[IC] Dragon Ball: Legacy (Mogtaki and Vena Sera)

[Mogtaki]

Shu was certainly enjoying himself but he wasn’t going to let Yumi have a hard time with it just because he had trouble explaining himself. He wanted to try and explain it right, but it was hard when it was something he did through normal circumstances throughout his entire life. Maybe Yumi would be fine, she was a fast learner; then again, he never really saw her learn anything other than Ki. She was faster at learning Ki than he was, that made her a fast learner in his eyes. Wondering if she might be able to pull it off he quickly nodded when she asked him for reassurance, deciding to watch her to see how she did. She would probably get the hang of it eventually, but he didn’t want her not enjoying it at the same time. He hoped she wasn’t getting frustrated, at least.

Watching her as he continued to sip at his juice he waited for her to get ready, staring at her and watching her movements. She was kind of stiff and seemed to be forgetting to loosen up, even though she seemed to be in fairly good spirits. Closing up his juice he slowly leaned forward, watching her carefully before she swung away. Bouncing so that his feet were on the branch he watched her make an attempt to catch the branch, squeaking when she instead sat on it after having a fair swing. That wasn’t how you caught the branch, she probably didn’t even need to use her legs either and could’ve used her hands. Making a quick bounce he landed on a branch up above, staring down at her.

“Ooh! Use hands maybe when like that! That look like it hurt!” he squeaked, moving around on the branch before he bounced down to the ground, “Try no land on butt next time!” He didn’t really know what she had been trying but she was close, just using her butt as a landing was a bit of a strange move. Having a quick sip of his juice again he began to climb the tree again, giving her a staring at for a moment. “Mmmmm, less swing power! Be more…umm…wiggly? Less stony…?” he spoke, trying to find the words for what he was meaning as he climbed up to a branch, “Less like tough! More like wiggle! Like tail! Wiggly tail is not like a rock! You see? Maybe…?” If she moved a lot more loosely she’d have more control over her swings by a long shot, but it did take time to get over the worry that you’ll simply crash to the ground. He was patient and didn’t expect her to get it immediately, but he did wonder if she had enough already. “Umm, Miss Yumi no hurting, yes? Can be sore on hands! Sore on feet, sore on butt! It can hurt like oof ouch! You okay or maybe we do something else…?”

[GambolMuse]

Hurt was an understatement. Was it possible to break your butt? Yumi pulled herself onto the branch and crouched rather than sat, tentative of her aching backside. "I'll keep that in mind, thanks Shu!" Less stony? Less power? So was she being too rigid? That was fair, she was unsure of herself and probably tensed up while swinging about. Shu tended to grab with whatever limb was nearest to the branch; Yumi knew she didn't have that luxury but she could still try.

"I get it! I think... Be more loose, stop trying to force it, right?" She couldn't help but laugh at Shu's question. Her palms ached sure - her backside definitely was sore - but she could keep going. "I'll have some blisters when we're done but that's no big deal. Let's keep going!" Whether she was getting it down perfect or not didn't matter. She was having fun, Shu was having fun, and that was the whole point of the day really. If she managed a new skill then that was just icing on the cake.

Yumi got back onto her feet and tested her balance. Still good. She looked for the nearest branch to swing and lowered herself back into a squat, inhaling and focusing her eyes solely on the branch. With one big leap she jumped the gap, reaching out and grabbing the branch, holding on and swinging back and forth, building momentum. When she let go she made it to the next branch with ease, and after kicking her legs a few times, the next as well. She managed to make it through three trees before her fingers slipped around a branch and she fell. Barely catching herself on a lower branch she hung there for a moment, giggling and pulling herself up onto it. "See? I've only almost died twice!" She joked, sitting down and waving up to Shu. "I think I'm getting the hang of it! Get it? Because we're... Swinging..."

[Mogtaki]

Shu did wonder if he explained it right, he knew Yumi had an easier time than Takeshi or the others for sure especially when he was panicked. It was easy to get panicked when your words didn’t quite get through to the other person, something that often happened in high tension situations. Nodding quickly when Yumi made an attempt to understand what he was saying he smiled, bouncing on his spot before sitting down with his legs sprawled. More loose! Yes! Loose!” She could probably do it properly if it wasn’t for the fact she was probably hurting about now, but then again it wasn’t as if she was weak skinned or anything. His skin on his hands and feet were strong and durable, stronger than hers most likely, but she still had all that training from fighting so surely grabbing branches and what not was nothing compared to other things she could had done.

Standing up quickly again he watched her from his spot, tilting his head to see if she might be able to get it this time. He didn’t like the sound of ‘blisters’, but he did hope she wasn’t going to get them too badly after this. He would feel bad if she got something from all of this, especially if it was going to be sore. “Ooh! No, blisters bad!” No wanna that!” he spoke quickly, bouncing back up in to the trees. Maybe they shouldn’t do this for too much longer, it would be nice to take a break and have some food after all. Lots of swinging made him hungry and Yumi was probably not having a terribly good time after falling on the branch so hard.

