After getting fiercely and unfairly reprimanded for stopping Zukki's indoctrination disguised as combat introduction, Negi had finally returned to the insignificant base of rejects. A conglomeration of wasted space, lower than low, and she literally stood above it all.
On the way all she thought of was how to properly go about changing Zukki's course. The least she could do was possibly increase the kids power level, but without proper experience nothing would change.
"Well first i have to find her.." she said while pressing the scouter button only to find that all the power levels were essentially in that same garbage range. "Am i really going to have to find the larges power level and work my way down the list"
Negi grimaces while slowly landing at one of the entrances. The only reason she isn't busting down the doors is because she does not want to be paying any credits out of her pocket to repair such a worthless base.
Reject residents were another thing. The first one who wasn't Zukki that she approached glared at her so she back handed him into a wall. The second and third lunge at her only to be taken down with ease.
Eventually after a few dozen rejects she ended up at the cafeteria. Where the girl she had been looking for was among the majority of the highest power levels on the base line. Aside from those whose duty was guarding entrances and perimeter of the base.
She slammed the door open, making her presence known.
***
455 was about to relay his teacher's message to Zukki about her offer to give out plenty of drinking water when the cafeteria's main doors slammed open.
All eyes, not just at his table, but every other pair had turned to stare at the commotion. It was rare for the base to have eventful moments so each person wondered who had the audacity to drum up some loud entrance.
The woman's eyes scanned the room until she met the person of interest. Negi was not in the best mood, nor had she realized her own problem yet, and so all she could do was prepare to continue where they left off. Zukki was not passed out exhausted on the ground any longer.
In fact, as the girl got onto the table and leapt from one to the next, she stepped in someone's pile of slop in pursuit of her goal. The look in her eye was one of fierce gratitude. Her anger forever aimed at the woman's face.
"Hey my foo-" the person whose slop Zukki's stepped in got up to complain, but as he did so she interrupted that thought with a roar in instinctual rejection of that notion.
"Uuuuuyou Daaam woman" she says while closing the distance over the tables. Her attack aimed for the bridge of Negi's nose.
Even if Zukki could reach the elite warrior's strength, her single-minded focus on her adversaries head made her attacks so readable. From the moment she popped her head up and glared. Negi instinctually knew her head or rather her face was being targeted.
Negi caught her fist and pulled her into a devastating knee to the gut. Temporarily knocking her out and placing her under her armpit. She planned to move her outside when one of the rejects came over to complain.
"Hey I need to have a word with that kid, she stepped on my food!"
"Huh?" Negi dismissed with a glare.
"Gahh" it was when her shoulder was grasped that she back handed the adult reject. With a grunt he slid across one of the several tables where others were still eating.
The adult reject's body knocked a dozen trays off the table. Piles of slop that were now food for the grimey dusty floor. This caused an uproar leading to a torrent of spikey haired individuals with brown tails to charge towards the cause with recompense.
Normally the sole cafeteria guard, a lanky male saiyan with a grey bowl cut, a beard, and lazy gaze would shout to stop this. That is if it were just a matter involving the weak rabble, however it was someone way above his pay grade inducing this event. His eye glanced over the slug lady making her leave and he sighed in relief.
("Phew..she took the hint. At least i won't get in trouble with the emperor's contractors at this rate.") The guard thought to himself with a relieved expression.
As if on que, along with the reject who got knocked away a huge group chased after Negi's figure as she had wholly ignored the uproar. The tidal wave of anger and resentment crashed from one room, into the hallway, and outside after that.
("They're going outside too..what a lucky day..out of sight out of my mind. I'll leave it to you..") The cafe guard thought once again, referring to his peer who guarded the perimeter.
With everyone gone only several rejects were left in the cafeteria at this point.
"Wow, that escalated..." 455 responded in pure astonishment.
"It gets boring around here..and well you don't mess with a Saiyans food. Even if this for the failures" Jagger explained having been here longer.
