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The following is a fan-based

FICTION

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Chapter 9: Pride and Justice

Beta-Reader: Ant0nius

Just as I had predicted moments before throwing myself at Vegeta, I ended up getting up thoroughly trashed by the Prince of all Saiyans.

It's not like this was a surprise considering that he was thrice as strong as I was, but the real shocker was that my plans in delaying his victory by attrition worked, even if the plans only partially worked.

He was strong and fast, but his stance was born from experience rather than discipline. I took notice of how unprepared he was in moving quickly through my precise attacks, with only his resilience saving him from any effort of exploiting this weakness to the fullest.

The main issue turned out to be the ki-based attacks. He didn't use any of his 'classic moves', but I figured the issue here was due to the fact that two of his well-known attacks had yet to be developed.

But what Vegeta didn't make in original blasts, he would do with generic ones. The barrage of yellow-colored explosive orbs of ki was relentless and very difficult to dodge. Too many, too quickly.

I had to block his different attacks more than once, my teeth gritting in pain as I started bleeding from numerous injuries. The longer I fought, the less focused I would get.

But at least I didn't leave the Prince undamaged, as the arrogant prick now had a couple new bruises and a bleeding gash located on the left side of his head.

"Is that it?" He dully mused, mocking the clear difference of power between us. "I would've thought you would be capable of holding yourself in a fight."

At this point, I lacked the restraint to hold back from answering the taunting, and the man sure wasn't ready for what I had in store.

"I am. You're bleeding alright."

He frowned. "A flesh wound."

"You ain't the black knight, fool," I retorted, but the reference went missing as this world lacked a Monty Python.

Now, isn't that a tragedy?!

But while he didn't get the reference, he sure took notice of the insult at the end of that rebuttal.

He scowled, planting a furious punch on my cheek and sending me flying away again. The floor greeted me like an intimate friend, with my face slamming multiple times into it.

"I can't believe you're part of the Saiyans," Vegeta mentioned with a disdaining tone.

I felt as if I should've taken offense at that, but considering the variables that led me to this point, I had nothing to say to rebuke that comment.

Instead, I knew that I was getting dangerously weaker now and that I now had to 'pick up the pace'.

"Neither do I, but..." I stood up from my own crater. "Do you want to see a trick, prince?"

Narrowing his eyes at me, he still allowed me to power up and… he seemed surprised when a green aura coated my surrounding body.

I could feel the difference between him and me lessening faster now… before then stopping right below him, much to my surprise.

I blinked, confusion rising up as I was indeed tapping in my Wrath State but… it wasn't full-powered.

No pain, no overwhelming blood lust… less power than I needed.

I think I've found a curious issue that might end up becoming problematic now… but this had to be looked at once I was done with the intrigued Saiyan.

"So that's what caused the spike in your power," He muttered with fascination. "It's… familiar. You tapped into… the power of the Oozaru?"

Well, that was way quicker than I initially expected. I guess his mind was just out of the fighting and more into pondering since he didn't get that right when his older self fought Broly.

"Correct. And now, I will take this victory," I replied with a determined grin.

He snorted, a devious smile on his face. "I would usually give a quick death to anyone saying this."

"You didn't do that with Goku," I remarked, getting him to scowl again.

...I really know how to piss him off in the most absolute of ways.

"Don't even try to bring up Kakarot in this!"

"Then stop talking and attack already!" I retaliated with the same irritation, growing impatient with his stalling. While I wasn't feeling any pain with this diluted version of the Wrath State, I was still giving up part of my energy to satisfy its upkeep. And it wasn't something negligible.

Vegeta rushed towards me again, cocking a fist to begin his close encounter and, while in a normal situation that would've worked wonders against me if I hadn't transformed, the attack now was easily blocked before I threw a kick back at him.

His ribs groaned at the counter, but he barely showed any pain at the damage I had caused. The brawl resumed shortly after, and it was clear that now that my power was closer to his, the advantage that I had over him thanks to my refined martial arts became more important as I started making a slow comeback.

I wasn't sure if the man realized this early on, but from the way he kept up with the close fighting I was tempted to say no. Or maybe he was just too stubborn to realize that I gained the edge for once in this fight.

The bruises increased, along with the cuts over his face and arms. The pink shirt was now filled with openings as I was merciless on wherever I would hit.

Starting to catch on with the current take of this battle, the Prince finally backed away from the close encounter, sparing a quick glance over the damage sustained.