Once Yumi was back up be watched her carefully, tilting his head as he waited to see what she might do. Once she was off again he bounced after her, almost anticipating when she might fall but instead she managed a whole host of branches, or at least enough for him to call a lot for her. Getting all excited he chased after her, only to watch her fall to a lower branch instead. Stopping quickly on the branch she would’ve landed on he turned himself around and looked at her with a curious gaze, tilting his head. He didn’t know if she was okay or not at first, but when she giggled he let out a sigh, sitting down on the branch. “No die! Far from dragon balls!” he squeaked, bouncing a little. “Swing fun! Yeah! Maybe soon more branches! Swing all day! It hurt for you, though! That bad…maybe…food time? Food time! Treats after swinging! Yes maybe?”

[GambolMuse]

No puns with Shu. Bummer. Still, Yumi found herself enjoying this even if she was still struggling. It was different, and if nothing else, Shu was smiling and having fun at long last. That was more than worth a few blisters. Now was a good a time as any for a break and Shu was quick to jump on the idea of food. "I won't actually die, don't worry." She tried hard not to roll her eyes. "And sure! We've got food... Somewhere out here." They had packed a lunch and left it under a tree. The only question now was which one? Their practice had taken them a ways from the start, and Yumi couldn't tell the trees apart too well: it all looked the same.

Eventually they found their way back, and by the time Yumi sat down beside the cooler she had begun to feel the aches of the day's events. Shaking and blowing on her hands to soothe the dull throb, she fished through the cooler for their meals. "Maybe after this we can... I don't know, try something else? Not that we have to be done swinging!" She was quick to add that, giving Shu a small smile. "I'm just not sure how much more my hands can take today. I'm willing to suffer a blister or two, but getting them rubbed raw?" She shook her head and removed two containers, peeling the covers off and handing one over to Shu. June had prepared them meals for afternoon, and while made with alien food, the presentation reminded Yumi of Earth cuisine.

A grainy, coarse paste served as a side - and tasted much better than it looked, served with some raw vegetables and several thin, seared slices of some type of fish. They had dessert too, and Yumi suspected Shu might be thrilled, but she'd keep it hidden for now. She took the fish and held it up to the light, inspecting it and furrowing her brow. Very thin, she could see through it almost. Taking a taste her face wrinkled at the curious flavor, unable to decide if she loved or hated it. "Ah... Well, it was certainly nice of June to make food for us." Opting out of the fish for now, she scooped up some of the paste and ate that straight, gagging at how powerful the taste was. Hopefully Shu was having a better time with his meal.

[Mogtaki]

Shu was always happy to take a break after something was accomplished, it was often something he did in the past whenever he managed to do something that pleased him. Rewards were always nice, so he was always happy when the reward could be food. Squeaking when Yumi agreed with him he bounced a little before moving to follow her, wanting to keep close to her rather than getting ahead of himself. He knew where it was, he was good at keeping track of things in forests no matter whether he had been there or not. He couldn’t really show that off anywhere, they never needed to be in the forests nowadays anyway. Keeping close to Yumi he practically danced around her as if waiting for her to keep up at his pace while following her simultaneously.

Finally making it to the food stash he bounced around all happily, squeaking happily at the thought of food. If there was one thing he sure did enjoy it was eating and he was very hungry already. The juice didn’t really help with that hunger, it just made it a little more difficult to handle. Staring in to the cooler as she reached for the food he tilted his head upon her suggestion to do something else, giving his head a scratch as he looked away, thinking about it. “Oooohhhh…something else! Something else…?” he spoke, not really knowing what he was going to be able to think up that they could do. He knew how to forage, but it might be a little difficult in a place he wasn’t fully familiar with. He wasn’t much of a hunter, he never had been even when growing up so meat was rare.

“Maybeeeeeee…Miss Yumi has something she want to do…?” he asked her, wondering if there was something that maybe she would like to do, like whatever someone like her would want to do. He didn’t mind going to the city if she wanted to, he hadn’t had enough experience in that place so it would be something for her to do, plus he didn’t think she would want to use her hands all that much anymore. He wasn’t very good at flying, so maybe that was something they could do. Bouncing on his toes as Yumi opened up his food for him he took it from her hastily, sitting right beside her. “Thank yoooouuuuu…!” Giving it a sniff he figured the food was edible, at least, so that was good. “Ooooohhhhh, Miss June! Food is good! Why you make weird noises, though?” Giving the pasta a try he squeaked, wiggling a little. “Yummy! Miss June make good food! Mister Vegeta luckyyy…” He quite liked the food, even if it was mostly savoury. His favourite may had been sweet but so long as it didn’t make him sick he didn’t mind it, finding the variety of flavours to be most interesting to him. “No sure about Mister Viral, though. No see him much. Maybe he with Takeshi? No sure where Takeshi is, though! Nobody wanna be with Shu today…nobody but Miss Yumi! Ooh!”

[GambolMuse]

"Something else to do...? Hm... I haven't given it much though to be honest." For the longest time she had simply gone with the flow, traveling wherever the group went and fighting alongside her friends. "I don't know, maybe we can... Go for a hike up the mountain. We haven't really explored this world much, though I'd love to see more of it. If they don't want you around for therapy today maybe you and I can sneak off?" In the crater there wasn't anything to keep them from venturing out, not really. Viral and the brothers had gotten a hold of a massive fish in the lake, but Yumi doubted anything like that lived up around the city.

