Calm before the storm...

[Gareeku]

It was midday in the bustling town of Kosaten, the markets were open for business as the streets were filled with people looking around the different stalls. On the mountainside overlooking the town stood a lone group of buildings. This is where Gareeku called home; his dojo. Outside the front door, two figures flickered into view; Gareeku and Ryan.
"Heh, home sweet home..." Gareeku commented with a chuckle, before reaching out with his hand, turning the doorknob and stepping inside. The design of the building was very much what one would expect of a dojo. Traditional japanese design, simple but homely. The first area that Gareeku and Ryan would walk through was the main part of the dojo itself, seeming pretty empty as the equipment used had been cleared away. The two warriors then stepped out into an outside section, which looking very much like a courtyard, before entering another building; the living quarters.

Hearing the door open and the sound of footsteps on the floor, Jin ran to the source and found Gareeku and Ryan.
"And where have you been?" Jin asked, her hands on her hips, sounding very much like a mother about to tell of a child, as was her nature.
"You know where i've been, Jin" Gareeku replied, rolling his eyes. "This is Jin, she's just like my mother..." Gareeku muttered to Ryan.
"Hey, i heard that!" Jin exclaimed, pouting slightly. "are you going to introduce me or what?"
"Ryan, this is Jin. Jin, Ryan." Gareeku said as he introduced the two of them to each other, sighing before doing so.
Stepping into the kitchen, Gi looked up from reading her book and smiled.
"Sensei! you're ok! Gi exclaimed with happiness, running up him and giving him a hug.
"Yes i'm fine, thank you Gi. Ryan, this is Gi, another one of my students who lives here" Gareeku said as he introduced them to each other, Gi bowing politely in greeting. It was then that a loud rumbling was heard; Gareeku's stomach.
"Heh, must be lunch time. Would you like something to eat Ryan?" Gareeku asked. The blue-tailed warrior's relationship with Gi and Jin was not what one would expect of a sensei and his pupils. It was almost like they were a family. A slightly crazy family, but a family nonetheless.

[Ryan - Loki]

The last thing Ryan remembered was Gareeku placing his hand upon his shoulder and then the surrounding suddenly flickering like dancing flames on a fuming fire. The experience, although only lasting nothing more than a second if that, felt extremely alien to Ryan. It felt incredibly similar to teleportation but completely different at the exact same time, a feeling he was having trouble describing to himself. Just as quick as the harsh weather and the inhospitable mountains of Bedoe had vanished both Gareeku and Ryan had once again emerged from the brief travel only to be standing upon a tall mountainside overlooking a small town and vast green fields in all other directions. Beautiful…

Ryan then heard Gareeku speak, whether it was to himself or aimed at Ryan he wasn’t quite sure of, but nevertheless Ryan turned around only to be faced with a building that matched the beauty of the surrounding area. Before he knew it both him and Gareeku were walking through the doors of this building, which upon closer inspection seemed to be some sort of training dojo. “…Just like home…” Ryan softly muttered to himself as he looked around while making sure he followed Gareeku.

Back in his old village most buildings followed a similar set up to this, although they were extremely smaller and most were based just to house families and for slight training. There were however a few buildings almost identical to this one, traditional in almost ever since of the way; Ryan felt right at home, which was something he hadn’t felt in an extremely long time.
They quickly moved through the first area and on to a beautifully set out courtyard. Next should be the living quarters. Ryan thought to himself and of course he was right, as he and Gareeku quickly moved on into what was indeed the living quarters.

Almost as soon as they had entered Ryan heard the footsteps of someone running towards them, quickly turning his attention in that direction his eyes were met with a young girl who immediately began talking to Gareeku much like a mother would to her child. Ryan couldn’t help but smile. He quickly observed that her name seemed to be Jin; she was a Lavertian Dragonian as she had brown hair that flowed to her shoulders, brown eyes to match. Ryan merely watched the conversation as it unravelled itself in front of him; he hadn’t had much contact with the civilised world since his people had been killed so he was learning with every second that passed.

