I didn't start the fire

Jagaimo was listening silently as she soared through the air, eyes flicking to the scouter screen every now and then to keep tabs on what was happening as she was updated. The wind rushed through her hair, whipping it about behind her while the official black and gold trimmed armour Zuqetta had gotten her adorned her body. It felt stiflingly warm and snug in all the wrong places but if she was going to be doing official things then she needed to at least look official. She hated wearing the thing but it had its uses and certainly made coordinating the Sadalian Guard easier...although she might need to talk to Zuqetta about that again. Someone with some tactical and logistical experience might be handy to find to bolster their ranks for this kind of reason. They needed to know where to send people and when, actively looking into problem area's rather than being reactive and catching up all the time.

Case in Point.

The reports had started coming in fairly quickly from citizens all across the normally quiet Tarbel Town, starting with just one or two random outbreaks of violence...nothing that would have normally warranted looking into but as more and more started to come in, over 2 dozen at least, a pattern was beginning to emerge. Every targeted individual was a Saiyan of some description. Guards, off duty soldiers, even just locals that had lived in the area for an age. And as the reports came through the cause was becoming clear. A young man seemed to be instigating brawls with any Saiyan he was coming across, no matter where in the town he seemed to be finding them. So far it seemed their suspect had refrained from killing anyone but the reports weren't one hundred percent certain, no one had wanted to get to close to check in case he came back.

The chatter had gone through quite a few open channels and had been easy enough to track but rather than send an entire squad out to investigate the disturbance and potentially make an arrest, Jagaimo had pulled rank and taking the report on herself. As long as it stayed cordial then she'd likely be home again in a few hours. And she needed to get out of the palace, being cooped up in there day after day in meetings was driving her insane. But did she know about crime statistics? Security she could deal with but all the bureaucracy of keeping everyone happy was mind numbing.

Her approach has been practically undetectable as far as she knew. Her innate ability to mask her Ki signature completely made it easy to slip in and out of places undetected and with a new technique she'd been working on even the sounds of her foot steps were all but impossible to hear above the background noise of the town. It was a good a time as any to test things out and see if she'd worked out all the kinks.

Now she was boots on the ground she smiled to herself. She'd been barefoot for so long now it was a strange feeling to have her feet covered, but the old boots she'd loved had been given a new lease of life and damn were they comfortable. The Saiyan warrior slid the scouter back into the folds of her armour, trusting her own instincts more than the machinery. Her eyes closed and she let the tendrils of her senses branch out from her, seeking out any strange powers or anomalies, anything that would lead her to her intended target. She could smell smoke in the air coming on the wind from a number of different locations so she focused on those first, honing in on whoever seemed to be in the area. The odd collection of subdued powers that never moved told her where the bodies of those who had been defeated lay but somewhere out there...ah there they were. She could feel the power difference already, the person who ever they were...a young man according to the reports...wasn't to far away through the twisting streets of the town. And she could sense others, weaker in strength, moving rapid away from where this person was moving. It was time to put an end to this.

Lets see what we're dealing with.

She moved quickly and quickly, slipping past all manner of folk in the town without a whisper, close enough to touch someone them when she moved by. Whatever she had been working on seemed to do the trick so for now she hurried on, sticking to the shadows in the alleyways and ducking through buildings on her way to find the target. She'd observe quietly first and then decide on a course of actions...it wouldn't pay to run head first into an ambush on her first official outing...

It hadn't been hard to find the young man that was causing so much of a disturbance in the small town. She had sensed him quite clearly now when she’d gotten closer, finding it easy to track his movements and work her way round to him un-seen. From her vantage point across the street from him, she’d watched for a few minutes from a nearby alleyway as she had moved through the streets practically unhindered. It was strange how people seemed to ignore you when you moved with purpose…and the fact that no one seemed to be able to hear her…so far so good.

Things seemed to be escalating rapidly however as she continued to watch the scene before her unfolding steadily. She couldn’t quite make out what was being said between the two of them, the older Saiyan and the younger male with the strange spiky hair and the hat, she wasn’t quite close enough to hear the whole conversation but she was picking up small bits here and there as voices were raised. Something about a shop…a spy…an old family? One day she’d remember to get her scouter upgraded for these excursions to try and record things at a greater distance. Most of the time it wasn’t required but sometimes the footage was worth a look, especially when a case was complicated or needed further investigation by other more specialized departments and there was sound or tidbits of it always that could help someone incriminate themselves.