Then again, she wouldn't be disappointed if they did find something. It would be exciting. Tentative, Yumi mixed some of the paste with the fish and sampled that. To her delight and surprise the two flavors evened one another out, making the food far more palatable. The vegetables had been cooked in some light oil as well, and the flavor wasn't dissimilar to garlic from Earth. Once she figured out how the food was meant to be eaten the meal became much tastier.

"I think Viral was with Vegeta today. They wanted to give him a new position, so they were doing a trial run, I guess." She didn't know how much she loved that idea. Why did they insist on distracting Viral instead of treating the problem? They had to know how to help him, right? "Takeshi went with Kiton last I checked, and... Well, it's anyone's guess what they're up to." If the city wasn't exploding then that meant they were getting along, or at the very least, not trying to fight. Yumi smiled and slid closer towards Shu, reaching out and gently ruffling his hair. "I'm sure they wouldn't mind playing with you, but people get busy sometimes! And hey, that just means we get to have more fun together, right?"

[Mogtaki]

Shu smiled happily at Yumi, bouncing a little as he listened to what she had to say, even if he didn’t fully understand what she was wanting to do. ‘Hike’ probably wasn’t like flying, but they were going up a mountain while doing that so maybe it was similar to walking or running. That sounded quite fun, maybe a little tiring if it was constant running uphill if that’s what a hike was. Tilting his head a little he shook his head, not really wanting to think about that therapy stuff. “Ooohhh, be sneaky sneaky! No wanna go to that, anyway”, he spoke, giving a little smile, “They no do that good, like being out with Miss Yumi and brother!” It was pretty bothersome for him, the therapy stuff. He didn’t understand what he was supposed to do during it, all of it was just a big problem. They wanted a lot from him, but he didn’t know what that ‘lot’ was exactly.

Eating at the food in bits and pieces he was having a great time with the flavours, not finding them to be terrible or off-putting. He was happy enough to be eating and was definitely enjoying his food, he didn’t have much of a preference when it came to flavours. So long as it didn’t make him sick or something he was happy to eat it, picking up the habit from his years when food was difficult to find. He could pile it all in to one bunch and eat it all at once, not really caring for how it looked or tasted. Tilting his head a little when she said where the others were he scratched his cheek, trying to think on what Takeshi might do. “Oooh, hopefully not the bad things! Takeshi like to be cheeky too”, he squeaked, thinking about it for a moment before giggling when Yumi ruffled his hair, looking to her quickly. “Yeah! Play is fun! Know that they also do stuff without Shu, but not feel too bad…” he spoke, not really knowing if he felt that way or if he did miss being around certain people sometimes. “More play is fun! Maybe go…somewhere Miss Yumi will like. Shu like trees, but Miss Yumi no real in to trees, so…maybe something Miss Yumi will like…? Wanna do what Miss Yumi wanna do now!”

[GambolMuse]

Therapy always seemed so counter-intuitive. Bring a sad person into a room and make them talk about being said. How exactly was that supposed to make someone feel better? Doing things like this, being outdoors and having fun, always worked better. That Shu appeared genuinely happy right now only reinforced the idea Aito might just not have a clue what he was doing. "Then we won't talk about therapy! It's boring, and we're to have fun, right?" Yumi giggled. She shifted her weight and leaned back, looking up to the canopy of the trees. Out here they were removed from everything, or that's how it felt, anyway. No fighting monsters, no war, no problems. Just them, some food, and a beautiful day to enjoy.

Shu's proposal made Yumi raise an eyebrow. Do what she wanted? That was a refreshing take, considering usually she just marched to someone else's drum. "Who said I'm not into trees? I'm just learning, that's all." She smiled and prodded Shu's side with her finger. "But if we want to do what I want to do, then... Let's go for that hike! We can explore, see what's out here. It'll be fun!" It wasn't like they would get lost, either. The city sat in the center of the crater, and all they would need to do is fly up to get their bearings. Polishing off the remainder of her meal, Yumi stowed her empty container back in their bag, pulling out a sealed container. "June got us dessert from in town too, want to see what it is?" Rhetorical question, she was already prying open the box. Inside were kebabs, only instead of vegetables and meats, it was fruits. Candied at that, with the pieces cut into various shapes. Yumi smiled, eager to try, and handed Shu his before biting down. The chocolate made a shell and crunched, giving way to the tender, juicy fruit inside. "Delicious!"

[Mogtaki]

Shu certainly did wonder if Yumi was ever that interested in doing things with him that she wanted rather than always doing what he wanted to do. If Yumi didn’t like doing the things he liked to do, she’d never say that to him. He wasn’t intelligent enough to know what people wanted to do or figure out whether people were actually interested in that kind of stuff when they were doing them. He was only a youngster in mind when it came to the rest of his friends, he had only been out and about in the ‘real world’ for a couple of years so everything was still new to him. He was right in his element in the forests and outdoors, but the others were not. Viral could count, but he preferred to be by himself. Therapy was definitely the last thing on his mind too, he didn’t want to be thinking about all that stuff when the focus with that was always going to be control and getting over what he experienced in the laboratory. It was all a bit too miserable for him to want to be thinking about.

