5 Chapter 5: Training with knowledge of the past

"*Boom-Boom-Boom-BaBoom*"

Clashing fist to fist, Gohan and I continuously collided in the sky like two nuclear warheads attacking each other.

"*Boom*"

Smashing our forearms together in a stalemate, Gohan gave me a fierce look.

"Trunks. Through sparring with you, I noticed that you have a habit of causing too much collateral damage."

"Yeah… I noticed it too."

Breaking away from the clash, I flipped backwards, curling into a ball like an armadillo.

"I don't know how to stop that though. When I was in the forest, the only thing I was really able to put all of my energy into mastering was Ki. You're the first actual person I've fought."

"I can tell."

He said rather dismissively, colliding with me once more.

We had been fighting for about 4 hours now. I was still battered and beaten and hadn't yet healed from our previous fight, but I had no intentions of stopping anytime soon.

"*Boom-Boom-Boom-BaBoom*"

This time, his leg clashed with mine.

"That kick of yours just now would have disintegrated a few buildings. With just a few more of those, if we were fighting in the jungle, it would have turned the entire place into one that looked similar to this."

Breaking away from each other once more, I asked,

"How do I reduce their impact?"

"Well, reducing the impact is the wrong way to go about things. What you want to do is focus on the focalization of your strikes. To do that, we need to clear up a misconception that you have that I've mistakenly let you believe."

"*Boom*"

Elbow to elbow, we were at odds.

"And what's that?"

"Well, you should know that a person can never truly master Ki. That'd be impossible. What people can do is gain a better understanding of it by discovering new aspects. Hence why your previous comment was kind of faulty. But I'll give credit where it's due. You do have a high level of Ki control. But you and I both knew that already." Gohan stated while quickly moving behind me, folding his hands into the shape of a sledgehammer, intending on smashing me into the ground.

Sensing him immediately, I raised both of my forearms above my head to block.

Unfortunately, this was only a fake-out.

His true intention was to grab my head with both of his hands, slamming it on his steel-like knee, causing me to bite the flesh of my inner cheeks.

In return, I swung my right fist as fast and as hard as I could, delivering a blow to his liver which caused him to recoil in pain. Both of us ended up retreating.

"Well, I kinda knew that already, but I understand what you're getting at. What you're implying is that there are other aspects that I have yet to acknowledge?"

I asked.

"Precisely."

He replied.

"Instead of throwing those wild punches, instead, I want you to visualize your entire body having a thin layer of Ki surrounding it that's about a centimeter thick. If you plan on throwing a strong punch…"

Racing toward me with a balled-up fist, Gohan struck at my chest which was guarded by my arms in the shape of an X.

Upon impact, I knew this punch was very different from anything he had thrown up to this point.

"*Boom*"

He had hit me so hard that I was hurling toward an ocean, which was more than 300 miles away.

Like a stone, I began to skip on the water, creating large waves along the way.

"*splash*"

Momentarily sinking underwater, I realized that my bones were probably on the verge of shattering.

My arms were basically glowing red. Fatigue was consuming me. But, I felt like I was obligated to push myself beyond my limits.

For a moment, I took the time to loom at all the beautiful fish in the crystal clear waters.

Capturing the imagery in my mind, I flew to the surface where Gohan was waiting for me.

"*Gasp*"

Gulping a breath of fresh air, I met Gohan's eyes.

"You're starting to get slower. Are you ready to take a break?"

He asked. Of course, I only replied with a shake of my head and ascended to his level.

"Ha. Should've assumed as much from you."

He smiled.

"That punch… It was something."

I vocalized.

"Yeah. I put about 50 percent of my full power into it."

Stated Gohan with his hands on his hips in a triumphant manner.

"Pat yourself on the back much?"

I retorted.

"If I don't, who will?"

He shrugged.

"Anyway, in that punch you just received, notice how on the surface, it didn't affect the surrounding clouds. And yet, it was more powerful than anything I hit you with so far."

"Definitely noticed."

"Now, how I did that was simple. I just poured more energy into the body part I wanted the aura to be more explosive in. Advancing this technique further would allow you to use it defensively as well."

"Is this skill with aura the reason my Kamehameha had no effect on you?" I asked.

"Precisely."

Gohan nodded, giving me a thumbs up.

"Now, wanna give it a try?"

Nodding my head at his question, I attempted to do what he instructed.

"*Boom-Boom-Boom-BaBoom*"

"Too shallow. Your aura is too thin."

He critiqued.

"*Boom-Boom-Boom-BaBoom*"

"That time, it was closer. But make it a little denser."