Ok things had taken a step up as Jagaimo watched quietly…

Jagaimo moved, her body interceding between the older Saiyan man and the young offender, stationary like a statue that had just materialized in the street in his path. Her arm came up in the path of the attack, stopping it dead in its tracks before it could do any damage to the man behind her, who was in a somewhat state of shock to see someone so small just suddenly appear in front of him. Her head turned a little and she ordered him away with a stern flat voice, before she set her attention fully on the young delinquent.

“Go. Now.”

Caught at a loss the man who had been the target of the young man's wrath suddenly made a hasty exit, his face a little pale and his hands seeming to shake just a little before he caught himself and swallowed, nodding and slipping away, understanding when he wasn’t needed or wanted.

“You should come quietly. No one needs to die here.”

The woman with the wild mane of hair shifted her gaze so her eyes fell on that of the man who had been causing all these issues, taking a measure of him in that moment and suddenly flicking her wrist at him, pushing back against the attack he had launched, hopefully with enough force to skid him backwards rather than put him through a wall…although unconscious did mean he couldn’t hurt anyone else…The Saiyan warrior figured she could always try talking, maybe they could work something out peacefully and she wouldn't need to put anyone in the ground today...

“I’m not going to warn you again. Stand down.”

Dorks?

Was this a child then? What kind of insult was that for a warrior on the battlefield? If he hadn't just tried to bisect another Saiyan in front of her eyes she might have chuckled or even laughed at the insult but as it was she wasn't bemused by his words or the tone of his voice. She held the man...boy...by the wrist, stopping his attack in its tracks, his sword inches from her face before he was launched backwards towards a nearby wall at some rapid pace. Her worry about putting him through it was short lived as the young man simply vaulted in the air and landed on his feet, braced against the wall and bouncing off it without so much as scratch.

That was good at least.

She almost rolled her eyes when he pointed the sword at her again, its tip thrusting in her direction with his landing, but held back the motion at the last moment. She didn’t need to antagonize the young man more than she might have already. One hand smoothed out the front of her coat as he sorted himself out and threatened her with that sword of his. She still couldn’t quite understand why so many warriors felt the need to wield weapons all the time. So far her fists had proved more than adequate for most challenges she’d come across but each to their own she supposed.

Instead of approaching him she gave a slight nod of thanks in his direction. The outfit had been Zuqetta’s idea and initially she hadn’t been too keen on it and the ostentatious look of the material and cut but when the new Palace guard uniforms had been unveiled she could understand why the Queen had chosen this design for her. It marked her as part of the guard whilst also keeping her apart from them with a difference in colour, signaling the position bestowed on her only recently. It was growing on her the more she wore it but recently it had become uncomfortable to wear, the straps and buckles tight and chaffing in all the wrong places.

“Your kind words about my outfit aside…”

Wait, was he calling her old?! Why would an old Saiyan be dressing like this? It wasn’t even close to traditional dress…

Jagaimo glared at him, the smile slowly fading from her face as a hand moved to brush the shaggy mane of her back over her shoulders, stepping forwards in the same motion til the tip of his sword danced just in front of her chest, inches from impaling herself on it.

“Innocent or guilty, it isn’t for you to dispense what you consider justice because you feel you were wronged. Bring the matter to the authorities, they will be dealt with.”

Times were changing. She knew the type he was referring to, Saiyan’s that thought they could get away with anything in the territories they occupied as long as it kept everyone in line. It had been worse out here in the backwater towns and despite efforts to stamp it out she knew it still went on. Grudges were long on Plant and tresspasses were not easily forgotten. She gave the boy an small inclination of her head in his direction,

“I’m sorry for your loss but murdering them in cold blood simply because you can, won’t bring them back and it will only speed you along to seeing them again. Her Highness will not tolerate such violence in the provinces under her protection.”

He sighed part way through his story, one she’d heard hundreds of times before, mostly from Tuffles when they whispered behind the backs of those who had taken their planet from them. Things were better but they still had a long way to go…was this boy…this Kronos a Tuffle then? It seemed likely given his story.