“Ooooh! A hike! A hike…” he spoke, sounding pretty intrigued, but not really understanding what it was. It sounded interesting if it involved exploring and finding new things, he hadn’t been on another world as extensively as this one after all. “Ooh ooh! I wanna do the hike! What this world like, I wanna know! Shu love to explore…” Thinking about it for a moment he squeaked when Yumi was putting away her container, scooting his over to her as she brought out another container. Staring at it curiously he looked up at her when she mentioned it was dessert, his face lighting up. “Ooh! Yes yes! Wanna see please! Please!” When she finally opened up the container he stared at the contents, his hand slowly reaching out for one of the kebabs. What delightful wonders were contained in the chocolate? Sniffing at the kebab curiously he soon nibbled at it, his eyes lighting up. “Ooooohhhhh, yum yum yum!” He didn’t even know that they had chocolate on this planet, but either way he was happy to eat the chocolate covered fruit until it was all gone. “Yummy! Love to eat! Maybe like hike too, no sure…no done hike before. No sure! Wanna keep going until tired! Maybe find something strong to fight. Not done fight stuff in a while, everyone scared of me being bad…”

[GambolMuse]

Watching Shu was always heartwarming, he was enthusiastic and innocent. A lot like a child, even if said child was only a few years her junior. In lieu of everything that had happened as of late, his disposition was beyond refreshing. "You want to fight something? Well... I'm sure we could find something out here that would want to eat us." If the forests were anything like those back home, there would be predators galore. Beating up wildlife was hardly training for either of them, but then it wasn't really training, just a chance to stretch their legs a bit.

"Hey, just between the two of us? You're my favorite of the group," Yumi laughed, playfully nudging Shu with her elbow, "I missed seeing you happy and smiling, it's really nice. I'm going to do everything I can to keep you smiling today!" She'd already managed that by virtue of playing, but there were still plenty of hours left, and many more ideas still to try. Cleaning the skewer, Yumi flicked it to the forest floor and hopped to her feet, lithely balancing on the branch. "So, a hike it is! No idea where we're going, or what's even going to be out there," she mused, flashing Shu a grin, "But then that's the exciting part, right? No way to know without going to look ourselves!" Yumi collected her things and dropped down from the tree, shielding her eyes from the sun as she craned her neck skyward. "If you're ready, let's get going! Time to see what this planet's got for us!"

[Mogtaki]

Shu was rather excited to go on this little trip with Yumi, especially when it meant he was going to be able to have some fun. Going out and teaching Yumi how to swing was all fine and dandy, but he found it was pretty stressful a lot of the time when it meant potentially getting hurt or causing Yumi to get hurt. When just being out and about meant he was going to be able to have fun without the stress of teaching, he hoped Yumi would feel the same too. “Fight for food! Maybe…maybe take food back to others? They be proud Shu do a thing almost by self…” he spoke quickly, shaking his fists a little bit in anticipation, “No been around here much, too busy at building. It was fun when we were looking for Dragon Balls, go out see lots of places! Lots of people! Maybe go see people sometime too!”

Spending a moment of his time to go over his own plans in his head, he smiled and shook his fists a little in anticipation, eventually stopping when Yumi told him something strange. “Ooooooh? Favourite?” Staring at her as she spoke he tilted his head, feeling a little confused to how she came to that conclusion. There was so many people she had met and there was her friends, so that was definitely something. Staring at her he soon began to bounce on his toes, getting all excited and happy as he began to think over what she meant. “Ooh! Favourite! Miss Yumi’s favourite?? Got big smiles today! Today good day for happy smile!” He did wonder if this was something he could brag to Takeshi about, but then again it was probably something he would only care about on a ‘it’s not me so I’m mad’ kind of level with him, like usual. It was funny, really, he didn’t know what it meant to be a favourite, but he figured it was like his favourite food and instead of picking vegetables, bread, meat or something else, she went with fruit instead. “Ooh! Oohhhh ready to go! We go! Food done, we go!” he squeaked happily as he bounced around, ready and raring to get going. “Maybe find more food! Maybe find people? Other people! Maybe they scared, though, but maybe no scared! This way! This way! We go this way to find the things!”

[GambolMuse]

"Want to bring back some food? Sure! Don't know what we'll bring back," Yumi admitted with a shrug, "But I bet we can find something!" Probably some fruits, or more likely, some animal. There were berries she'd seen on their way up - blue, black, red, even yellow, but it was anyone's guess what was and wasn't poisonous here. Shu's enthusiasm was infectious, and she laughed as he practically vibrated on the spot. "There's supposed to be other cities on the planet, maybe we can go check them out? Seeing as we've only ever been in the one place..." It became boring quickly. Sure, being on Uuonoe was preferable to 90% of other worlds they'd visited, and Yumi certainly didn't mind a break from incessant battle, but there was simply nothing for them here.