Jin quickly demanded an introduction with the samurai and upon Gareeku doing so Ryan humbly bowed his head, a smile upon his face, but within a few short seconds they were all on their way into the kitchen. As soon as they entered Ryan noticed another young girl look up from her book, them disturbing her from her studies or reading. Gareeku quickly introduced him to the young girl who was named Gi. She was a Parmecian Dragonian; blue hair down to her hips and blue eyes match also. Once again Ryan humbly bowed in respect and then quickly looked towards Gareeku as he was spoken to. “Yes please Gareeku, I’m afraid my appetite is the stuff of legend and it has been some time since I’ve had a proper meal. I would love something to eat.” he said in reply, still smiling politely.

[Gareeku]

"Great! Good to know I'm not the only one with a huge appetite" Gareeku replied with a smile on his face. And so Gareeku and the girls went to work, pots and pans being moving around constantly as they cooked, Gareeku himself being quite a good cook considering it wasn't his speciality. A little while later, the table was packed with all sorts of food, ranging across all sorts of styles.
"Right then, dig in!" Gareeku said happily, proceeding to chow down in true saiyan fashion. Luckily there was more than enough food for all of them, but considering the appetite of two saiyans in the house, one could never know for sure.

[Ryan - Loki]

Ryan simply stood back while he suddenly watch Gi, Jin and Gareeku all go about the kitchen duties to cook the meal. It reminded him a lot of home and days of the past. He never much thought of the past anymore, at least not past the day he finally left what was left of his village, only because everything and anything beyond that linked directly to his people and those memories were just too hard for him to handle, even if he didn’t still blame himself for their deaths.

Ryan softly shook his head as he realised that he had slipped off into his mind, a dangerous place to be at times, and now back in reality he noticed that the food that was being prepared was almost complete; it would soon be time to dine. The smell was incredible; it had truly been far too long since Ryan had eaten anything of this standard and he thanked the God’s for it too. He knew that soon enough everyone would be sitting down to eat and it would truly disrespectful of him not to disarm himself before sitting down amongst them.

Unclipping his blades Ryan softly placed them down upon the floor lying against the wall before moving slowly and sitting down at the table. Not long after Gareeku, Jin and Gi turned back towards the table and moved towards it with plates upon plates of food. A banquet fit for royalty. Ryan thought to himself as he watched them all at work. He felt dreadful having not helped but he had a sneaky suspicion that they would have declined any sort of offer he had given to help.

Everyone gather around the table and Ryan quickly stood and seated himself once again at the same time as everyone else. Old habits of honour die hard it seems. Looking out over the table of succulent looking food Ryan couldn’t control himself as his mouth began to water. With the go ahead from Gareeku everyone began to eat, Ryan included. Usually Ryan was a dignified eater, or at least he used to be, but it seemed the more time that passed where he was no longer with his people and the more time he had gone without a proper meal he seemed to grasp a greater hold upon his true nature. In better terms he was eating like an animal.

After a while of devouring much of the delicious food that the three of them had graciously offered Ryan stopped himself, lowered his plate of food away from his mouth and looked around at all of them as they ate. In all fairness this reminded him of a scene he used to dream about often when he was little, the scene of himself within a complete family unit, including his mother. A smile slowly crept across his face; it had been a while since he has thought about or had that dream.

Clearing his throat softly, not as much to grab everyone’s attention, Ryan looked around at everyone and stood up. “I would just like to say thank you, to you all really. Gareeku, without your kindness I wouldn’t be alive right now, let alone eating this finely prepared and cooked food that all three of you have served. So, yes…thank you.” With that Ryan sat down once again. It was odd, he had always been one for words but now it had been so long he seemed that he couldn’t actually find the words.

[Gareeku]

True enough, Ryan soon embraced his saiyan nature as Gareeku had and ate as only a saiyan could. Noticing Ryan get up, Gareeku looked up from having his face buried in a bowl of food. Listening to Ryan express his gratitude, the two girls' cheeks turned a bright shade of pink as they blushed. Smiling, Gareeku replied. Of course, he would have been a lot easier to understand if his mouth wasn't filled with noodles.
"uh, Gareeku, maybe you should try talking after you've swallowed your food" Jin said. Having lived with Gareeku for a number of years, the two girls had grown used to Gareeku's eating habits and had even begun to take his manners on themselves somewhat.

