Crash Landing (Rhuba)

Rhuba made sure the officer assigned to look over the restaurant keep paying the owner his fair share as if he was the owner still. He also told them to get the owner to quit and retire, but he had heard the owner refused. Ignoring the questions asked while flying, believing his chuckles at the question might indicate how silly he felt them to be. As Pom got into position at the bar, he would ask him about the earlier reaction. Rhuba knew what he talked about, thinking maybe he hid it well enough, but it was clearly seen. Did the owner know too? He couldn't, clearly, likely he just assumed talking about the creature was a soft spot for Rhuba.

Rhuba stared down at the diner top, it was clean and polished, almost like it had never been used or newly installed. Rhuba could see his reflection in the top, the light from above glaring over parts of his face. "I've heard something here on Earth before," Rhuba sighed, looking toward the kitchen where noises of food being made could be heard. "I think they say, don't ask questions you don't want the answer to?" Rhuba turned his head, looking at the city from the large windows surrounding the diner.

"They fixed the damage so quickly..." Rhuba paused, looking at Pom as he spun in his stool. "I came here and there was little over 10,000 people." Rhuba looked back toward the window, "I left and there was little over 5,000." Hearing footsteps from the kitchen, he glanced toward the kitchen, the double swing doors un-budged. "Yeah, and this guy right here defeated the weird tar creature. It was a horrible experience here during that time." The owner chimed in from behind the counter, having come from another door.

Sliding plates on the table, a medium rare steak on each plate, with a fully loaded potato with sauteed mushrooms on the side and slathered over the steak. Sliding two large milkshakes as well, the owner smiled again. "Yeah, I'm glad I met you before that happened that day. You came in when we had just filled out a big order and had no more food on hand, we were closing up. You went out, and the next time I saw you, you exploded the creature and burst through it like paper!" The owner pumped his fist in the air, "It got what was coming! It took my daughter! She was just a child!" The owner frowned, and then realized he had likely brought the mood down. "Ah-uh, I apologize. I don't mean to bring up something so dreadful, I am trying to be more positive nowadays." The owner chuckled nervously to himself and bowed in apology and left.

Luckily Rhuba hadn't turned around the entire time the owner had spoke. Running through the memories he absorbed, he had found the ones of his daughter. She was just a child, Parasitix inside him stayed quiet, fearful, like a dog who knew his master was angry at them but couldn't fathom why or for what. Playing the memories one more time, he blankly stared outside the doors where it started. All he could really remember was being hungry, coming to this diner begging for food. The moment he left, it all went black and the next thing he remembered was screaming the word 'stop' and bursting through Parasitix's form he had taken.

"Yeah, let's eat before I get hungry." He chuckled in a monotonous way, spinning back into the bar and looking down at his food, before turning to Pom and smiling sweetly.

Rhuba suppresses.

  WC: 602
TWC: 4,222

Base PL: 64,232

HP: 0%/250% (+-0%)

KP: 6/6 (+0)
MP: 0/6 (+0)

Traits: Saiyan Pride (Inactive) | Burning Ki (Unused) | Combat Learning
Items: Battle Armor (Unused) | Battle Liner (Unused)

The scene became a bit more depressing, it was a recently acquired feeling for Rhuba. The feeling itself had unlocked previously, something he began to be aware of. Was it because of Parasitix? Rhuba didn't know, and Parasitix either feigned ignorance or truly didn't know himself either. It was simple for those that had been inundated with social norms and interpersonal communication. Rhuba had never experienced that, and he was trained to believe any bad thing can be overcome by ignoring the feelings inside about them. Eventually Rhuba had lost the ability to be depressed, sad, sure, but depressed was deeper than that. From a young age he was taught not to feel guilty about ending lives, nor shame in how he did it. When does the reason cease to become the blame? Thoughts Rhuba couldn't deal with, but luckily at the same time as he realized he had been staring at his food for far too long, Pom had likely felt the atmosphere now too.

Rhuba perked up as he heard his journal being mentioned, only having shown the contents of it to a few people. He's flashed pages to others every now and again, but only a couple had been given the right to peruse it. Whisking his hand over the table, his journal manifested on the counter space between them. "I draw every interesting person I meet." Flipping to the front of the journal, he chuckled as he saw the torn page with a tiny crudely drawn Saiyan woman, on the page it says in small print 'golden hair.' The page underneath the ripped one can be seen as well, portions of Yangcong can be seen.