That Shu could be so energetic and happy in the face of everything was endearing. Being called her favorite put an extra spring in the Saiyan's step too, and Yumi watched, enamored, as he bound about. It really was like having a little brother with you; her family wouldn't have borne someone so hairy, or with a tail, but that wasn't important. "Easy there, you're going to tire yourself out!" she laughed, reaching out and playfully flicking Shu's forehead, smiling. "Let's go see what there is, hm?" She'd intended to lead, but before long Shu was off ahead of her, bouncing with a joviality that she hadn't seen from him in a long time. Sighing, she smiled and followed suit, more than content to let him do things his way.

--------------------

Give Kiton a tour, they said. Show him around, they said. Sure, like I'm supposed to know where the hell to go! The city had plenty to offer, but Takeshi wouldn't pretend to have a clue where to look. Much of it was under repairs, and more still simply didn't interest him. Parks were boring, they had been given some - not much, some, money to spend, and no directions. He pulled the multi-colored plastic cards from his pocket, grumbling as he stuffed them back and ran a hand through his hair. Couldn't he just give Kiton the money and let him wander around? Probably would be getting more out of it that way.

"Ya know... If you wanna go back, or do... Anything else, just say so. I still don't get why Korian asked me to do this." Takeshi stuffed his hands into his pant pockets, rolling his neck. "I mean, I know as much about this city as you do, so what the hell's the point, ya know?" Besides, there was plenty of stuff he could be doing today instead. Well, maybe not plenty - Shu went out with Yumi, Viral and Vegeta were gone, and hanging out with his old squad always just felt... Weird. There was T'charrl, but his aversion to all things bugs made that awkward every single time. Instead of any of that he was wandering aimlessly around the city with a Frost Demon in tow. Glancing over his shoulder at Kiton, Takeshi let out a sigh, forcing a smile. "Anything at all you wanna do? Seriously, anything? I'm bored off my butt over here!"

[Mogtaki]

It had been a long time since Kiton had been allowed out to do anything at all, even if it was just to stretch his legs or something he wasn’t given the chance to. Nobody wanted to give him their time because of a variety of reasons, whether it was because he was still a criminal or because of his species. If they didn’t want to believe he was going to behave or if they just saw him as another evil creature then that was fine, he just wouldn’t mind being told how they thought to his face is all. They seemed to trust Takeshi with him, at least, probably because he was strong enough and probably also because he just sat around not doing much since he technically wasn’t one of them which also meant he would do it for free as well. All of the conclusions he was coming up with were negatives, but they were probably true. Takeshi seemed fed up already anyway, so it wasn’t as if he was wrong.

Staring at Takeshi who was just making his complaints vocal he simply frowned and looked away. Even if he knew the answer he was still uncomfortable with Takeshi being so vocal about his lack of interest in being out with him. There was surely a lot they could do that would interest Takeshi just a little bit, but it didn’t seem that Takeshi wanted to bother his butt in coming up with some stuff. When Takeshi turned to face him with an incredibly fake smile asking what he’d want to do he stared at him for a moment, eventually letting out a loud sigh and shrugging. “Are you serious? You know, if you didn’t want to do this, you could had just said to your Korian man and said ‘no, I don’t want to take the captive out just because some guy who was dead before thinks he’s a good person. Are you mad?’ I’m sure it wasn’t that hard to tell that to him”.

Taking a few steps off to the side he soon just floated instead, moving around Takeshi. “Now look! I’ve never had a day like this in my life! I’ve never had this sort of freedom in a city where I’m not constantly on guard! Is that not great? Then again, it doesn’t really affect you, huh?” All that probably meant nothing for Takeshi, seeing as how he was trusted by a general with something like this. He was probably used to having freedom and everything that came with it, there was probably nothing he hadn’t tried and just saw everything as boring now. Sighing, he soon dropped down, standing much shorter than Takeshi was. “C’mon I’ll take anything at this point, even if it just meant going out for food! I’m sick of prison food already! It’s nothing but mush, really tasteless mush…” he spoke before he sighed, “You know I only get one day of this, right? Then it’s back in the cells until they are able to properly assess I was ‘behaved enough’ to be given a little bit more freedom. They’re probably secretly watching us now! The fact they trust Saiyans they recently converted from the Kingdom’s forces to wander around freely say a lot for how much they trust a Frost Demon. So long as it doesn’t involve crime, I’ll do anything on this day of freedom! What do you normally do with friends? I mean, you don’t need to see me as equal to a friend, but just as something to maybe get your mind going on what might be cool for us to do…”

[GambolMuse]

"Sure, I coulda said no, and I would've been dumped on training some stupid recruits instead," Takeshi rolled his eyes, "Look, dude, it's not that I don't care," he kind of didn't, but he wasn't going to sat it out loud, "But this isn't exactly my time of a fun afternoon. I mean, what's he got you under lock and key for anyway? Half the guys he's got were criminals at one point!" What annoyed him more, that Kiton was being treated so poorly, or he was stuck effectively babysitting? Why him even? Takeshi was sure they were on Korian's short list by now, yet they were still being trusted to handle all kinds of jobs for him. Maybe the rebellion was just that desperate for help.

Takeshi stopped, folding his arms as Kiton plead his case. Sure, it sounded like it sucked, but all he could do was get it over with. Korian had his mind made up and was more stubborn than anyone, Takeshi himself included. Sighing, he glanced around at the crowds, scratching his head. "Geez... Okay, fine, want food? There's loads of places to grab some, we just gotta pick a spot. Come on."