"Let's go check out what's happening!" 456 eagerly stood up to join the crowd. More importantly to chase after Zukki as he had been doing lately.
Jagger shrugged before following suit. 455 had to relay his teacher's message so he felt obligated to follow along as well.
***
When the trio of saiyan boys got outside all they saw were scattered bodies everywhere. Rejects of all ages beaten down in what had to be only a few moments. In the middle was Negi who looked especially ticked off.
456 and 455 shuddered under her unnerving glare. Jagger just looked her head on, cackling while a bead of sweat dripped from his forehead.
Negi's gaze egged him on, like saying "come and get it over with" as today she had itchy fists that needed others' faces to scratch them.
"This is the one?" Jagger questioned the other boys while steeling his resolve to attack her.
"The one what?" 456 questioned back dumbly, despite hearing what Jagger and Zukki spoke about briefly.
"He's asking if she's the one that's been fighting with Zukki..and well considering Zukki attacked her first and that she's clearly stronger than all of us.." said 455 in a monotone voice while explaining.
"Just say yes..i didn't need some long winded explanation!" Jagger admonished 455.
But either way he had gotten his explanation. Beating this woman was the closest ticket out of this pit of failure he was forced into. Gritting his teeth and thoroughly overestimating his self worth no more words were needed.
His breath ragged with anticipation and fist cocked to his upper right side. Jagger charged in, using a direct line, and even stepped on bodies to make it Negi.
Before his fist could even reach the end of its swing, Jagger's eyes caught a glimpse of the woman's darker abyss and a sneer of disgust before his face caved in comically.
Negi had out sped him without any effort and it was like the child had been moving in slow motion. Planting her fist in his face before sending him skipping on the ground several tens of feet away.
The two final rejected onlookers saw the highest level of speed thus far. One moment Jagger was running towards the woman and she was still. As he reached her in the next, it looked like she snapped into the punch.
"Well..now they all know not to mess with her, I'm sure this will die down" said 455 somewhat guessing the gap in power between her and everyone else.
456 couldn't really disagree, he did not even think curling up into a ball would get him anywhere. ("Even if I put my arms and legs between her attacks, she would probably just crush them along the way") He thought in response, keeping it to himself. If he vocalized his weakness it would just come true. Truthfully so far nothing hurt more than getting kicked or punched between the legs and well ("i don't want to find out what would").
"You two just going to stand there?" Negi had noticed them just staring and had to ask. Were they going to get in the way of her duties like the rest of the trash?
They shook their heads vigorously in response. It was enough for them to be spared the punishment this time.
After that the both of them were scanning the bodies for Zukki, wondering where she was. Neither of them could find her until...
"Haaaaa!" Zukki herself appears behind Negi putting all her effort into a clubbing blow from behind. Both hands held together in an attempt to break the adult's skull.
It was too predictable and from the sound alone, Negi could have just swung her arm back to hit the source. Instead she turned her body at about the same speed Zukki was striking at and faced her before lifting her left leg. The leg struck the side of the toddler before her attack could land.
Zukki was sent tumbling to the right side near an unconscious Jagger. Unlike him she was right back up and ignored the pain in her ribs. But just like him she used the bodies on the ground like foot holds to return the fight.
With her strength renewed Zukki's ferocity had returned. The child was just grateful to have a second chance in one day to go on again.
Negi couldn't place it yet, but she was starting to understand one of the girl's problems.
Zukki moved in and threw a punch at Negi's cheek. A move that was seen a mile in advance. This time she slipped through the attack to see how the child would react.
As Negi's head tilted to the left, Zukki caught her shoulder with her opposing hand. Bringing her fist back she attempted to drive it home once again. Then once more it missed as Negi tilted her head the other way. These weren't jabs, they were straight so unbeknownst to the kid, her attacks were being patronized due to their lack of speed.
Eventually the adult had enough of that charade and grasped the child by her armor and flung her to the side.
Zukki was in her prime once again as this set of instruction without a specific repetition went on for quite a while.
About twenty minutes later 455 had fully lost interest.