Rhuba's chuckle turned to a full hearty laugh as he put his finger on the drawing on the torn portion of the page. "Man, so I killed some slavers and this huge hulking beast attacked me, then this Saiyan came out of nowhere and they turned golden for a moment! It was kinda amazing!" Rhuba's eyes brightened with excitement. "I was going to fight them both so I put my journal on the ground and flew up in the air!" Rhuba mimed with his hands and expressions what he was saying, "The Saiyan lady grabbed my journal and ripped the page out! Well, when I went to grab my journal I realized the damage I took from the big beast made it hard for me to fight them two versus one... So I... retreated!" He said, a little embarrassment in his voice.

"But that doesn't mean they beat me! I-I was surprised, and the big beast thing barely got hurt when I hit him full force with punches!" Rhuba nodded to himself with a serious expression. "It was a freak of nature, that's for sure..." Rhuba would not mention the strength of the Saiyan woman, wanting to save face in front of Pom.

Rhuba flipped the torn page, and smiled at his drawing of Yangcong, it was a sketch of Yangcong flipping his dagger. Words like 'cool' and 'is that gold?' written around the dagger with an arrow pointing to it. "And this is when I met Yangcong, he was very kind and knew our Saiyan culture. He hit me in the face with a glass giving me a good 'Saiyan's hello,' and then took me out of the bar and gave me an apple and some good advice." Rhuba nodded to himself, remembering that Yangcong is now gone, "I think he was misunderstood. Sometimes you have to do things people don't like to do what you feel is necessary." Rhuba sighed, flipping the page again.

"Oh, this didn't pan out unfortunately, was never able to find them. It was a queen who needed help defeating her home planet that became sentient. I could probably almost take out a planet at this point... maybe?" Rhuba thought about it, trying to imagine the destructive power he could produce with his energy. "I don't know though, never tried." Flipping the page again, his eyes widened as if he had just seen his best friend, his tail swayed behind him excitedly. "Princess Queen Zuqetta!" Rhuba smiled widely, looking at the paper.

"Hehe, I thought it was funny if she looked like that while charging." Rhuba's expression darkened for a moment as the idea of her seeing that sketch flashed in his mind. "I hope she never sees this..." he said with a slight genuine fear, as he pointed at the sketch of her powering up. "She did this huge powering up thing where she blew up an entire building just from getting a little angry!" Rhuba pumped his fist in the air, "She's the strongest person I ever met. She could destroy like three planets at once." Rhuba smiled as he looked down at the page, chuckling lightly as he began to flip to the next page.

Rhuba forgets briefly.

  WC: 807
TWC: 5,029

Base PL: 64,232

HP: 0%/250% (+-0%)

KP: 6/6 (+0)
MP: 0/6 (+0)

Traits: Saiyan Pride (Inactive) | Burning Ki (Unused) | Combat Learning
Items: Battle Armor (Unused) | Battle Liner (Unused)

Rhuba flipped the page, "Oh yeah, that all happened on Plant. I didn't get to Earth yet, Earth was way more interesting but for other reasons." Thinking back on the exchange, he frowned at the thought of Yangcong being 'messed up.' "He looked sad and lonely. Like he was cornered and unable to do anything but lash out. That's what I take from it." Flipping the page back to Yangcong, he sighed briefly. "I was a slave once, and at the time I thought nothing of it." Taking his index, he used it to point at Yangcong's face. "Everything is subjective, I've learned that. If everything is subjective, don't you think that he believes what he did was right? Or that if he did do something he felt is wrong, he felt bad for it?" Looking over his shoulder again, he looked out at the city. "That planet you ran from, do you think the ones who might chase you here believe they're in the wrong? If not, why would you?" He looked back at Pom, the poignant question lingering on his mind.

Rhuba shook his head as they asked about the Saiyan power up, shrugging as well. "I don't know, I think a lot of people can do it. I've seen a little gooey girl do it." Laughing to the comment of royalty, "No, no. I wish. That would be so cool. Could you see me wearing all that stuff?" Rhuba wanted to use Parasitix to change his form, but stopped himself before moving on to the next page before he had time to think about anything. A slight smirk slid across his face as the next sketch came into view. "This is my bud Prim, they gave me this..." Removing the hoodie, he lifted his shirt, showing a large scar across his chiseled chest. "They landed just like you on Plant, and I wanted to test out their abilities! They looked strong." Rhuba looked at Pom, "A bit different for you, I would have done the same if I didn't feel like I'd be peeling you off the ground right now." Rhuba chuckled at his joke, albeit not exactly joking. "They got me pretty good, but that's what I wanted to see. Friends are best created from conflict." Rhuba nodded to himself, as he looked across the page. "They said their eyes were 'azure' I had never heard of that word at the time, but I know what it is now. A pretty color." Before flipping to the next page, he paused briefly and thought about his last moments with Prim. "They got real drunk and passed out... I paid for their drink and food, and they then paid for mine later! So kind."