I wasn't exactly left untouched. New bruises appeared all over my face and my tracksuit was starting to get a little too damaged after that encounter.

"Finally you show some indication of being a warrior. But now I will ask again and will not ask once more," Vegeta spoke seriously and with a slightly irritated look. "What is your Saiyan name?"

"As I've mentioned before, I wasn't born a Saiyan. I drank some magic water that made me like this," I responded with an annoyed tone. "Come on, isn't that difficult to believe considering that Earth and New Namek have wish-granting dragons?!"

I expected him to shrug this off with a sneer, and yet he paused with an interested look.

"Is that so?"

Frowning at his genuine confusion, my inner questions were soon answered as one of the communication devices within the room was turned on.

"My bad, John!" Bulma's voice echoed across the room. "I forgot to bring this up when he asked about you."

"WHAT?!" I really didn't have much restraint after that beating, but I turned to look at Vegeta instead of lingering too much over the device. "B-But- then how did you make the assumption I was from Planet Vegeta?"

The prince snorted. "Considering how Kakarot was one of the survivors of the planet's destruction, I'm quite sure that other Saiyans might have escaped home before Frieza destroyed it."

I opened my mouth to inquire more about this certainty, but then again I remembered that there were a couple of cases that confirmed his theory.

Paragus and Broly, plus the rest of the crew that followed them, were among the survivors. Now I wonder if there were other survivors to Planet Vegeta's annihilation. Maybe they kept their identity a secret to avoid being found by Frieza.

That's really a curious argument I hadn't taken into consideration…

"I suppose that's a legitimate claim. Still, I'm glad that you're now going to spare me from asking about my Saiyan Name-"

"Quince," The fellow Saiyan interrupted. "That's your new name."

…

"Oh no, we're not having any of that-"

"It's a royal decree," He interrupted again. "You're Quince now."

"Fuck that!"

"It's non-negotiable!"

"Like hell it is!"

"Then prepare for punishment!" Vegeta rebuked as he prepared with a familiar pose. Both his open palms went to his left, and his right leg brought up. "Galick-!"

I charged up myself, preparing a Max. Power Kamehameha.

"Kamehame-!"

We were both shining in purple and blue auras respectively. He was almost ready to release the beam, and so was I.

"HO!"

"HA!"

And the bright spectacle of light exploded between us. The clash was way different compared to anything I've felt up until now. This was a genuine attempt to maim me and I felt dread pushing me to return the favor with more energy.

While the early bits of the collision seemed to allude to a possibility of a stalemate, I gritted my teeth as I saw my beam getting pushed back slowly but steadily.

If I ended up losing this conflict, I sure as hell was going to get hospitalized. And I wasn't planning to fall into that troublesome issue now.

I had just started my adventure, and I wasn't planning to spend the first few days out by healing up some stupid wounds.

Thus I started to think more about the options I could use at that moment.

Interrupting the clash now that I could was quickly excluded on the basis that Vegeta was going to spam more ki barrages if I decided to stop that final bit of our fight.

If something had to happen, it had to while we were focused on the current state of things.

Distractions wouldn't have favored me since it would require me to move one of my hands away from the cupped position to throw a ki blast at the man while he was distracted. Which would've then favored a quicker defeat for me since I wasn't keeping up with the ki input for the Kamehameha.

I stole a swift glance at the backpack I had left at the entrance of the room and… pondered over some drastic attempts. I could try to draw out more power from my Wrath State, but I could tell it was wavering as it was right now and I might disrupt my concentration by doing so.

With most of the situations drawn out as unproductive, I decided to address the last good option I had to win Vegeta and… I almost smiled at the irony if I managed to pull off something like that.

It was grasping at straws, but I knew that I could technically try something this dreadfully difficult in the middle of this stupid fight.

I just had to… hope my body was capable of holding the power up just for so long.

The basis of my next move stemmed from the capacity of my body to bolster up Ki production at the expense of my physical state. I needed to quicken my metabolism and the mass-produce energy to increase the current input of the Kamehameha.

Taking in a long sigh, I stared with the most soul piercing of looks at Vegeta. The fellow Saiyans quickly took notice of this, his face betraying nothing else but pure concentration on his Galick Gun. Yet his jaws dropped as I muttered some familiar words.

"Kaio-ken!"

The effect was instantaneous. Energy stormed my entire being as I swiftly pushed all of the new ki onto the blast. The blue beam grew denser and stronger, immediately pushing back the prince's ki-based attack back at him.