“It's not for you to decide if they deserve protection or not and another thing…”

She stepped right up to his blade, letting the tip press into the armour that covered her chest, eyes straight ahead, holding his gaze, as the metal pushed against the fabric of her coat,

“Do you always threaten people when you're trying to make a deal with them? It seems very counter productive. This is happening, you're coming with me to get this sorted out. Now….”

Her gloved hand snapped up from its place at her side, the flat of her palm slapping the blade away, giving her room to step inside his reach until she was almost face to face with him, noses almost touching,

“Either use that thing or put it away before you hurt yourself with it.”

This time she really did roll her eyes when he called her cute, shaking her head right in his face, close enough to smell the sweat and blood on his clothes, his offer to join whatever it was he was offering met with a similar shake of the head…

The sword didn't seem to have enough force behind it to push through her heavy coat and the under armour lining that she wore underneath it but she didn't press her luck too much. The movement of her hand had slapped to the side, inching it past an angle that allowed her to step right inside his guard and have her nose almost touching his. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes again when he suddenly began to apologise and then rambling about how pretty she was. Did he really think assaulting all those people, threatening her and then flirting with her as she tried to arrest him was the very best tactic that could be used right now? She could see his grin waivering now they were this close but he still managed to hold his nerve, which would have been impressive had he not just sent a few dozen citizens to the hospital. She wasn't feeling the playful mood he seemed to think she should be.

"Strange...you don't seem to have any of the appealing traits from either...are you sure you're not just an Earthling?"

His grin widened even if the look of unease didn't leave his face with her so close to him. She could smell the dust, and this close she could see it laying in a fine layer across his clothes, the odd flecks of blood here and there that suggested violence not long passed. It was a harsh reminder as to why she’d been called here instead of a regular patrol.

“Justice is rarely dumb no matter what you might think and you're unlikely to find a fairer ruler in Plants history, but then I doubt you’d bother to look before you throw wild accusations around.”

She glared at him, arms resting at her sides once more, tail agitated under her coat, its place around her waist lost as it swept back and forth slowly, escaping the split in the tail of the jacket and swaying with her words.

“And what gives these heroes the right to go around and punish those they deem needing it? Who decides for them what is right and wrong? Is this how you're justifying your violent spree, by calling yourself a hero and preying on those weaker than you? You seem to have mixed up the terms hero and villain I think…”

As she began to make a move to take his arm and bring him into custody Jagaimo watched the young man melt through the wall she had backed him up to. He hadn’t teleported, she could still sense his joyous energy on the other side of the wall, moving and skirting through the buildings. So he wasn’t just a bully then…he had some skill she’d not seen before. Too bad he hadn’t been tagged for an interview sooner, maybe he would have been useful then.

Jagaimo herself had taken a step away from the wall and was stood in the now empty street with her arms across her chest, head moving as she tracked his power. The Saiyan warrior couldn’t see him through the buildings, and was curious as to why she couldn’t see him when his power seemed to skip above the buildings. Some kind of further masking technique…the universe was a big place and lots of strange techs existed she’d never seen before…he could have been useful at one point but not now.

The young woman knew her own power was completely masked from any chance of being traced right now. She was well practiced now in using her innate abilities these days, so she knew he’d need to come to her, to find some way to see her physically again if he’d decided not to turn tail and run…Jagaimo could sense at quite a range depending on the power and at his strength she wasn’t worried about catch him so she simply stood waiting, an eye brow raising when he reappeared tens of meters in the air above her, lighting up the sky with a wave of bluey green energy. She watched the energy condense into missiles of Ki that streaked off through the sky in the direction of Tarbel it’s self…

“You're a coward. Indiscriminate in the pain you cause.”

She called out to him, having no idea which direction he might be facing or if he could even see her clearly, but looking right at him, her face cold, eyes taking in, as she raised a hand and a moment later released a wave of Ki of her own in a barrage of force, aimed right at the centre of the blue green Ki waves. She might not be able to see him but she could sense him…and the ignition point for his attacks was becoming obvious when he launched them.

Without transforming she wouldn’t be fast enough to catch everything, but she would make sure the culprit would not be getting away with randomly harming innocents just now. She spoke through her comms, tracking the young man in his hidden escapades, making sure she knew where he was,

“Dispatch two medical teams to Tarbel now. They’re gonna need help.”