His excitement hastened as he flipped the page. "Oooo! This is the Maestro! He's our leader in the Orchestra!" Rhuba whisked his right hand over his shoulder, magic encapsulated, bursting into a violin shape. The magic dispersed leaving a violin sitting on Rhuba's shoulder. Sliding his hand across the wires, they created a very light pleasing sound as he did so. A violin's bow manifested in his hand, and he began to play it briefly. "I'm Violin, but we haven't done anything fun yet. It's all training right now..." He said over the sound of his violin, the music then stopping abruptly as the violin dispersed into crystalized particles of magic that would evaporate before they touched the ground.

"He's really strong, might be able to take on Princess Zuqetta if he trained a bit more." His voice sounded conflicted, as if he didn't know who to root for if that were to happen. "He's pretty cool too, very dramatic~" He said, his voice finally losing all negativity and he could speak unhindered by the negativity from earlier.

Rhuba suppresses.

  WC: 634
TWC: 5,663

Base PL: 64,232

HP: 0%/250% (+-0%)

KP: 6/6 (+0)
MP: 0/6 (+0)

Traits: Saiyan Pride (Inactive) | Burning Ki (Unused) | Combat Learning
Items: Battle Armor (Unused) | Battle Liner (Unused)

"Royalty?" Rhuba thought about it further, the idea making his chest feel lighter. "Maybe?" He said, as he watched Pom point out their own jewelry. "Huh? Too much jewelry gets in the way of combat! Yours is a very good mix between practical and beautiful." Rhuba said, with a very stern look and a nod. "I think royalty is something earned through respect and fear." Rhuba looked over Pom once more, "I think you could do it. All you'd need is some training, you got the looks of a Prince already, just need to get that respect and fear part down." He said with a genuine smile now, raising his arm to give Pom a thumbs up.

Rhuba chuckled at Pom's reaction to him showing his chest, unaware of any reason he would have even responded like that. "What do you mean? This is an empty diner." Rhuba raised his hand and with an closed fist and outstretched thumb pointed behind him without turning, indicating the sign attached to the door was now turned to say open on the inside, the other side of the sign showing closed to those outside the diner. "I go around without a shirt all the time. Though people do tend to stare more when I do that, and a lot stare at me if I just float around the city so I get stuck..." Rhuba sighed, a dejected look sliding across his face, "walking..." he said, trying to not choke on the word, but clearly the intent was a joke rather than a serious disdain for walking.

"Y'know what? I would love to see it." Rhuba smiled, shutting his journal and sliding his hoodie back on, placing the journal inside the hoodie for Parasitix to absorb into it's skin away from prying eyes. "How about it? I can show you some of my moves, and you can show me your strongest form?" Rhuba stood up, stretching briefly before grabbing both milkshakes and downing them in multiple big gulps, briefly he'd pause and exhale loudly holding his head as brain freeze kicked in, Parasitix would then correct the pain and he'd continue sucking until both were downed. "Ahhh, man... I can also maybe teach you some stuff? Who knows?" Rhuba said, rubbing his temple reeling from the earlier pain even after Parasitix assisted with alleviating it. "I wanted to head back anyway."

"Hey, we're heading out!" Rhuba shouted to the owner in the back, as he pulled out far too much zeni for what they ate and slid it on the table. "Money's on the table!" The owner in the back yelled back, "Your money is no good here! I'm in the middle of cleaning the grill, so let me come out and say goodbye!" Rhuba turned to Pom, and nodded his head toward the door, implying 'lets go.'

"We can go to my house, I don't really sleep there myself, but I'm sure you could use some sleep." Rhuba turned to Pom, with an inquisitive look, "...unless you had other plans?" Rhuba asked as he walked ahead and opened the door to the Diner, turning back to Pom and motioning with his arm for him to go ahead through as he held it open. Perhaps Pom didn't want to come with him, which while disappointing was completely fine for Rhuba, if that were the case he'd go back to doing what he was doing before meeting Pom. Perhaps coming back later to find him if he had the chance.

Rhuba leaves.

  WC: 578
TWC: 6,241

Base PL: 64,232

HP: 0%/250% (+-0%)

KP: 6/6 (+0)
MP: 0/6 (+0)

Traits: Saiyan Pride (Inactive) | Burning Ki (Unused) | Combat Learning
Items: Battle Armor (Unused) | Battle Liner (Unused)