Taking heed of what Jin had said, Gareeku swallowed his food and spoke again. "It is no trouble at all, my friend. You're a guest at my house and you deserve a good meal" the blue-tailed warrior said smiling. A little while later, the last drops of food were eaten, the table littered with empty bowls and plates.
"ah, that hit the spot" Gareeku said, leaning back in his chair, grinning with satisfaction. Gathering up the empty crockery, Gareeku and girls then proceeded to clean up, Gareeku insisting that Ryan relax as he was a guest. A short while later, the last bowl was being dried when Gareeku suddenly remembered something.
"Whoops! its Shin's feeding time" Gareeku said in realisation, grabbing a bottle of milk and running out of the room. A few minutes later the warrior returned. In his arms the bottle, now empty, and what seemed to be bundle of cloth at a glance. Upon close inspection however, one would find that it was in fact a child, sound asleep, it's small blue tail being cuddle by its owner.
"Ryan, this is Shinoku; my son." Gareeku said softly, smiling at his son equally so.

[Ryan - Loki]

Shortly after speaking, still in his own form of embarrassment due to not finding the sufficient words to truly express his gratitude towards everything they had so far done for him, Ryan noticed both Jin and Gi begin to blush a beautiful shade of red before Gareeku lifted his head from a bowl of food and replied. Of course Ryan didn’t understand a single word he had said and Jin knew this, his expression of confusion probably giving this away, but shortly after she had corrected him on his manors Gareeku repeated himself, in English this time rather than with a mouthful of food, reassuring Ryan that this expense was nothing for a guest, and a friend.

It wasn’t long after that all the food had finally been finished off and each plate and/or bowl had been completely licked clean. It was time to clean up. Ryan quickly stood to do he’s fair share of the cleaning, he wasn’t one to stand back and allow any form of work to go past without lending a helping hand, but once again Gareeku insisted Ryan sit down and relax as he was a guest in this house. Ryan of course complied and sat down as Jin, Gi and Gareeku began the task of washing and drying all those pots, plates and bowls. It wasn’t long before the task was done, Ryan somehow coming to the conclusion that they had all become used to cleaning up enough crockery to feed an army, but Gareeku suddenly left the room in quite a hurry mentioning someone by the name of Shin and feeding time.

In all fairness Ryan was slightly confused at this point. Was there another member to this family or was Shin merely a pet of some kind? He did not know, but he would soon find out as Gareeku later walked back into the room, an empty bottle in one hand and a bundle of cloth in the other. It seemed strange to be carrying a bundle of cloth for no apparent reason so Ryan stood once again to have a closer inspection; it was then that his eyes spotted that miracle.

“A baby.” Ryan softly said. In truth Gareeku was holding a sleeping baby who he then introduced as Shinoku, his son. Ryan was truly speechless; Gareeku was a father? It was a shock, yes, but then who was the mother? Turning to look at both Jin and Gi Ryan quickly came to the assumption that the both seemed just too young to be the baby’s mother, then who? Turning back to Gareeku Ryan smiled and pointed to the baby’s tail as he spoke, but no louder than a whisper. “I see he takes after he’s father” He paused with a quiet laugh before continuing. “Well it seems there was two members of this family that I’m yet to meet, this fine young boy and he’s mother. Where is the lovely lady?” Ryan looked from Gareeku to both Jin and Gi, hoping one of them would reply.

[Gareeku]

Upon Ryan asking where Shinoku's mother was, the girls and Gareeku fell silent. After a few moments, Gareeku looked up at Ryan, his eyes giving away that what was about to be said would be words of sadness.
"Falina is.....no longer with us, Ryan" Gareeku replied quietly. Although he did not actually say it, one would be able to gather what the meant by his words. "Falina was one of the first people i met when i came to Dragonia. We quickly became friends, and then more than friends. We were due to be married" Gareeku explained, looking down at his son again.

[Ryan - Loki]

An almost eerie silence suddenly filled the room and straight away Ryan had known he had touched on something sacred, everyone’s silence just emphasised this. Still looking around at them all Ryan’s eyes fell upon Gareeku’s own as he looked up towards the samurai. His eyes said more than his words could ever have, and instantly Ryan had known he had spoken on a subject that he shouldn’t have touched. Gareeku’s words soon clarified this. Slowly Gareeku went on to explain, his voice extremely quiet yet full of emotion, slowly looking down at his son as he finished.