After about 10 more tries, I created an aura that was acceptable enough for Gohan.

"Perfect! You got it Trunks!"

He cheered.

"This feels… Different."

I said looking down at my hands.

As expected, the aura was invisible. But it felt as if I had a warm slime-like coating on my body.

"Now this aura that you've now obtained, you have to focus on constantly keeping it active. After a while, it becomes as simple as breathing. While you have it on, it should protect others and the environment from collateral damage as well as keep you safe from surprise attacks."

"Always keep it on? But won't that waste energy?"

I questioned.

"The tax on your energy will lessen with time, but know this, Trunks… you need to always keep it on. Although my friends didn't wear their auras at all the times when they were alive, I want you to be different. You never know when an enemy will attempt to sneak attack you. I've seen too many people be taken off guard because of their recklessness. Please, as my student, don't be one of those people. Can you promise me that?"

To be frank, the guy had a point. I saw a lot of the Z-fighters fall to random beam attacks more than they probably should have.

Being a person that was heavily driven by survival, I knew that Gohan was pointing me in the right direction.

"I promise."

"Good," Gohan stated.

Before we knew it the day had turned to night.

At this point, my body was giving me my final warning. I was on death's door. Gohan himself had a few cunts and bruises. Other than that, he looked fine.

Gassed for air, I kneeled on the ground using my sword as a crutch to keep my balance.

"I think we're both done for the day."

Gohan announced.

Agreeing with him, I attempted to stand up, but failed, returning back to my original position coughing up more blood as one of my lungs had been punctured by a rib.

"Y'know, you shouldn't be overdoing it like that."

"And why's that?"

I asked. I had Saiyan biology. The very fiber of my being told me to continuously fight with all I had. Why would I disobey it?

With a concerned look in his eyes, he shook his head.

"Trunks, a martial artist should know when it's time to fight, and when rest is necessary. Training breaks down the body, and rest repairs it. If you destroy your body to the point where you cause irreversible damage to it, no matter how much rest you take, you'll be limited physically. Permanently."

Although he said this, I got the feeling that the perspective he was coming from was that of a human.

Reaching out his hand, I grabbed onto it, using it and my sword as support. Standing up, I looked him in his eyes with confidence and stated, "I respect your opinion."

"Why do I get the feeling that a "but" is coming."

"Because there is one. I respect your opinion, but I have a plan. I just need you to believe in the process."

Appearing to be slightly apprehensive, Gohan continued no longer.

"Then I guess this concludes our training session for today." Gohan expressed with his arms crossed.

"I guess it does."

"*grumble*"

Because I was so immersed in our battle, I had completely forgotten the fact that I was starving.

Tilting his head, Gohan smiled.

"looks like someone's hungry. I still have your capsules. Bulma did pack you some food, right?"

"Ah. I forgot about those, if I'm being honest."

I laughed, slightly embarrassed.

"Should I go get them?"

"Nah. I have some turkey waiting on me at my camping spot. My leading the way over there? I have no idea where we are right now."

"Wait, turkey? Are you talking about the mutant noir owl?"

"Is that what that asshole was?"

"Huh? That's harsh. It sounds like you had something personal against it. What happened?"

Pointing to the scar on my face and the one across my chest, I then told Gohan the story of what happened the first day I arrived in the forests in great detail.

Shocked, Gohan felt immense guilt for sleeping while I risked my life.

I told him that I no longer held resentment. After all, because I was tossed into that situation, I was motivated to learn Ki control.

Flying away, we left directly to our destination.

Once we arrived, Gohan and I bantered as I continued where I left off, plucking the feathers off the Noir Owl.

"You know, you're kinda good at that. I grew up on a farm, so I'm an exception. Another kid would have probably left its guts still intact and probably wouldn't have even bothered draining its blood. Have you ever considered becoming a farmer?"

Gohan asked while sitting atop a large boulder that I used for strength training.

"In all honesty, yeah. Being a farmer, owning my own land, watching the sunrise every morning with my future family… Doesn't sound half bad."

"Oh? A family? You're already starting to see girls in that way, huh? You got a little lady in mind?" He asked with a teasing tone.

"..."

Turning around, I squinted my eyes at him then continued on with what I was doing.

"Jeez. Can't take a joke?"

He jested.

Mentally, I was about 37. Physically, I was 4, almost 5.

I wouldn't find romance anytime soon. I had come to terms a long time ago and mentally eliminated the longing for a relationship a long time ago.

"I can… I'm just not willing to dive into that aspect of life at this moment in time."

"Fair. I'll stay off of that topic until you're ready for it."

