The Secret of Power

Gira turned when she heard her name spoken by an unfamiliar voice. She turned towards the source, only to take a punch to the jaw from... herself. Well, from herself where she stood a short time ago. Massaging the pain out of her jaw, she finally got a good look at the new arrival. They were female, with a singular red eye and green hair. Despite never seeing this person before, they spoke as if they were familiar with Gira. A friend or ally that she had forgotten? The Mazoku clan was rather large, and she had met many of their number. It was entirely possible that this was another person who she had met, but didn't remember. The young Saiyan awkwardly shifted in place as the newcomer made an observation that her form was stiff and that she likely hadn't been involved in too many serious battles. "I've fought some serious battles! My friends and I fought and beat a Super Saiyan, i'll have you know!" She said with feigned anger mixed together with a twinge of amusement. "But, uh... good to... see you again? Its been... a long... a short... time? My... friend?" Gira didn't want to make it clear that she had forgotten this person if they did indeed meet before. Realizing that the cat was basically out of the bag with that awkward line, she sighed and scratched her head in confusion. "Sorry, but have we met before? I assume you're with the Mazoku and that's how you know my name. Unless I suddenly got famous overnight." She chuckled. "If we've met before, i'm sorry. I've met tons of people here recently, so the faces kinda just run together after awhile."

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TWC: 596

"Scoreboard." Gira quipped with a wide grin once Jango mentioned details that proved that the battle against Lottus was nowhere near decisive. It seemed this woman was extremely well-informed. She didn't just know Gira's name and had an idea of who she was, she also knew details about the battle with Lottus. Did word get around that fast? Or did Cello, Cabasa, or Marimba meet her and fill her in on everything? Either way, if she was gonna be helping out, it was indeed important to know all this stuff. The woman introduced herself as Jango, Gira nodding affirmatively and took her new acquaintance's hand in a firm handshake. "Gira. It's nice to meet you, Jango! It seems you've really covered your bases. I didn't expect you to know about the battle with Lottus, least of all in that much detail. Makes me feel even more confident to know that we've got someone on our side that knows how to do intelligence work. That's not really my thing. Fighting is more what i'm useful for." The young Saiyan chuckled with embarrassment. She was aware of her shortcomings, and though Gira wasn't exactly one to dwell on them anymore, she would still like to bolster where she comes up short. At the mention that Namek was lucky that Lottus didn't have friends, Gira nodded. "Someone like him... I don't think he's capable of actually being friends with anyone. Being friends requires trust and compassion in each other. I try to see the best in people, but..."

She paused before letting out a sigh. "...It's really hard to find anything good in him. He took us on four on one. Normally, I would call that inspiring. But he only did that because he thought it would shake our confidence if he took on all four of us and won. It came from a place of sadism. It wasn't about testing his own limits. It was about making others realize theirs... and gaining satisfaction from the hopelessness he causes." At the mention of the value of technique over raw strength, Gira agreed wholeheartedly. "Yeah. That was Lottus's mistake. He thought he was too strong for us, no matter what we did. He didn't expect us to work so well together I guess." He was still out there, though. Gira had been so concerned with getting Marimba to Nero that she hadn't taken the time to make sure he was actually dead... but she wasn't sure what she would have done if she found out he wasn't. Gira still wasn't sure if she could kill someone. Even someone like Lottus. Still, that being the case, she hoped that he learned a lesson in mercy... though she doubted it. Jango did bring up helping Gira improve on her technique, which would be extremely important in any rematch against the Super Saiyan. "I'm definitely gonna be fighting Lottus again someday. I'll gladly accept whatever help you can give me!" Beginning her stretches to limber up, she spoke to the Cerealian once again. "So, you wanna be the one to set the rules of engagement? I'm game for anything."

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TWC: 1118

"I don't think Lottus's pride would let him accept help. It's a skill I had to learn, to accept help from others. It's easy to believe you have to do everything on your own." The Cerealian mentioned that next time they fought Lottus, he would likely be taking things far more seriously. Gira's expression turned serious momentarily.

"I know... especially since we managed to win the first time. Our only hope is to outmatch him. But with all of us together, it's likely going to be a lot different than last time. Especially since we've all been training in the meantime. As far as a game plan, that's the best i've got for now." Gira nodded in response to Jango's question about whether or not she can lower her power. To prove it, she lowered her strength to be equal to her new acquaintance.

"Learned that trick a bit ago for reasons just like this." The mention of gravity gear piqued her interest though.

"That's cool. I didn't know there was tech out there that could replicate that." Then came a more personal question; what exactly made her loyal to Gandigan.

"Well, he's my sensei!" This was enough for Gira, but she understood if someone else needed a little bit more of a justification.

"But, beyond that, he's an incredibly strong, wise, honorable warrior. He's worthy of my friendship and I give it to him freely!" The young Saiyan teen grinned.

"He also believes in me in a way no one else had before. I found pride in myself thanks to him." Winking at Jango Gira finished her answer with one finally remark.

"And he's also the reason i'm as strong as I am now, as you'll soon found out."