With that she launched herself from the ground in an instant, cracking the stone underfoot and flashed across the distance between her and the young man, doing her best in an attempt to grab what she could on the way past and drag it up into the sky with her…

"How about the support of her people, the foresight to plan for the bigger picture and the strength to protect everything she tries to build? Hows that for the right to rule...but please by all means plead your case to the council...they might take you over Zuqetta because your a superhero of all things...whatever one of those is."

Ah so that struck a nerve. It always did with these hotheads...when would people learn that insults were just words...another tool in a fighters arsenal to make their opponents take something to heart, just a tool to goad them into making a mistake? Jagaimo had fallen for it so many times in her life it was laughable now to see someone else responding just how she used to. Sure it still stung to be called something she knew she wasn't, it poked at that part of her that wanted to challenge everything with fists...but it was a part of her she was learning to control more and more as she grew older. They were just words.

She'd moved to grab the invisible creature she could sense floating above the city even as his indiscriminate attacks rained out over the town but when he reappeared something was different. He was moving towards her, but the direction wasn't the grand surprise that gave her pause for just a moment. The skinny boy that had been causing all this trouble in Tarbel with his attacks was now morphing, growing into an Oozaru form, one she'd never seen before but most certainly an Oozaru...

So the half breed claims were true then...not just a Tuffle.

Her sense's steeled themselves, waiting for the blow that never came. There was no explosion of power, no wash of energy that flowed out from the boy in his transformed state to buffet against her...what kind of trick was this...a transformation with no obvious benefit except mass and reach...it didn't make any sense. The pause in her flight gave the roaring creature the moment it needed, that massive blade used like a club in this instance to bat her across the sky, tumbling through the air until she righted herself and floated a short way off, rubbing her forearm where her block had absorbed the majority of the attack. It had been a surprise, an instinct to rub where an attack had landed more than to check for any injury, something she doubted she'd ever grow out of. The follow up slashes had been more or less ineffective once the first had smashed her out of reach but each one of those would likely have caved in a building had they been on the ground, so for that at least Jagaimo was thankful. This place was far enough off the beaten path that it took time for anything to get done out here. A flattened district in a town like that would likely be flat for weeks.

She shook her head as the Great Ape imitation bellowed and screamed out,

"By what right do you get to judge others to be deserving of punishment? You deem yourself their judge and executioner? And who judges you? Judge the violence you inflict on others because you have the power to do so? How does that break the cycle that plagued Tuffles and Saiyan's for a generation?"

The sword swinging was all but pointless at this range but she made no effort to move, no effort to interfere with the creature's pointless attacks. Without any form of power increase she could end this in a moment but she wanted to talk to him, to understand...Zuqetta had championed patiences, and Jagaimo herself had been told to always observe first before striking her blows...perhaps both might work in this instance.

"Isn't a hero meant to rise above? To be better than others and inspire change? I don't see a hero, I see a child throwing a tantrum...a bully picking on those too weak to defend themselves against you...and a coward who hides behind some warped ideal of heroism to justify their actions. Actions that cast them as a villain in any true hero's eyes. You're not defending anyone here, your not standing up in the face of great adversity...your seeking nothing but petty revenge against people who were to stupid to know any better about the pain they were inflicting."

Jagaimo dropped her innate masking ability and let him sense her power if he could. She didn't know what he could do, but minute by minute she was learning more about him...

"I've met so many people like you in my travels, people who thought that the might they have, gave them the right to do whatever they pleased..."

Her voice rose in volume, carried across the distance between them easily so high in the sky,

"Your not the hero here, no one is going to thank you because no one needed saving. The only person benefiting from this is you. And to use a turn of phrase you might understand more...That makes you a villain no matter how you look at it...just a selfish, cowardly bullying villain."

Jagaimo's knuckles popped as her fingers curled into fists at her sides, the air around her rippling, clothes and hair moving paradoxically to the direction of the wind as her Ki did as it pleased all around her, flickers of purple light sparking across her skin.

"And. I. Hate. Bullies."

In an instant she was gone, the distance between them meaning nothing, closed in the blink of an eye as the flat of her hand batted the sword blade away mid swing as if it weighed nothing, her other hand snapping forwards, open palm aimed to strike the lumbering creature square in the chest...