Looking down himself Ryan didn’t know quite what to say or do. He seemed to have stuck his foot in it, as the saying went, and once again he couldn’t find the words for the situation. A soft sigh fell from Ryan’s lips as he slowly moved towards Gareeku. He sympathetically placed his hand upon Gareeku’s shoulder, looking down at the baby in his arms. “I’m…I’m sorry…” Ryan softly said as he slowly removed his hand from Gareeku’s shoulder and walked out of the kitchen door and out onto the courtyard.

Walking at a slow pace Ryan moved out to the edge of the courtyard before leaning against a banister. He glanced up towards the blue sky above, the clouds moving softly through the sky. “Father…” with another sigh Ryan looked back down towards the floor.

[Gareeku]

Watching Ryan walk out, Gareeku was just about to say something, but Ryan had already gone. Sighing to himself out of slight self irritation at his manners, Gareeku put Shinoku back into his cot and followed Ryan out into the courtyard. Looking at Ryan lead against a banister, he heard his samurai friend mutter "father" and then knew. Ryan had also experienced loss, the blue-tailed saiyan knew it. Lending on the banister next to Ryan, Gareeku looked up at the blue sky and smiled slightly.
"No, Ryan. You have nothing to be sorry for. What you asked were a perfectly reasonable question. Falina was happy and I'm glad of that naturally." Gareeku said, turning his head to look at his friend momentarily before looking back at the sky again.
"You know, if anythere's anything i've learnt from experiences in life, and believe me there's quite a few of them, its that life is full of tests, and one must overcome these tests to become a stronger person. Falina may be gone in body, Ryan, But she will always live on in spirit, she wouldn't settle for anything less. She also left behind something beautiful; our memories of her, and a child; my son." Gareeku continued, a full smile now on his face. Putting a hand on his shoulder, the warrior spoke once again. "Come, you must be weary after your travels" the blue-tailed saiyan said, the smile never ceasing to leave his face.

[Ryan - Loki]

It wasn’t much longer than a few seconds that Ryan had been out in the courtyard before Gareeku joined him. The company was welcomed. Having lent against the banister next to him Ryan looked over towards Gareeku as he listened to him speak. Gareeku was still only young, in both body and mind, yet he spoke with experience and wisdom of a wise old man. He reminded him of his father in certain ways. Ryan listened closely to Gareeku’s words of truth, slowly remembering it all as he continued. Shortly after Gareeku finished speaking a small silence fell where Ryan looked back up towards the blue sky above.

He didn’t mean any disrespect when he ignored Gareeku’s last few words, almost semi-lost in thought, as he spoke. “Heavens a beautiful place Gareeku…” He didn’t know exactly why he had said what he did, maybe to spark Gareeku’s attention even further on the subject, maybe to reassure him, or maybe it was even just to talk about everything. Nevertheless he continued to look up towards the sky, remembering.

[Gareeku]

Listening to Ryan speak of heaven, Gareeku lifted his eyebrows slightly and followed his friend's gaze, looking back into the sky as he rested back on the banister. Heaven...Gareeku had never thought deeply about it before, but a smile once again crossed his lips as he thought about what it must be like.
"I'm sure it is Ryan...and i'm sure that Falina, and your father, are experiencing happiness beyond their wildest dreams..." Gareeku said softly. His attention however was indeed drawn to what Ryan had just said. His samurai friend was speaking in a manner that suggested he had seen its beauty for himself.
"from what you say my friend, it almost sounds if you speak from experience..." Gareeku said, turning to his friend.

[Ryan - Loki]

Gareeku had lent back upon the banister before speaking once more, his reply as truthful as ones could be without actually having been in Heaven themselves, but of course Ryan had been there, on more than one occasion, and he knew that Gareeku has completely right; Heaven was a place far more beautiful than any dream of fantasy could possible begin. Heaven was astonishing beyond belief. Truly unimaginable to those who lived and in Ryan’s case near impossible to describe in words that did it justice. Before Ryan could speak Gareeku had spoken again, this time with a query of sorts.

Taking in a deep breath Ryan finally looked away from the sky and over towards Gareeku once again, a smile now gracing his face. “Shores of white sand stretching far and wide and beyond…a land more beautiful than you could ever comprehend” a soft sigh drifted in-between his lips as his eyes fell shut during a few brief seconds of remembrance before lifting his eyelids once more. “Yes my friend…I am speaking from experience” Ryan said, softly dragging both hands through his soft long black hair, the sunlight reflecting from the blue tints within.