He retorted. I couldn't lie, that patronizing comment did upset me a little, but I shrugged it off.

"So, you wanna be a farmer when you grow up?"

"I never said that. I just said that the career doesn't sound bad."

Putting all the feathers in a big pile, I took out my sword and started dismantling the owl's thighs, wings, breasts, and neck, which was kind of difficult considering the state of my body.

While Gohan stared at the sky, he asked, "What is your goal in life, Trunks?"

"...My goal is to survive."

In my words, Gohan was knocked into a daze. It was clear that what I had said was unexpected. He then looked at me with a strange look… One in the realm of sorrow.

"Hey? What's up with you?"

Waiting for his response for a good while, Gohan answered.

"Your goal… It should be achievable. But during times like this, a person can only pray to see tomorrow."

"Agreed."

Getting up from his spot, Gohan hopped down, walked to me, and crouched on a knee.

"Trunks… I've been through so much trying to keep this planet safe. Yet, they're people dying right now, and I can't do anything about that."

Remembering our conversation from a month ago, I realized that Gohan was still grieving from his transgressions.

'Damn… He might have taken my words to heart.'

Before I could clarify on what exactly I meant, he put his index fingers to his lips, signaling me to not interrupt so that he could finish speaking.

"I acknowledge the fact that I can't fix an entire planet, but I'm the only one who has a chance."

"But isn't that the whole reason we started this? So that I could one day be someone you could depend on?"

I reminded.

"Yeah… That was the case, and still is. But until you grow more, you have to be on standby. But until then, I have come to realize that I should at least provide an easier path for you to walk down."

Confused as to what exactly he meant, I was momentarily wordless.

"Make things easier? You wouldn't be thinking about taking care of one of the Androids, right?"

Shaking his head no, Gohan explained.

"No… I'm not stupid. The current me wouldn't be able to handle one of them on my best day."

"Then, what are you implying?"

"I'm saying that the Android's aren't the only threat out there. To begin with, the Red Ribbon army who created those two is still out there. Although Dr. Gerro may have died, he wasn't their only mad scientist. As we speak, they're out there doing inhumane experiments on a mass scale, abducting people any chance they can. I've destroyed some of their bases, but there's no telling how many of them are."

What he said made sense. The Red Ribbon army was a huge conglomerate. That had shadow companies on shadow companies. They had spies everywhere that were masters of espionage.

"It's not only them. There are cults and terrorist groups everywhere, nowadays. If I want to make Earth safer, those guys need to be wiped off the face of the planet. I'm to help you fulfill your dreams, then I need to get to work."

"So… What does this mean for our training?"

I asked.

His goal seemed very time-consuming. It seemed like something that would have taken years to achieve.

Although I was confident in ascending to new heights, for all intents and purposes, the kid really was my master. And I needed guidance, especially when I accounted for all the things I learned today.

"Don't worry."

Putting his hand on my shoulder and giving me a smile that held sadness.

"I'll make sure to teach you all that I know before time is up."

'What was that supposed to mean?'

I couldn't help but physically frown at him.

But ignoring my body language, he turned around and began to levitate.

"Let's go. There should be a salt mine nearby."

Seeing him fly away, I followed, thinking that this guy was impossible. Stubborn. It was just like mother had told me.

…

…

…

(1 Year Later)

"With this turtle school movement, you wanna make sure that they're as free-flowing as water. Repeat after me."

Gohan directed as he spread his legs shoulder-length apart and made a strike.

'Wow. It's almost like a snake striking."

I thought.

"Now, when you make this strike, you almost want to make sure that the Ki from your fingertips is as sharp and precise as a blade. To do that, condense your aura as much as you can. To save on energy, wait until the moment of impact. As you could tell, I didn't use my Ki in that instance. That's because I want you to figure it out on your own."

"Understood."

Getting in position, I did exactly as he did in his demonstration. As I struck the air, a whipping sound could be heard.

"Wow. That's cool."

"Haha. It is. All of dad's skills are pretty useful."

Gohan replied.

(1 Year Later)

"This one is called the Special Beam Cannon. It was my teacher, Piccolo's ultimate attack. For this technique, footing is very important. It won't seem like it in the beginning, but it helps with concentration."

This was a skill that I was familiar with. Unlike the other ones he taught me, I could have probably learned it on my own. But there was no harm in seeing a demonstration.

Spreading his legs far, his Ki began to climb rapidly as he put his index and middle fingers on his forehead causing sand and dust to blow in my face.

As he charged, his body began to pulsate while veins began to bulge out of his arms.