Fury drenched Vegeta's face before the classic explosion of light deafened and blinded us both.

And while the smoke covered the aftermath of that victory, my eyes went wide as my Wrath Mode dissolved quickly and my spasms-ridden body collapsed on the floor without notice, my unprepared muscles straining under the pressure of the Kaio-ken.

While the technique is 'easy' to get down, the real problem was the body's capacity to tank the massive drain it demands. I was prepared for the large intake of energy, but I was caught off guard when atrocious pain sent my entire being in complete shock.

Twitching and trying to see if I had won or not, my hopes came crashing down as I felt something familiar crash onto my face. It was a tiny green bean and… Vegeta stood over me as he took one of the Senzu beans for himself. His pink shirt was gone, revealing his previously bruised chest now recovering thanks to the healing power of the tiny vegetable.

"You're rather stupid. In a non-redeemable way," The Prince remarked dryly. "I'm half-tempted to consider that you might be related to Kakarot somehow."

"I'm not that dumb."

"But look who's on the ground right now," He continued, now with a smile on his face. "Let me ask you this, did that stupid technique help you win in the end?"

Taking a bite at my own senzu bean, I finally stood up and regaled the Prince with a frown.

"I mean, you did lose that clash-"

"But I won the fight," The man bragged without hesitation. "And look at you, grasping at mirrors."

"I swear, you're hyping this too mu-"

"I am the Hype!"

...Oh no, that's not something I really- Abridged 'Gets? Is that you?!

"Yes. Yes, you are," I replied dully, quickly taking my attention away from him and at the door. "But I have stuff to do. Loser's stuff."

He was still grinning and gloating over this victory as I took off from his hold the bag with the senzu beans. Ignoring the humiliating sting of having lost despite winning that clash, I walked up to the door and left the training room.

I wasn't in the mood to endear that prick as he stroked his ego worse than a-

"I guess you lost," Bara muttered as she took notice of me while leaning on the wall in front of the door. Bulma was standing by the end of the corridor, counting some money with a smug look. "You know, I did bet on you winning."

"Sorry?" I offered with a slightly awkward tone. "It wasn't my intention of getting beaten by someone stronger than me."

"Cheeky, but I'm not mad at you," The brunette pointed out with a huff. "But I expect you will get me to see two movies for the weekend."

"Only if neither of them are romance related."

She snorted. "As if I would dig through that sappy genre, you prick."

"Then it can be done," I muttered mirthfully. "Still, the scouter-"

The woman walked closer and set the device on me without saying much of a word.

Growing confused at her silence, I was taken by surprise when I found out what new functions were now included.

"You gave me internet connection?"

"Only if you keep within Earth's range. You currently can't access the web without paying any providers," Bara explained with a tiny smirk. "The Scouter is connected to the Capsule Corporation's satellites, so you will be spared any strange spam and ad."

...I'm really liking this dimension.

"That's incredible-"

"But wait, there's more!" The scientist interjected giddily. "We also added a small detector whose main purpose is to identify any devices around."

"The option I've requested?" I inquired, smiling only when she offered a quick nod. "Neat."

"Still, I've to ask. Why do you need this feature?" She asked with a hint of curiosity. "Never thought warriors would need to worry about this kind of… issues."

I restrained myself from tensing up, finally getting a clue of a sinister possibility becoming truer each time a topic of this degree was brought up.

"Paparazzi are crazy for photos of guys they think will sell with their gossip magazines," I lied, forcing my expression to match the sheepish nature of the context. "Even those they don't know the name about."

"Oh? Someone is taking pictures of you without asking for permission?" The brunette pondered with a strange tone. "Do you have a name so I can check on their website? I wish to contact them with a firm but appropriate letter."

Either hacking the site into oblivion or literally exploding their headquarters, both options quite extreme but the context was enough to crack a smile on me.

"I will manage. After all I will now know when they are trying something sneaky," I assured her with a nod. "But thank you for worrying."

Her cheeks flared a little bit, and she fixed her glasses. "W-Why wouldn't I worry about you? I saw how you tend to make stupid decisions from time to time."

"And I've an angel watching over me, I guess."

If the blush was evident before, now it was burning her whole face.

"Y-You jerk, trying to… be so sweet and annoying at the same time," Bara blurted out with some annoyance. "Now it's three movies for the weekend."

Well, we win some and we lose some…

Just as I conceded to that minor defeat, I took notice that someone was missing in the corridor and I frowned.