While much of the city was under repair, that hardly meant people weren't out and about. Crowds sucked, Takeshi reminded himself, refraining from pushing his way through the crowds. It was nice at least that he was taller than the natives, the only ones matching his height were other aliens. Calling himself an alien was weird, but to these people, that's exactly what he was. Man... I'm too hungry to be thinking about this shit. Where's the food? In the markets, naturally, and the scents of foods hit him long before the actual shops came into view. A few open air restaurants looked promising, if packed, so they were passed up. If his experiences back home were any warning, buying food from roadside stalls was risky; the stalls, however, were the only thing not packed to the brim with customers.

Takeshi moved towards one of the stalls, greeting the elderly alien minding the station. A display of food laid out before them, sealed away behind a glass sheet. Meats of varying color were laid out, as well as a tray of what he assumed were vegetables. On the far right, a tub of deep purple liquid bubbled away, and he grimaced when a tentacle rose out of the container, sliding across the glass surface. "Eugh... Well, take your pick," Takeshi motioned to the stall, stepping back and smirking, "There's some wiggly crap in the tub if you're into... Whatever the hell that is."

[Mogtaki]

Kiton narrowed his eyes at Takeshi, eventually pointing at himself with his thumb. “Well that’s because I happen to be incredibly proficient with ki! So much so in fact that I could level this entire city if I wanted to! But I don’t want to, but your guy also doesn’t trust me to not to so he seems to want to have me on a ‘kill on sight if I do’ kind of deal”, he spoke before he shrugged, “Frost Demons have never been trusted, especially after Frieza’s Empire all those years ago. It also doesn’t help that I nearly wiped out a planet because of a plant I got or stole or whatever…that thing nearly killed me too, though…”

While he was feeling quite annoyed that he was being disregarded as a victim from that event, Takeshi’s attitude was certainly making him a slightly bit more annoyed than he was at that stuff. He didn’t want to do any of this, not even when it meant somebody who had spent a massive time in isolation was getting brief few hours of relief from all that. If Takeshi was going to be a pain then he was going to be a pain back, it was the least he could do to repay him for it. When Takeshi took the initiative and suggested food he folded his arms, turning around with a smirk. “I guess that’s one way to start a day! Fuel is pretty good, not to mention pretty essential, you know?”

Despite Takeshi’s poor attitude, he was going to try and enjoy himself. If food was on the menu then he was going to try and get as much as he possibly could while Takeshi was paying, not only to make Takeshi annoyed, but also to satisfy himself after so long with only prison food. Floating after Takeshi as he led the way, he looked around at all the natives he passed to which they stared right back. They probably hadn’t seen something like him before, despite the rebels consisting of a few other races that weren’t Saiyans. It made him feel kind of proud, both because he was the source of wonder for these people and it wasn’t fearful gazes.

Upon arriving at the ideal stall for food, Kiton stared at the selection he was being offered with curiosity. This was the kind of food he usually snatched when the owner of the stall wasn’t looking, something easily done when you had a long prehensile tail. Rubbing his hands together, he slowly looked through all the goodies before to Takeshi as he showed his distaste for one of the foodstuffs offered. “Ohh? Wiggly?” Drawing his attention to what it was he was looking at he let out a brief laugh, staring at it intently. “Ohhh wow! Is it alive or a simple nerve response? Is it seasfood or land?” Quickly turning his attention to the elderly owner he waved his hand out to get their attention. “Hey hey! How edible is this thing? Because if it’s very edible, I’ll take some! My man here is being very generous and buying for me, you see!”

[GambolMuse]

Takeshi grimaced, feeling his stomach do flips as he watched the 'food' writhe about. Nerve response, alive, some freaky alien food, whatever it was he wanted nothing to do with it. Kiton ordering it then made him do a double take, silently pleading with the owner to not sell it.

"Edible? Of course it is! It's a food stall after all!" Beaming, the owner grabbed a stick and skewered the writhing mass. "And to answer your question, it's seafood! Taken from the bottom of the lake, fresh! Go on, give it a try!" Takeshi stepped well away as the food was passed, covering his mouth and stifling the urge to vomit. When he turned down an offer to try, the stall owner laughed. "I thought Saiyans ate anything! Seems like that's not true."

He'd eat any food, and whatever that mess was, it wasn't food. Looking back at the display and squeamishly pointing out another dish, Takeshi gladly accepted the plate of orange-sauce beef, or what he assumed was some kind of beef. It definitely tasted like it, and had a certain grainy texture like a steak. "You like the Garu fruit? Most people can't handle the heat!" Heat? Takeshi hadn't noticed until the stall vendor mentioned it, but there was definitely a bite to the fruit, a heat that was steadily growing. He opened his mouth to try and speak, coughing and gasping as it spiked, like a wildfire catching blaze. "Strange, I figured the sauce would dull the heat!"

Sputtering and gagging, Takeshi gasped and grabbed another piece out of the display, munching away. Eyes watering and face red, he gasped as the heat finally subsided, at least for the most part. "You should really warn people, that coulda killed me!" An outstretched hand cut off any further rambling. Indignant, Takeshi fished out the appropriate funds and slapped them into the vendor's hand, abashed by how unapologetic the man was. Sighing, he stepped away from the stall, glancing at Kiton with a baffled expression. "How can you eat that stuff...?"