After about a minute of charging, his fingertips bared enough energy to blow up the planet 10 times over.

With a quick swipe of his hand, he aimed at the sky. Once he did, he launched the attack so powerful that it was illuminating our surroundings to the point that people who lived states away would have been confused as to who turned on the lights.

"Woah."

Moments after the attack started to dissipate, an aurora borealis-like pattern painted the atmosphere.

Out of breath, Gohan collapsed to a knee, exhausted. We had already been sparring all day prior, so I couldn't blame him.

"*sigh*"

"I haven't used that in a while."

He said, chuckling and dropping to one knee.

"Getting old, huh?"

I jested.

"Haha. Whatever."

Composing himself, he got up and pointed at me.

"Now… It's your turn."

…

(2 years later)

Gohan and I sat back and looked up at the stars in silence, as we usually did around this time.

"Hey, Trunks."

"Hmm?"

"If you could have any pet in the world, what would it be."

"A pet? What's got your mind on that?"

I asked.

"Well, every time I come back and visit this jungle, it reminds me of the old days when I was your age. Back then, I had a pet dragon. He passed away, but his name was Ikarus."

A little surprised at how casually he said that I then remember the purple dragon that I would have forgotten about if he hadn't bought it up.

"Ah… Well, I guess a Giant Panda. I always thought they were cute."

"Huh. They are."

He added on.

"What about you? If you had the chance to have another pet, what would it be?"

"Hmm… I haven't thought about that. But I guess it would be a dog."

"A dog?"

"Yeah. I had always wanted one since I was a kid. Why does that surprise you?" he said with a curious look.

"Well, you're a farmer. You had animals before. Goats, cows, and chickens. You even had a pet dragon."

"Well… To be fair, the chickens and goats were just food. And I looked at the cows as more of tools to help grow the radishes. I always thought that having a dog would have been cool. Since I was little, I always dreamed about having one that I could take on walks and feed treats."

"Ha. Simplicity is always nice. What type of dog? What would you name him?"

"I'd name him Zeus. As for the breed, that doesn't really matter to me."

"Real fan of Greek myth, huh?"

"I used to read all about mythology when I wanted to be a scholar."

"Ah…"

After a little bit of star gazing, Gohan broke the silence.

"What about you?"

"Me?"

"Yeah. What would you name your panda, if you had one?"

I took a moment to think about it then came up with the perfect answer.

"Well, I'm thinking of something mystical. Something wise. Something that fits a noble beast like a panda. And that name is…"

"Well? You gonna leave me hanging?"

"Panda."

Breaking out into laughter, Gohan began to roll back and forth.

"Wow. You don't like the name Panda for my panda?"

"No, haha. It's not that. I just didn't expect that to be the name you thought long and hard about."

He said, wiping a tear from his eye.

"Well, it's the name I'd give him."

He and I continued to barter for a bit until he fell asleep.

(1 year later)

"Yes, mother. Everything's fine here. I'm healthy and well."

[Well, when is the next time you're gonna visit? It's been 2 years for goodness sake! You would think that a person who can literally fly faster than the speed of sound would come to see the person who brought him into this world more often!]

I was currently on the satellite phone my mother had packed for me in one of my capsules.

"Haha relax. No need to be so grumpy all the time. I'll be there for my birthday next week."

[And why not now?]

"Because I'm busy training with Gohan."

[You train every day! Can't you take a day off? We miss you. I miss you.]

"Mom. I'll be there next week. I promise."

[*sigh*]

Even over the phone, I could tell that she had her hand on her hip and the other one on the bridge of her nose.

[Okay. You promised, Mister. I'll hold you to it.]

"Thank you."

[If you don't show up, I'm gonna do some training myself and this Super Mom of yours is gonna rip a chunk of that purple hair of out your scalp.]

"Ha… Got it. I'll show up."

[Good…Trunks?]

"Yeah?"

[I love you.]

"I love you too, Mom. See ya soon."

[You better.]

Hanging up the phone and putting it into my pocket, across from me was Gohan in his base form, wearing his usual training Gi while I wore a combat suit similar to my father's.

My mother had upgraded them, making them as heavy as scientifically possible. Of course, with this world's tech being exceptionally advanced, the weight on my body was comparable to the weight of 3 and a half African elephants which made me all the more sluggish.

I offered Gohan the same suit, but respectively declined, not seeing a benefit to the additional weight. Even after trying to convince him on multiple occasions, he was content with his own gear.

I thought his decision was beyond stupid, that was until he informed me that the Gi he wore held extreme sentimental value to him. It belonged to Goku and he prized it as his treasure.