"Is the girl I brought here still-"

"She woke up and Mr. Popo came to talk with her a while ago," Bulma interrupted, having finished counting her reward. "They should still be in the inner park. I don't need to mention where to, since you're aware of Mr. Popo appearance."

I nodded, hiding back a grimace as I gave a quick hug to Bara before leaving to find where Flanny was.

While I was giving out the pure semblance of calm and stoicness, I couldn't help but panic within my head at the current developments that I was now meant to handle with the utmost of care.

Mr. Popo was here, and he was probably chatting with his daughter about what had happened to bring her in this specific dimension. And while Dumplin was a 'chill' parent, he was still quite attached to his children, and Flanny wasn't an exception to that rule.

Sure, he might not be as close to her as he was with his eldest daughter, but he was still a family man to heart.

And I kind of dragged his daughter half West City to get some reprieve from her whining…

Gulping nervously as I vaulted through the glass doors between the entrance and the inner park, I ventured inside with the hope of finding myself alive by the end of this interaction.

They were nearby one of the big trees in the natural area, with the girl having her hood up as she leaned onto the trunk of the tree while her father stood a couple of feet away from her.

The short genie greeted me with a nod. "Hello maggot."

"Dumplin," I regarded dryly.

Flanny's head turned to address me, her eyes wide open and her jaws dropping for a second before she quickly recomposed and took a few steps towards me.

"You know about me from dad?"

"Kind of?" I replied with a shrug before turning back to her father. "I suppose you're going to… take her back home."

The Dark God sighed tiredly. "Nope."

…

"What?"

"Dad, I thought that-"

"If I remember correctly, I left you at home to watch over your brother and his crazy protege," The man pointed out, drawing a groan from the girl.

"Yeah well, it's not my fault that Spudz can't keep that guy at bay," She explained with an irritated tone. "Plus, he told me that it would've been fine to leave to get some manga-"

"And yet I told you to keep an eye on him. You were the caretaker in that instance."

…

"Oh-"

"And now I will be busy trying to find where these two have gone because you weren't responsible enough to complete that simple task."

And I felt the need to flinch at that cruel response. Flanny was furious at that ridiculous accusation, but before she had the chance of saying something we would both come to regret, I decided to reach for her shoulder and give it a squeeze.

I wasn't trying to comfort her, but distract her from saying anything stupid. And it worked as her stare swiftly turned at me while I took the opportunity to interject any response from her part.

"If Flanny is not coming back to her house, then where is she staying?"

The Dark God turned to glance at me, his smile widened in the most terrifying display of bad news.

"Since you're asking and since you were the one to find her, I think you'll have that responsibility."

"And how do I explain her presence to others-"

"Just mention that she is a time traveler," Dumplin interrupted tiredly. "You're savvy with the lore, play with it at your own advantage instead of being an outright moron."

I bit down the need to give him a 'fuck you' for the frustrating orders he was giving me.

"But I don't-"

"It's not up to debate. You will be Bukharin's ward until I decide you're punished enough."

"Wait, you mean to tell me that-"

"Staying in the proximity of a human like you is punishment enough for any demon worthy of respect," He added with a dry tone. "Don't think your extra knowledge paints you in a brighter light compared to the rest of humanity. In fact, I think you're more of a threat than else if you decide to go after the Demon Realm."

I frowned. "Why would I-"

"It might happen and I would prefer if you don't jinx it," He interrupted again, ignoring the growing irritation at his pompous tone. "I've tried to screw one and-"

"And I don't need to know that," I interrupted on my own. "I guess I can decide what she will do during her time here, with some mindfulness to not make any disasters."

"Just don't get her to blurt out the truth and you can do whatever you want."

I was expecting him to be a little more concerned about her safety but this… this was worse than I could have imagined. I mean, I knew these two behaved like strangers despite their familial bond but… what I was witnessing in first person was quite the tough life on Flanny.

"By the way, Kami asked me to give you this scroll," Mr. Popo said as he yanked a rolled-up scroll at me, which I caught mid-air. "It's the clothes-repairing spell. It will make it less annoying for anyone to fix your clothes since you will be fighting a lot."

I gave a nod, but then I remembered a couple of questions I wanted to ask to the man.

"Actually, is it possible for your wife and Mira to… and he's gone."

Yep, one moment I was looking at the scroll and the next one the genie was gone.

…

Fuck, I really want to know if I will end up facing the two timeline meddlers anytime soon. I wasn't really hoping to fight Mira in any circumstances.

