In the heart of the home's kitchen, surrounded by the dirty dishes from our pre-mission breakfast, Leekon and his mother sat across from each other at the table. The plates were piled high, completely caked with food remnants. 'I'll have to cook and eat alone from now on,' Leekon thought. Almost as if she read his mind, his mother spoke:
"I've already called in a favor, and she'll be bringing food to you at the training area," she said, circling the table to stand beside him.
"You don't have to, Mom, I can manage." After all, he'd been an adult fending for himself in the kitchen since he was eighteen. His cooking skills were great, if he did say so himself—nothing five-star, but delicious nonetheless.
"Well, the favor's already been called in, so there's no going back. Until I return, she'll bring you food." She said, standing up and walking towards the door. "As I already told you, the mission will last a maximum of two months." Then, she started heading for the exit. Before she could cross the threshold, I leaped at the perfect moment and hugged her, saying, "Be careful, Mom."
This made her smile. Then she said, "You got it," as she stroked my head before picking me up and setting me back down. She looked back one last time and saw me smiling and waving goodbye. Then, she opened the door and shot towards a spaceship hovering in the air, waiting for her outside the house. As soon as she boarded, the ship rapidly accelerated into space. 'As a grown man, I feel no shame in my actions.'
The moment she departed, my smile vanished, replaced by a serious expression of an unparalleled hunger for battle.
Then, I shot into the sky as fast as I could, heading towards my training ground. Upon arriving, I walked until I stood in front of the container holding dozens of Saibaman seeds. Among them were a few slightly larger, blue seeds, which I believed might generate a different type of Saibaman. "You know, I want to be sure how I'll fare against a Saibaman again."
Saibamen get stronger depending on the soil they're planted in. The earth here wouldn't yield high-quality or very strong Saibamen, but I didn't care. So, I grabbed a common green seed and threw it to the ground. Quickly, one of those ugly little goblins began to sprout, tearing through the earth as it grew until it fully emerged, emitting a strange sound upon seeing me.
Squirilk!
I looked into its red, psychopathic eyes and then ordered: "Attack me... try to kill me."
Upon receiving the order, the Saibaman leaped towards me with outstretched claws, exactly like the Saibaman I had fought a month ago.
Smirik!
I smiled. It was a little sluggish. I delivered an upward kick, striking its chin and sending it flying. While it was still airborne, I brought my hands together like a hammer and slammed them into the Saibaman's chest, sending it crashing back to the ground. When it made contact with the rock, the ground cracked like a spiderweb. I attacked without even giving it time to think.
Flying at high speed, I landed with my foot on its head, smashing it into the ground. Then, I stomped, stomped, and stomped again on its head until I heard the sound of its skull exploding under my foot...
The word that could define my opponent was "weak." I had definitely improved a lot, but it wasn't fun, too easy. Now I understood why Saiyans toy with their opponents so much. What's the point of quickly ending a fight that should be easy? A good fight was like a tasty meal, but in small portions; it should be savored, enjoyed until there's nothing left for you to taste, only then do you end the fight.
'But I won't get stronger if I only fight one Saibaman.'
I went back to the container, grabbed three more seeds, and threw them onto the ground. Time to see if this got more fun. Like the last one, breaking through the ground, three more Saibamen sprouted. I looked at those ugly things and ordered, "Attack me with everything you've got."
Then, like the previous one, one of them leaped towards me, which I jumped over and delivered an axe kick to its head in mid-air. When I landed, two Saibamen were already on my flanks with claws extended. I dodged backward, but behind me was the Saibaman I had kicked, already ready and striking my back, leaving the mark of its claws.
"Good move, you bastard!" I said, smiling.
Then I quickly spun around with a ki sphere in my hand, similar to a Rasengan, and pressed it into its stomach. When the attack connected, I fired the energy sphere, sending the Saibaman flying with it. I looked at my other two opponents, who were already attacking me again, but this time their attacks were halfway there, and I only managed to dodge one by stepping sideways and block the other.
The attack hit my left arm, piercing my forearm, which I used to block. With its claw now stuck in my arm, I used my other hand to punch its head, but it locked its claws onto my arm, holding it firmly.
"Let go of me, worm!"
Then I kept punching and punching until its grip loosened, but it still wouldn't let go. I saw the other two coming at me impatiently. I fired an energy blast as hard as I could in such a short time at this bastard holding me. The energy attack disintegrated half of the Saibaman's torso, which released me, giving me time to dodge the other two Saibamen.
Then I turned to face them. The one I hit with the ki sphere was severely wounded, covered in blood and slow, but the other one was in perfect condition. Then I heard:
Shuush!
Something flying towards me. The bastard with the destroyed torso, in its last gasps, shot acid at me, which I easily dodged, but the splatters hit my legs, slowly corroding my calf.
"UGH, DAMN IT, THAT HURTS!" I screamed.
I looked at my two remaining enemies and then shot upwards towards the more wounded one as fast as I could. With my leg injured, but...
I was slower. The Saibaman still couldn't defend against my punch to the stomach, as it was as wounded as I was, if not more so. I pierced its belly with my fist. In this disadvantageous situation, I gathered ki into my fist and sharpened it like a blade. Then, I threw its body, which was stuck on my arm, to the ground and stomped, its neck now broken, giving no chance for another attack.
I heard the last Saibaman rushing towards me and blocked its attack with no time to dodge. Its claws created cuts on my arms, which I defended by crossing them into an 'X'.
I could barely move my left arm now, which was already injured before this attack. Not wanting to give me time to do anything else, it attacked again. Since I couldn't move that arm well, I let it, like its other ally, pierce my left bicep, but this time it was I who trapped my opponent, holding its arm with my injured arm, and with my other hand, I grabbed its face and slammed it hard into the ground, which wasn't enough to kill it. Then, with my hand still clamped on its face, I fired a ki attack at point-blank range, burning my hand in the process, but destroying my enemy's head.
"THAT'S WHAT I WAS TALKING ABOUT, HAHAHAHA!"
Cough, cough.
My legs gave out. I collapsed to the ground beside the last Saibaman, gasping, but utterly fulfilled. Finally, after over a month, I had a fun fight, a real fight, nothing virtual. And in that sensation between my joy and my exhaustion, my fatigue won out, and I passed out right there.