Jagaimo watched with her hand outstretched as the young man streaked to the ground from her strike, far more heavy handed than it needed to be for sure but he just talked so much rubbish that she'd wanted some peace to return...that and some part of her felt the angry young man had deserved it after the attack he had launched on the unsuspecting townsfolk hiding away from him. Even now she could sense the panicked energies running around, tending to those that had fallen when his blasts had reached them. He had deserved it and more besides.

Whatever the form was he had taken, the false Oozaru mimic, the thudding impact with the ground below seemed to shake him out of it, reverting his form to the slender Tuffle she had first encountered. The earth below him had cratered inwards with him at the centre of the bowl like depression, the sides of the dirt raised from the force of his landing. She hadn't killed him, that much she was sure of, his energy still burned, although somewhat diminished since they had first met, likely from her attacks. His breathing was loud, the hard wheezes looking as though they rattled his whole body while the dust settled around him.

The Saiyan woman floated downwards slowly, hovering in the air several feet off the floor, the flash of purple that had hinted at her attack previously now gone, the gentle breeze gusting around her in its natural state once more. She studied him laying there, taking in the shape he was in, his features...there was nothing remarkable about him she could discern and as seconds passed without any movement she doubted she'd need to look out for him in the future...but when he stirred, staggering slowly to his feet with that sword as a walking stick she allowed herself a small smirk. Maybe, just maybe she'd need to look out for him after all. Most people she'd met around Plant would have taken the hint after a hit like that and called it a day. Those people she never remembered. It was the ones that got up despite everything, despite having no chance...those were the ones she remembered and kept tabs on.

They were the ones worth knowing.

Ah there it was again.

"Does your mouth run independently of your brain or do you just actively feel the need to talk?"

She shook her head slowly, still floating in the breeze as she brought himself up to the edge of the impact crater and found his footing again, his voice still dripping with that attitude he'd maintained the whole time she'd been trying to deal with him. There was an arrogance in his voice that didn't belong...and it certainly didn't make him as attractive as he seemed to think it did. She pulled the scouter from its pocket in her fluttering coat and slid it into place, tapping the controls on the side until it flashed once.

"I'm glad your not dead its true, but not for any of the reasons you seem to have in your head. Killing you wouldn't solve anything and someone else would come along hating me. Your lucky you haven't killed anyone, but you are marked and known to us now...a few days in the cells and you'll be free to go. Our Queen is forgiving when it comes to the past. More so than I will be if you continue down this path."

Jagaimo drifted slowly to the ground, dirt crunching underfoot despite the soft landing, one hand resting on her hip while the other hung at her side, fixing him with a cold stare,

"Then make the world a better place. You want to be a hero? Then find a people or a place that needs your help...but don't lie to me or yourself about what your doing here. Lies will ruin everything you try to build."

When he raised his sword at her she raised a questioning eyebrow in return, not needing words to question his decision to threaten her again with the blade. Maybe there was more to him than she first thought. The way he stood his ground would have made her proud if he wasn't the sole reason she'd had to travel all the way out here to deal with him. He was a little rough around the edges and needed to learn about his limits and when to push them but there was potential there. She took a few step towards him, coming with striking distance of that sword of his, her showing indifference to the way he wielded it. She knew it might bruise if he swung it hard enough but unless he was going to let her impale herself on it some how it wasn't likely to cause much of an injury, still there was always chance...She tapped the scouter again...something about her mood had shifted...the look in her eyes less intense than earlier...then with another shake of her head she slipped the scouter off its mount and slid it back into her coat pocket.

"Put your hands down, I'm not going to arrest you over a few bruises to the locals. Most have seen worse. Hells knows you could do with a few days in a cell but maybe this will go towards you realising things are changing. I know you now and I expect you to do better, whoever you are fighting for expects you to do better. But make no mistake, if you step out of line in Sadala or I hear about you taking your anger out on Saiyans OR Tuffles or anyone else under the protection of the Crown and you'll wish you'd never met me."

She held his gaze for a moment, before turning on her heel and walking away from him, calling out over her shoulder,

"And for Kai's sake learn to use that thing or get rid of it!"