing him to let go of the branch with his hands, and hang their infront of Nam. Turning his head to the left pondering Nam's question before finally responding...

"Oh, because its brown and my hair isnt, well I dunno, but my hair is a little brown underneath"

He said digging through the hair on his head revealing brown roots. He had completely missed the intention of the question, and had answered Nam the way he had thought he should. Shrugging that off he looked up at Nam again saying

"My turn! Why are you wearing all that?"

He said looking back at the gloves and giggling again.

[Nam Reikonaga]

Ritoru’s response only made Nam conclude that he was completely oblivious about his saiyan heritage. He feigned interest as the young boy proceeded on demonstrating the brown roots in his hair. But how could he not know, at least, that he’s not like the rest? He acted as if nobody ever asked him about his extra limb. An eerie silence overcame their conversation when Ritoru asked about his clothing. Nam pondered how he should answer.

“It’s cool…” he finally said almost after what seemed like a full minute. He chuckled, laughing at his own ‘excuse’. He couldn’t help it. Nam then began to wonder which side of his family was the saiyan. Was he living with his mother, or father? Assuming the saiyan of the family abandoned him just like Nam’s father. But this was probably a touchy subject and he thought about it at least ten time before opening his mouth.

“Are you… alone?” he asked, his monotonous voice changed into one of worry and curiosity.

[Deleted]

Now climbing the limb upside down, imitating a nearby chameleon, his curiosity towards the extravagant wear that Nam was sporting faded, and a new question was asked, was he alone.

"No silly I'm with you!"

He said following the chameleon down the branch until the branch could no longer support his weight and began to bend, Ru then dropped off, landing behind where nam was at, and practicing his balancing act all the way down to the tip of the branch.

"So are you after the bad guys too"

He casually asked, continueing to entertain himself throughout the conversation.

[Nam Reikonaga]

Of course… Nam thought, lowering his head into his right palm. The kid was either a joker or extremely innocent.

“Yes,” Nam simply responded, turning to better watch the young boy. He crouched beside him, gulping at what he was about to say. He needed a clear answer and the boy’s last reply just wasn’t enough. He kept wondering whether he was doing the right thing or not. What would he do once he found out? Certainly, Nam couldn’t just let the kid fend for himself, especially not with that tail sticking out like a sore thumb.

If Geurin were to find him, knowing the green bastard, he’d probably try to raise the kid as one of his own and teach it countless lies about the world around them, twisting it every way possible. Being a saiyan, the child had great potential and Geurin would take advantage –otherwise, he’d probably dispose of the kid before he became a threat. Then again, if he was that type of villain, wouldn’t he have killed Nam beforehand? Maybe he was being cocky by allowing Nam’s escape. Maybe he was hoping Nam would change his mind. Perhaps Tenshou’s Will forced him to show restraint. The more he thought about it, the more he realized he truly didn’t know who Geurin was. All he knew were the stories and his goals, but not how he thought.

“Say…” he started, after long minutes silently staring at the boy. Ritoru might’ve started to feel uncomfortable with the eerie silence while the cloaked man just stood there, croaching and observing. “Where are your parents?”

There, he finally said it. Nam braced himself for he might’ve just set the trigger for a series of unfortunate events; awakening the deep sorrow within a child too young for such negative emotions.

[Deleted]

"I don't have parents"

He said just as casually as he had the other questions. Ru really did not have any problem with Nam, the long silence, the questions, or anything of the like. His only focus was on absorbing as much time with this person as possible, and actually Nam had just placed a bit of worry in Ru's head. If he wanted to know where his parents were, maybe he didnt want to hang out with Ru anymore. Maybe he was trying to get rid of him, so Ru had to test this.

"Race you to the lake!"

He said pushing of the branch and getting a sizeable head start. Of course Nam was faster, that was proven within the first few seconds of knowing each other, but Ru was fast for his age, so much so that his power finally became obvious to Nam, because Ru could not control his power, it all came to the surface, nearly 10k in power level burst out of him as his tiny legs hit the ground and sprinted to the water. The tree's parting ways as the wind followed the child. Ru was testing to see if Nam really wanted to play, if he didnt follow Ru would leave him alone, but he suspected that Nam did in fact want to play.

Because really, who wouldnt?

[Nam Reikonaga]

Nam closed his eyes in sympathy. He’s alone, completely alone. At lease Nam had a mother to take good care of him, but Ritoru had nobody at all. For a moment, Nam felt he should take Ru with him, but was it right of him to do so? He wouldn’t want him to get involved this upcoming war. The next thing Nam would do was obvious. He needed to apologize for bringing up the memory.

“I’m so-“ he began, but Ritoru quickly interrupted.

"Race you to the lake!" he said, soon rushing off at incredible speeds before Nam could even respond.

The wind drawn with him was so powerful it nearly tipped his hood off. Nam pressed his hand over his head to keep it on and gawked in amazement. The energy emitting from him sky rocketed in only seconds as he dashed off into the horizon. “He’s…” incredible, he wanted to say. But he couldn’t finish the sentence. Not even he was that strong when he was young. In fact, he was probably slower than Ritoru back when he was joining Kikoukenjutsu, before he met Meishi, before Kami –before everything. It was only then when he started to hone his skills and truly became strong.

Nam suddenly began to play with the idea of raising Ritoru to his side. What? He wrenched the thought away. How could he even think about that? Sure, with proper training, Ritoru could possibly become the strongest person he ever knew. But how could he possibly think about taking advantage and using the kid as a weapon? Nam was ashamed of himself. The kid was pure and innocent and he would not ruin that innocence. Except… if he didn’t, someone else would…

Nam reached a dilemma. He couldn’t decide what he should and shouldn’t do or whether he should do anything at all. The kid was in danger, maybe not immediate danger, but it’d find him eventually. A kid of his age with that sort of power couldn’t stay hidden forever. What to do… he thought.

“Ru,” he called out, promptly appearing next to the boy keeping a steady pace as they ran in synch. “You’re really fast.” He said, still unsure how he should proceed. What would Kami do? Kami would take the kid under his wing and raise him as one of earth's special protectors. But was it right to set him on that path? The child seemed perfectly happy the way he is. Nam only became who he is today because of his suffering and that growing desire to protect everyone.

Did Ritoru have that same fire within him?

[Deleted]

"You too!"

He said giggling further as he ducked under branches and through bushes to try and lose Nam, but he wouldn't. This guy was just as fast. Ru's eyes widened as they reached the lack and stopped, he looked out on it confused for a moment, he had never lost a race before, and although they had arrived at the same time, this meant that Ritoru had finally met someone who could play at his level, and maybe even better.

He turned his head, his face looking slightly displeased for a moment.

"It...its a tie"

He said looking at the hooded figure for a few more seconds, the wind finally catching up to the two of them and blowing rapidly in between them. Once it was finished Ritoru's face lit up, his confusion and anxiety lifted.

"No one has ever tied me before!"

He said jumping into a hug with nam, being only slightly taller than Nam's Knee, this really meant he was hugging his left leg, but that settled it for Ru.

"I decided, you can come with me, we will fight bad guys together!"

Ru had made the decision for Nam without even meaning to. He had finally met someone who could keep up with him. He remembered all the other kids who were to slow, or who couldn't keep up with him physically, but this guy could. Finally letting go of his leg he looked back up at the man and finally said

"Alright mickey where to first!"

Finally his laughter at the gloved hand made sense. Ru had only ever seen gloves worn in cartoon's, and so seeing Nam in his cloak and dagger style garb did not seem strange, or secretive, but rather comical, as if he were wearing a costume.