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TWC: 1408

Gira's new acquaintance had actually given her a bit of useful information about Lottus. Apparently, taking on allies isn't a concept entirely foreign to the Super Saiyan. It didn't seem to work out well for him, or rather, the person who allied with him last, but if Lottus had any strong friends who were willing to come to Namek with him, that could prove to be a nightmare scenario. But when asked if she was from Namek, she shook her head. "No, i'm from Earth. I was raised there my whole life. I respect the Namekians though, my sensei in particular. And they've done a lot for me, so I don't mind sticking around to protect them with the strength they helped me gain." It seemed Jango was having a hard time understanding her point of view. To Gira, it made perfect sense. To her, this was a matter of loyalty.

"Plus, it isn't like i've abandoned the Earth. I improved my ship just so I can go to Earth for school and stuff in no time! And if Earth is ever threatened, they can depend on me just like Namek can!" The Saiyan struck a pose with her hands on her hips, grinning towards the sun. However... if she ended up becoming Queen of the Saiyans, then she would likely have to protect Plant exclusively. Responsibility was something Gira learned quite recently, and she was already feeling the weight of the crown, even if it did seem so far away if she thought of it objectively. She would actually have to abandon her home if and when that happened. What was at stake meant a lot more than where Gira chose to live, though. The future of the Saiyans was dependent on who would rule them. If she actually managed to pull off a cultural change, the galaxy would be more protected as a whole, including Earth and Namek. That was probably what led her sensei to ask her to do this in the first place. Her thoughts were interrupted by the sudden attack from Jango. Barely registering that she was being attacked, she still managed to raise her hand in an instant and into the path of the ball to catch it. With a few surprised blinks, Gira looked at the ball-- still smoking in her hand-- then to Jango.

"That was weird. Sorry, I wasn't expecting such a sudden attack. Least of all with a baseball. So I kinda just acted on instinct." Gira chuckled and tossed the ball between her two hands. She was shocked with how easily she was able to catch it. Her battle instincts had become honed on this long road to power, and the Saiyan knew deep down that this was just the beginning.

"I'm not a professional baseball player or anything like that, but i've played it quite a bit in gym class. I find it a lot of fun. Let's hope my fast ball isn't too rusty, though." Clutching the baseball in her hand, Gira leapt into the air, raising her leg and twisting her body to really put her back into this pitch.

"PLAY BALL!!!" Shouting with pure excitement and elation, Gira threw her best fast ball in Jango's direction. To the untrained eye, the ball appeared to vanish in midair. However, someone like Jango would likely be able to see it coming. The baseball rocketed downwards towards the waterfall, the air friction lighting the whole thing on fire as it screamed towards the ground with enough force to leave a small crater or leave a hole through flesh and bone if it was allowed to impact with the ground or a person.

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TWC: 2022

Of course, Jango was quick to counter Gira's pitch. The Saiyan wouldn't have thrown a fast ball like that if she didn't think that she could handle it. Gira had already noticed that there was something special about her eyesight. She had never encountered a Cerealian before now, so she had literally no clue about the finer points of their power and biology, but several important hints had been dropped since the two met that showed that Jango was impressive in many ways. With a strange, unfamiliar technique, Jango slapped the ball back in her direction with a blade of pure, orange energy from her hand.

"Woah! A ki blade!? That's so awesome!" The young Saiyan was enraptured by the technique. She couldn't believe she didn't think of something that cool. She was a little jealous, in fact. Definitely something to keep in mind for her training later. She didn't want to just make a carbon copy of the technique, however. She had to put her own little spin on it so she didn't come off as plagiarizing the move whole cloth. As the ball came back towards her, Gira spun in the air like a top, ready to send the ball back in the direction of her new friend. Lashing out with her leg, the top of the young Saiyan warrior's foot collided with the baseball. The momentum built up by being batted back and forth by these two powerhouses caused it to make a sonic boom as it rocketed back towards Jango. However, the poor little ball of ki was not entirely up to the task. This final strike from Gira caused the ball to burst into a shower of embers and sparks, pieces of what it used to be. The remains of the ki baseball floated away on the wind before fizzling out, causing Gira to laugh with surprise.

"Wow, uh... guess I should have seen that coming, huh?" Landing back on the ground, Gira stretched her neck out, popping it as she warmed up for round two. This was a whole new concept for her; combining baseball and combat training. She could see how this would be useful. Being able to sense energy for as long as she had, she had been neglecting her other senses. While she had been improving on them recently, she was always looking for more ways to do so. This baseball training would definitely have to be saved in her memory for later.

"So, um... can you make another ball for us?" She asked, sheepishly scratching the back of her head as she blushed with embarrassment. The two would spend the rest of the day batting balls of energy back and forth in some weird combination of training and playing. The young Saiyan was having more fun than she had in a long time, and she was eager to train with Jango again. Maybe she could help the Cerealian get stronger. That would be a fantastic way to pay forward all the help she got from other strong people that got her to this point. That was for the future though. For now, it was time to cut loose and have a good time!

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Final Word Count: 2555

Don't worry about it! I've definitely been there before. Still, this was a fun little thread. c: We can have another one once your muse is back and you're not busy if you want!