"Hey 456, are you gonna stay here until this ends?"
"Oh..uh yes I will"
"Alright can you tell Zukki that My teacher Būdo will have plenty of extra water for her whenever she needs it?"
456's nod of confirmation was all he needed before taking one last uninterested look at the two girls fighting.
("What's the point?") He thought to himself while walking away.
("How can i get that strong"?) 456 mused inwardly while miming one of the various punches he watched Zukki do. Clenching his fist while slowly cocking it and thrusting it into the air.
While Zukki maintained her routine of getting batted around like a courageous mouse against a large house cat, the other rejects began to stir. The majority of them got up and left right away. Among that crowd were mainly the older rejects and notable a trip of baldies.
The crowd had thinned to a mere dozen or so. 456 watching Zukki versus Negi get interrupted by Jagger first as he came in for revenge.
A punch didn't work last time so he decided to try jumping into a kick only to be grasped at the ankle and used as a weapon. His body smacked into the hungry group approaching. They were the ones still angry their meals got ruined.
The majority getting blown back by the boy who could only try and protect himself by raising his arms. A comedic sight to behold, sadly no one around could muster the nerve to laugh.
As Jagger's body swept across the seven hungry men, one last adult reject emerged having ducked the sweeping swing. From below he squatted down to use the full force of his knees, showing that even in excess, he had more experience than the average person here.
His scarred face rose up as he intended to thrust his fist not at her face but her gut. At the same time Zukki had returned from behind for another clubbing blow.
"Heaaaaaah" both attackers roared.
Negi wanted to commend them for accidentally creating this near perfect pincer attack. It was too bad she understood this was a happy coincidence. A smirk creeped onto her lips as she let her new found weapon go flying off.
Ramping up her speed she dodged at the last second to let the two attacks hit themselves.
The scarred face reject's uppercut landed squarely on Zukki's chin sending her back. Negi caught her by the neck before slamming her foot into the other reject. While he crumbles to the ground she reels her leg back before kicking him away.
While in her grasp Zukki grabs her arm and attempts to use this angle for an attack, but Negi's grip only tightens which nearly suffocates her. Before this could progress she was tossed aside.
Negi once again was left with bodies on the floor.
***
Jagger found himself face first on the ground looking over at the woman who used him like a ragdoll. He was the last extra fighter in the area to still be around. His head was pounding and his body was groggy. Shockingly the girl from before was fighting her still, with a scuff he walked over to the building intending to throw himself into the mattress that made up his bed.
Along the way he noticed 456 miming punches and got annoyed. Glaring at the boy seeming to get some enjoyment out of all this he walked over to him.
456 noticed the boy with blood trickling down his face and grimacing. When he opened his mouth it was fed a fist as Jagger smashed his into the face of the onlooker.
"..." He didn't even waste his breath, however Jagger found it cathartic to beat someone down after getting thoroughly beaten down himself.
456 held his face for a long while after that and wondered what he did to deserve that. He thought there was some potential bond forming between him and that boy Jagger, but he was dead wrong.
A while after that Zukki hit the floor for the final time that day. Negi was not satisfied, but she understood this couldn't go on forever and remembered she would have another way to take out her frustrations just a little bit later.
She took off towards her home expecting a certain low class boastful to be there within an hour or so.
456 watched as she flew off and approached the exhausted and battered Zukki.
"Hey Zukki.." he went in to poke her back only to be stuck in the middle of his face again. "Gaaah!"
He held his face which was going to be black and blue from the repeated strikes to the face. Groaning out in pain and now mentally readying himself for future people to target him there.
"What...?" Zukki had pushed her tired body over just barely and questioned the boy's intentions.
"Gggg...i was gonna tell you something why did you hit me.."
"Thought you were that b*tch"
"Ggg. I was going to say 455's teacher...the lady at the infirmary said you can go back there for as much water as you need..." He struggled to say while gripping his nose with both hands.
"Hmm..i am pretty thirsty actually" Zukki mused.