“If you were to go back in this planets history you would be met with an assortment of wars between the countries of Bedoe and Lavertia. More recently however, a few years ago, Lavertia and Bedoe finally united under one baler but not to end the difference, no…to destroy what they both saw as a possible future threat to their power in war. The Samurai.” Ryan said, pausing slightly. “Did word of this war reach as far as your ears on Parmecia?” Ryan asked curiously.

[Gareeku]

Upon hearing what Ryan said about him indeed speaking from experience, Gareeku's eyebrows lifted in surprise. It seemed that his samurai friend had indeed seen the land of heaven for himself, Gareeku thinking this to be incredible, as any normal person would. The blue-tailed saiyan then listened on as Ryan told of the Samurai's betrayal by both Lavertia and Bedoe.
"I was not on Dragonia when the war was being waged. I have indeed heard people speak of these events however" Gareeku replied. From what he was told, Gareeku managed to gain a picture of what had happened to Ryan, and the likely reason why his father was dead.
"It seems life can indeed be a cruel mistress at times" Gareeku commented softly, "Are you the last samurai?" Gareeku asked.

[Ryan - Loki]

Ryan could pretty much tell of Gareeku’s astonishment towards Ryan having seen Heaven, after all it wasn’t an everyday thing. Gareeku spoke in reply to Ryan’s question and soon continued to speak. “Indeed it can friend, indeed it can.” Ryan said softly in reply to Gareeku, but when Gareeku asked his final question Ryan fell into a moment of silence. There had been many occasions where he has come to this conclusion within his head, but up until now another had never actually asked him. It felt odd that someone even cared about the now all but extinct race of warriors.

Taking in a deep breath through his nose Ryan spoke once more, now looking partially down towards the floor in front of him. “The Samurai were outnumbered at least five hundred to one, or I think those were the ratio, but at any case it was a war they knew they couldn’t win…but they would meet the armies of the people they had protected for thousands of years in battle nevertheless.” Ryan said, pausing briefly. “After a long battle the leader of the samurai clan, Katsumoto, was fatally wounded in battle but left by the enemy to die a dishonourable death…his only son, the prince of the samurai, was forced to end his own fathers life with his own blades to save his honour…” Ryan quietly muttered, letting out a long breath as he partially glanced back towards the kitchen where he had left his blades.

“Not long after the prince was killed in battle, the last of the me of the samurai…but the bloodshed continued further that day. The armies of Lavertia and Bedoe moved on into the Samurai village. They raped the mother, sisters, and daughters…and then killed all who moved, women children, the lot. The buildings were burned down, some with people locked inside…” by this pause Ryan had turned his head partially away from Gareeku, his eyes now tightly closed as if to shut out the memories and flashbacks. The tightness of the eyes soon faded and Ryan returned his vision back to the floor in front of him. “The samurai race of Dragonian had been completely destroyed, but a miracle happened that day. The God’s granted the prince of the samurai a chance to keep the traditions and honour of the samurai alive. He became a messenger of the God’s, brought back to life.”

Smiling now, Ryan finished of his short story. “That last samurai, the prince, was then tricked and split in two…one of the utmost evil and one of pure good, one a Lord of Hell and one a messenger of the God’s. The last samurai then became the last brothers of the samurai. Loki and…” Ryan said, pausing as he slowly turned his face towards Gareeku.

[Gareeku]

"...Ryan" Gareeku muttered as he finished Ryan's story, a somewhat astonished look upon the warrior's face. Not only was Gareeku's a samurai, was he was the prince of the samurai. Looking back down towards the ground, Gareeku spoke again.
"It seems we are both the last of our people..." Gareeku said, seemingly staring into space as he thought. "I am not actually originally from this universe. Yes, my people are indeed saiyans, but we had, as you can see, our differences as well" Gareeku explained, referring to his blue furred tail as he spoke. "I suppose in a lot of ways we were like the dragonians and your people; peaceful, yet we prided ourselves on our skills of the martial arts. Then, one day, they came. I can still remember it now, as clear as day as you can imagine, I was only 15 at the time. We never saw it coming, they seemingly appeared out of nowhere. A race known as the Zenosians were on a mission of conquest for the galaxy we resided in, and had chosen us as their next target." Gareeku explained, pausing a moment for Ryan to take the information in before continuing. "It wasn't a battle...it was a slaughter. As strong as we were, we never stood a chance; they were just too strong. I saw it all; watched as they slit the throats of women and children begging for mercy, watched as they publicly tortured people on the spot, watched as their eye lit up with sadistic glee everytime they heard a saiyan's scream of pain"