He felt like if he had it tampered with it would be tainted.

After that, I no longer bothered him on the topic.

"How's Bulma doing?"

The man asked.

"She's fine. She told me that she missed me."

Nodding his head, Gohan got combat-ready.

I did the same.

(8 years later)

Today marked the 4th year I hadn't seen Gohan. And frankly, I missed the guy. He was the first person I could call my friend in this world, but he vanished like the avatar.

A lot of changes happened in my life in such a short time, physically, mentally, and spiritually.

Currently, I stood at about 5'7 and was in the best shape of my life. Because of the intensity of my training, unfortunately, I was scared all over from head to toe.

Luckily for me, I managed to not gain any more scars on my face aside from the one that was caused by the Noir Owl all those years ago.

The same couldn't be said for my chest, back, arms, or legs. Gohan had really done a number on me.

My hair was as purple as ever and was now flowing down past my back. My mother had demanded that I start taking care of it, seeing as I wouldn't cut it, so it was very healthy. A person wouldn't have been able to tell what color it was though, considering I had locked myself into Super Saiyan for 2 entire years to master it.

It only took 6 months for me to do so, but still, I felt a slight drain on my Ki everytime I transformed. I wanted to arrive at the point where it required none. The logical decision was to temper it like a hammer to hot Iron. I had been doing just that.

It was kinda comical. I always wondered what it would look like for a Saiyan with long hair to transform into his or her ascended state. Turns out, it made me look like a Super Saiyan 3.

I was wearing my weighted battle suit, as per usual when I was training, while I sat in the gravity chamber my mother had renovated as a mobile home.

150 times earth's gravity. That was the intensity of this room. It was strenuous on my body, but even so, I sat with 100 tiny condensed Ki orbs orbiting me which made it look like I was surrounded by rapidly moving fireflies.

This was a testament of how far my Ki control had improved.

Throughout the years, my sword had also undergone a plethora of upgrades. I no longer had the original that Gohan gave me. I had accidentally destroyed it while fighting him. Instead, to replace it, I had two thin black blades akin to katanas that I named Noir and Owl, named after the bird that almost killed me.

They hung off my back in the formation of an X, being held up by my aura.

I had no idea what they were made out of, but I couldn't even break them in Super Saiyan. They were also ridiculously heavy, each weighing the same amount as the average cars. But that was how I liked it. In my hands, they were light as paper clips.

With all my time training with Gohan, I had developed my swordsmanship to an entirely new level that I hadn't thought possible. I was able to incorporate Ki basted attack like the Special Beam cannon into and more.

But even so, I didn't overly rely on them to fight. If that was the case, learning all of the fighting styles of the Z-fighters, excluding father, would have been for no reason.

An interesting thing that I picked up was learning instruments. I learned to play the piano and had Grand in the gravity chamber that was gifted to me on my 14th birthday.

Around the time was also the time I had last talked with Gohan. In that period, we concluded our mentorship/apprenticeship.

Like he had promised, I learned everything that he knew.

That was when he started destroying Red Ribbon bases more frequently… It was also around that time that android 17 and 18 disappeared.

They had stopped running around, wreaking havoc.

At first, people assumed they had only taken breaks from being terrorists. That break turned into a vacation when a year passed.

When 2 passed, the population had come to the conclusion that they had retired.

Once they realized 17 and 18 weren't coming back, the entire earth began to celebrate.

Nations cried.

Continents grieved.

The people mourned.

But as the days went on, people were finally finding themselves able to smile again. But within my core some strange primal feeling manifested, as if my body was preparing me for something. For some reason, I had a gut feeling that something terrible was happening. I still did today.

'Where the hell is he… It's been too long.'

Today was my seventh birthday. I planned on visiting my mother and grandparents. But every birthday Gohan didn't show, which caused me more anxiety.

"*ring*"

Opening my eyes and disbursing the Ki orbs, I walked over and turned off the gravity, picking up my phone.

"Hello?"

[Trunks…]

It was my mother speaking.

"Hey, Mom. I'll be over there in a little bit. Just gotta get dressed."

[That's not what I'm calling for…]

She said with a dark tone in her voice.

She sounded shocked. She sounded scared.

This made my heart skip a beat. Did someone die? Was it one of my grandparents? Was it Gohan!? What was going on?

"Then… What is it? What's wrong?"

[While I was out of town getting your gift… West city's entire population vanished.]

Shocked at her words, I had to make sure what I heard was correct.

"W-what do you mean by the population vanishing? Can you please clarify?"

[Trunks. Everyone in West City is gone. Only their clothes were left behind.]