[Mogtaki]

Fresh seafood, just how he liked it. If Takeshi was trying to be funny by suggesting this previously he was better focusing his mischief elsewhere. He wasn’t a fussy eater and if Takeshi thought that food that was still writhing was going to put him off eating. This kind of food was definitely what he enjoyed best, whether it was an instinctual thing that came with being a Frost Demon or just something unique to him: he knew his race was pretty brutal at times, after all. “Pff! Saiyans? Eat anything? He’s too used to the vegetarian life, probably!” he laughed, reaching out to take the wiggling squiggly food on a stick without hesitation. If this was Takeshi’s reaction to something that moved around a lot that could be eaten then he was going to faint if he ever saw the kind of food you’d find at space ports.

It seemed Takeshi was going to take the safe food. It was kind of funny, really, seeing how he was supposed to be part of the terrifying Saiyan race and yet he was going to go with some sort of spicy fruit. What a coward, but then again he was totally spoilt it seemed if meat put him off just cause it was still moving. Would he be like that if he had to go hunting? Staring at him as he gave the fruit a try, he narrowed his eyes. He’s going to freak out over it, isn’t he? If he does then this was going to be an easy way to get back at him if he ever tried to make fun of him or try to make his life on the outside harder than it needs to be.

Staring at Takeshi as he watched him attempt the fruit, he smirked at his reaction, already finding it to be pretty hilarious. So he didn’t like squirming food or spicy food? Guess they were just too hardcore for a delicate Saiyan. Probably eating live food was seen as cruel to him or to others, but luckily this race didn’t seem to mind either. At least he knew how to bother him, at least if he was able to get the freedom he so rightfully deserved. It really sucked that he was being held like this and while he probably could easily escape under Takeshi’s watch he wasn’t going to do that to him, or at least put himself under even more risk. Either way, this was the most he had been out in so very long and he was pretty surprised that he wasn’t getting more attention; then again, these civilians probably had never seen a Frost Demon considering his kind were near extinct.

“How I eat that stuff…? Well! First you got to open your mouth, then you got to bite it and then the rest should come naturally”, he spoke, smirking a little, “What’s the big deal, anyway? You eat for the flavour, not whatever it’s doing! Wriggly means fresh and fresh food always tastes the best! Plus when you’re out and about and everyone’s chasing you and you got to grab a quick bite to eat”. He probably shouldn’t talk about his past too much, it wasn’t exactly interesting plus Takeshi probably didn’t give a crap over who he was. Floating along with Takeshi he scratched his chin lightly, trying to think about how he was supposed to not make Takeshi mad at him if he got mad over the food thing enough to suffer through food consumption.

“So…you’re really a Saiyan, huh? Just no tail, eh?” he spoke, peering at Takeshi’s backside momentarily before narrowing his eyes, “They didn’t make you chop off your tail, did they? The rebels that is. I won’t judge if you’re not an Elite, I mean I don’t even know my true form so I guess I’m kind of in the same position as a tailless Saiyan and maybe you’ll get a tail again I don’t know.” This planet didn’t appear to have some sort of lunar cycle that would result in a full moon, at least from what he had managed to see out the tiny window he had been allowed to have. Probably why the rebels chose it as their base without having to mutilate their fellow Saiyans. “You know, I heard not having one makes you weaker, but then again I heard the strongest Saiyan in existence was tailless! Shame he isn’t alive today or he’d kick the King’s ass for being so weak and pitiful…”

[GambolMuse]

"I know how to eat!" Takeshi spat, indignant. "I wasn't asking how to eat, I... Nevermind." Licking at his lips and grimacing, he shook his head. Kiton was just doing that to be a smartass wasn't he? He'd half a mind to punch the guy though quickly decided against it; Korian was already keeping an eye on them, the last thing they needed was to blow away half a city block in a scuffle. So, instead of taking that route to immaturity, Takeshi crossed his arms and stuck out his tongue. He probably looked like the picture of petulance, but it was the best he could settle for, dammit!

While he was glad to drop the food topic, discussing his tail, or the absence thereof, was hardly a good alternative. Jumping away when Kiton glanced at his rear his face flushed and he glared. "I... I haven't had one in ages, okay? And I don't need one to be strong, either! I've done just fine without it!" Gotten his ass kicked a few times, shown up by his crazy father, not to mention Krom on a handful of occasions. Besides that, though, he was doing just dandy. Takeshi licked at his lips again and wrinkled his nose at the lingering spice. He should at the very least go and find something to wash his palate with. Preferably not something that would burn a hole in his jaw. One glance at the nearby stalls however quickly squashed that idea. More writhing masses, foods so vibrant in color that alarms in his head went off. One dish did seem reasonable, resembling rice and vegetables, but a glance at the price made any hopes of another meal wither.