By now Gareeku's teeth and fists were clenched in anger as he remembered the horrific events that occured that day. Calming himself down, Gareeku continued once more. "My parents and I were a few of the lucky ones. We managed to get to a ship and escape from the slaughter. From the ships window, I watched as they used a huge energy cannon to completely destroy my planet. It seemed that they wanted to exterminate any potential threats to their rampage. My parents however were suffering from massive wounds, and even though I didn't want to admit it at the time, I never it wouldn't be long before they died. We managed to land on a nearby moon which luckily enough actually had an atmosphere. Like you, Ryan, I had to watch helplessly as my parents died in my arms."

Looking up at the sky, Gareeku closed his eyes for a few moments before speaking once again. "I would never wish an experience like that on anyone. No one should have to go through what I did that day. The pain and grief within me was finally released, resulting in my first super saiyan transformation. They say woeful experiences make you stronger. I was never sure until i experienced it for myself. The next thing I knew, i was in a hospital on a planet nearby to where my homeworld had been. It was then i was approached by a martial arts master whose homeworld had also been attacked by the Zenosians. He helped me control my transformation and become a better fighter. Soon after I took it upon myself, along with a group of fighters who seeked revenge, to put a stop to the Zenosians acts of unimaginable cruelty. Remarkably we managed to liberate many of the planets that have been conquered. Of course, it was only a matter of time before we would reach the Zenosians' homeworld itself" Gareeku said, his facial remaining fairly blanck as he continued once again.

"Finally, we came face to face with the supreme commander of the Zenosian force himself; Leon was his name. At first we never stood a chance, many of the men i have fought with on our mission of liberation dying before my very eyes. I could feel the anger rising within me again, the same that had caused me become a super saiyan. At the time I would not let my inner anger cloud my judgement, a move like that in the fight could prove costly. He spent most of the time toying with me, using his power of the mind, to provoke flashbacks in my own mind, to relive that day where the Zenosians slaughtered my people. Then, he provoked a flashback of when my parents died. The grief that I was experiencing at that moment soon disappeared. It was then replaced with a burning rage, and you what happens to Saiyans when they experience rage like that" Gareeku said, a slight smirk now on his face.

"Something within me snapped. All the pain and anger i had been harboring suddenly burst forth, and so I transformed once again into what I now know is super saiyan 2. It was a long and bloody battle, but in the end i came out as the victor, but not without it's "souveneirs" so to speak" Gareeku said as he smirked again, tapping the spot inbetween his eyes where an x-shaped scar was visible. "Finally the battle was over. I had avenged the death of the many people who had died by the Zenosians' cruel hands. My mission was fufiled. Not knowing what else to do, I decided to explore the galaxy further, Prehaps settling down somewhere. I soon came across one particular planet called Earth, where i quiet literally crashed into a scientist's front garden" Gareeku said with a slight chuckle.

"He explained that he was working on a time machine, but had no one to test it out. I immediately volunteered, thinking to myself at the time that if it did indeed work, then maybe i could change the past and stop the destruction of my people. Of course, as with all experiments, things can go wrong, and this time machine testing was no exception. Instead of travelling through time, i travel through dimensions, ending up on another planet; the Earth in this dimension. Not exactly knowing what to do, I soon learnt about a company called "Capsule Corporation". Knowing that there was no where else to go, i payed them a visit, where i learnt the head of the company was actually part saiyan themselves. They soon built a spaceship for me, and so I was soon off planet-hopping again, until i landed here on Dragonia" Gareeku said as he finished what was quite literally his life story.

Turning to Ryan, Gareeku smiled, putting a hand on his friend's shoulder. "You and I share quite similar pasts when you think about it. But because of our experiences we are both stronger people, in body, mind and in spirit. I am sure your father is very very proud of you Ryan" Gareeku said with a smile.