But without the main source of info about this specific topic, I just turned my attention back to who was going to be my… ward for a long time.

Flanny stared- no, glared at me as if expecting me to reverse the decision made by his father.

"What?"

"'What'? Why didn't you allow me to protest?!"

"Because he wouldn't care and you would've just gotten angrier," I rebuked tiredly.

"And? What if I did? What would've changed if I shrieked back at him?"

"You could've said something you really don't mean," I replied again. "And I can assure you I don't mean about being too offensive to him or anything, but being stupid enough to warrant an extension to the current punishment."

"Well, I don't care," She huffed, crossing her arms close to her chest. "I'm not following you."

…

Man, I'm having too many vibes about…

"How about we make a little bet?" I suggested calmly. "You win, you get my Scouter with unlimited internet access. I win and you become my apprentice."

"Ah, and let me ask what kind of unfair challenge do I have to go through?"

"You punch me just once and I lose," I answered quickly. "I poke your forehead and I win."

Her eyes widened slowly at the last words. "You… how much do you like Naruto?"

"I followed it when it first aired," I mentioned calmly. "But I kind of tuned down the hype about it due to other series."

"Then I hope you're ready to fail like Itachi!" Flanny exclaimed as she rushed to the assault. Her fist cocked and ready for an easy win…

…

"Stay still!"

"Nope," I rebuked with a chill tone as I continued dodging the punches coming from the short girl. She was stronger than me by a long shot, but that was her only strength. No speed, no grace, no discipline, no training.

To be fair, one punch of hers could easily put me out of commission for a little while, but I was careful enough to not risk myself in some smug and risky dodging.

It took me a moment to also realize how her stamina was much lower than I had initially expected. After ten minutes of throwing punches like a madwoman, Flanny was breathing loudly and raggedly, and by the time we reached forty minutes she was close to stopping at once.

She took a brief pause, shaking her head and glaring at me with a look of pure anger .

"Why are you moving so quickly?"

"Because I don't want to get hit, little fan."

A snarl ensued and she charged back for another attempt. I swear, I would've imagined a hardcore Sasuke's fan to be a little less… easy to anger. And yet Flanny was being quite easy to lead around.

She could technically vaporize me if she started using ki blasts, but she knew that the place wasn't going to hold under that much power.

Thirty more minutes passed and then… Flanny sat down on the floor, groaning and holding her hands close to her face.

I stared at the scene for a moment, slowly frowning as I realized that she wasn't just resting.

"What are you doing?" I inquired calmly, trying to make sense of that odd position.

"If you don't poke my forehead, then you can't win," Flanny explained giddily. "But to do so, you will have to come close and… right into my range."

"Good grief, I guess you're right," I returned the Jojo reference with one of my own. "Ready or not, here I come~!"

I picked up pace in a sudden rush towards her, shocking the girl for a moment as she prepared to strike at the right time.

Her punch shot up and towards my trajectory, ready to conquer victory over me. But her limb went… through me. Or rather 'through my after-image'.

"W-Wha-"

"Boop~!"

Her eyes widened as I crouched down behind her, smiling down to her.

"I won."

…

"And now you're my apprentice."

…

"FUUUUUUUUUUUUCCKKKKKK!"

Ah, now I can irk her with some Kakashi-patented jokes and shenanigans. Hopefully I won't piss her enough to explode the planet…

Meh, the cuteness makes up for the risk~.

AN

Worry not, my readers, the whiner will be tamed. Less potato-couching doritos, more training and apple juice!

Quick Addendum over Kaioken: No, MC can't use it properly and will not be listed in his bio. The difference between Times 1 and 2 is that the former is a 1.5x multiplier while the latter is a 2x multiplier.

Current Power Levels:

John Bukharin:
1.200.000 (Beginning of Fight);
650.000 (Mid of the Fight);
2.600.000 (40% Wrath State);
3.900.000 (40% Wrath State + Kaio-Ken Times 1)
2.000.000 (Post-Fight Zenkai);

Vegeta:

3.000.000 (Beginning of Fight);
2.800.000 (Mid of the Fight);
5.000.000 (Post-Fight Zenkai);

REVIEW Q&A!

Ascandas: I will exploit as much lore as possible to create the greatest story ever! XD

Reishin Amara: It's a Self-Insert. The name is the same for many other stories I write.

KitCat0922: Everyone has their opinion. I'm sorry I didn't live up to create a safe haven from too much flashiness.

Claton fromMoga: Maybe~?