"You mean Goku, right? Or Kakarot, whatever he was called." Takeshi glanced skyward thoughtlessly and scratched at his cheek. "Yeah, he never had a tail, I don't think. If he did then he lost it pretty early on." Saiyans losing their tails probably wasn't all that uncommon though, was it? From what he knew Vegeta, their Vegeta, not senior, didn't have one, and neither did the twins. Hell, the only one among them who did still have a tail was Shu. "I guess that just goes to prove us Saiyans can do plenty without some useless tail weighing us down," he mumbled, then grinned and reached over in an effort to grab hold of Kiton's tail. "It leaves you vulnerable to attack, after all!"

[Mogtaki]

Kiton narrowed his eyes, not looking entirely convinced that he was fine without his tail. He certainly seemed to be rather embarrassed by the fact that he didn’t have one, or maybe it was some form of shame that he was a tailless Saiyan surrounded by ones who were completely fine and dandy with having one. It certainly told other aliens that he was indeed a Saiyan if he had one, otherwise Kiton never would’ve guessed that Takeshi was even a Saiyan if it wasn’t for him having a brother who had a tail. Maybe he was actually one of those weaker Saiyans that had their tails removed because it limited their strength compared to their superiors or whatever, he was just guessing he didn’t actually know how Saiyan society worked: he just knew they were commonly a menace. “Hmmm…are you, though? I only really heard about the fight but I didn’t hear how well you fought so I don’t know”, he spoke lightly, letting out a sigh, “I guess you’re probably strong if the rebels are all keen on you coming with me”.

Even with saying that Kiton wasn’t entirely confident in his own strength, just knowing he had a reputation regarding his race. He was aware that people saw him as incredibly strong because of a previous Frost Demon who was not hard to remember in history. He never really fought strong opponents other than mercenaries who tried to claim his head for the bounty, he was more concerned with keeping alive than setting off to find strong opponents. Whichever way, he had an image to keep up and if they didn’t think he was strong then they probably would just send him off to the Galactic Patrol like some lowly criminal for termination.

“Yeah, that’s the one! Hear about him all the time because of the obvious big thing that he did when he was alive…you know, the whole thing that cemented my race’s destiny to become nothing more than a wall trophy”. Scratching his chin, he stared forward before feeling the creeping essence that was Takeshi’s hand, immediately whipping his tail up to whack Takeshi on the back of his hand. “Yeah nice try. Unlike Saiyan tails, a Frost Demon’s tail is just as strong as having an extra limb!” he spoke, swishing his tail around, “You might as well be trying to hold my hand. You know I could just grab you instead if you ever even tried? I’d demonstrate but I don’t know who is watching me and how quick they’d be to attack me if I toss you across this marketplace!” There was probably a good chance that there was at least two watching over him, but if he looked around he was certain they would become alert and assume he was going to try something terrible. “Anyway, I’m not allowed to touch you so you’re going to have to want to do something with me other than pick a fight with me because even if you hit me first I’m going to end up taking the blame”.

[GambolMuse]

"Well I'm no pushover, that's for sure," Takeshi mused, grinning as he puffed up his chest. "Hell, Korian was pretty set on getting Shu and I involved in stuff, and he wouldn't bother if we weren't strong. And well... Duh, obviously they need someone that can handle you, ya know?" Not someone that can handle wriggling, still-live food, but someone that could contend with a Frost Demon. If he was being honest with himself Takeshi wasn't wholly convinced he could fight Kiton, at least not without wrecking a few blocks of the city. Even if he did manage to win a brawl between them he doubted their inglorious bastard of a leader would appreciate it; for his sake it was probably best not to fight. Even if he kind of wanted to.

Ah, right. Kiton's race had some pretty nasty guys in their history didn't they? Not that Saiyans were exactly saints themselves. Hell, Takeshi's own father was probably genocidal if you pissed him off the right way, and even on a good day he wanted nothing to do with the man. Growling at having his hand smacked he yanked the limb back, shaking it and scowling at Kiton. "I already said I don't need a tail, wise guy! And you really think I'd let ya toss me? Dream on." Not fighting. For anyone else it was probably an easy feat. For Takeshi? He huffed and folded his arms, scowling in a constant state of petulance. "Ya know you're not exactly making the idea of hitting you sound bad. I can whack you and not get in trouble for it?" Unless energy started being lobbed around, then his ass was as good as toast. "Don't worry, I don't plan on fighting you," Takeshi added, waving a hand dismissively. "Believe it or not I'm not a total jerk who wants to knock people around all day. It's just fun sometimes!"

And it would be something to do if nothing else. Takeshi dropped his hands into his pockets and looked around listlessly. Residents meandered about, some out shopping and carrying bags on their arms, others simply sitting around, talking or enjoying a meal. Many more still were out for a simple walk. Most of those ones took the time to watch Takeshi and Kiton, or to be more accurate, Kiton. Still he couldn't help but be reminded of the humans back on Earth always staring at him or Shu as if they'd never seen a Saiyan before. Some hadn't, but it wasn't like their race was THAT unusual anymore. Scowling at a pair of young children watching them he rolled his eyes as they screamed and ran off, returning the glare of their disgruntled parents, shielding their youth. "It's not nice to stare, ya know!" he shouted at the adults, scoffing as one of them shouted back. Shaking his head and picking up the pace he moved away from the markets in an effort to find less crowed roads. "I hate the fricken cities, man..."