The first thing Kaiden remembered wasn't love.
It was hate.
"The world is full of sheep," His father said. "But you aren't."
His eyes flicked to Kaiden.
"You were born with thunder in your blood."
He was different. By the age of seven, Kaiden's parents began sending him on dangerous assignments that involved murder.
They called it work.
"Never hesitate. Hesitation is death."
He had one brother and both parents.
He remembered their clan emblem burned into the wooden wall behind the altar—a thin circle pierced by a lightning bolt.
Their symbol.
Their pride.
Their curse
A hand rested on his shoulder—heavy, familiar.
His brother.
Rain hissed against stone, a sound sharp and persistent, like oil being poured over hot flames.
Kaiden lay on his back, staring up at the sky. The arena lights were distant—blurry through water and sweat.
Somewhere nearby, Goku was breathing too.
He turned his head just enough to see him.
Goku lay a few feet away, sprawled on the cracked tile. Blood ran down his temple and neck.
And at his waist—half-unwrapped from torn fabric—Kaiden saw it again.
The tail.
Kaiden's fingers curled against the stone.
He'd pictured it a thousand ways. Goku on his knees, begging.
But now that Kaiden was here, close enough to reach out and grab the boy by the throat,
He didn't feel satisfied.
He felt sick.
Because he believed hatred would make him stronger.
But as Kaiden lay there, he began to see things differently. The hate inside him was no longer something he could use against others.
It felt like a chain.
His throat tightened.
If I kill him
Then what?
His fists trembled.
Hate is what led him here.
He didn't know who he would be without it.
Rain slid down his cheek like tears.
He turned his face away from Goku and shut his eyes.
***
King Kai's voice rolled across the courtyard.
"And the winner is—Goku!"
For a second, the world held its breath. The anticipation was palpable, the air thick with expectation. Then it exploded. Fireworks burst above the temple in white, gold, and blue, splitting the grey clouds.
Cheers erupted.
Monks stayed composed, but the fighters didn't.
Johnny jumped up, threw both hands in the air, and laughed. The sound cut through the pain of his bruises and rose above the noise, unmistakably his.
"THAT'S MY GUY! THAT'S MY—" he shouted, voice cracking with hype. "GOKU!"
Some people clapped. Some yelled. Some looked stunned, like they didn't know what they had just witnessed.
Pop. Pop. BOOM.
Each burst lit the clouds for a second, and then the grey returned.
Goku was a few feet away, sprawled in the broken tiles.
Feet rushed in.
Monks and medics stepped onto the ring, robes swaying.
Someone knelt over Kaiden first.
"Breathing steady."
"Burns—minor. Shock response—high."
Kaiden wanted to laugh at the word minor.
A monk leaned close, "Can you stand?"
Kaiden tried.
His arm shook. His leg refused.
The monk didn't judge him. Just nodded and signaled.
Two men lifted him by the shoulders and carried him out of the ring, but his gaze remained fixed on Goku.
Goku was sitting up now, wincing. Johnny was already there, crouched beside him, words tumbling out like they could keep the blood from spilling.
"You're insane. You're actually insane!" Johnny was grinning hard. "Bro, I thought you were dead for like, three times."
Goku's voice was weak.
"You're loud…"
King Kai stood near Goku and the medics, hands behind his back.
Goku stood on his feet, but only barely. He had wrapped bandages around his ribs. His gi clung to him, wet and torn.
King Kai's eyes sharpened.
"You did well. You survived."
Goku swallowed.
"So… what now?"
"Now we start," King Kai said.
The words dropped like a stone into still water.
"Huh?"
"Training starts immediately. Today."
Goku blinked.
"Today?"
"Yes," King Kai said, as if it were apparent. "Your body is a weapon you don't understand. Your mind is that of a child. That ends now."
Goku opened his mouth.
King Kai raised a finger.
"But," he added, "you're going home first."
Goku hesitated.
King Kai's gaze didn't soften.
"Come back and don't waste my time."
Goku nodded slowly.
Go home first.
The temple felt quieter after the fireworks.
Goku stood near the infirmary steps, bandages tight around his ribs, one arm across his stomach like he was holding himself together. His gi was torn in three places, still damp from rain and sweat.
Johnny leaned against a pillar, arms crossed, bruised face lit up as he'd just won the whole tournament himself.
"You're leaving already?" Johnny asked.
Goku nodded.
"King Kai said I gotta go home first."
Johnny snorted.
"Of course he did. Old man's got you on a leash."
Goku shot him a tired look.
Johnny grinned wider.
"I'm kidding."
For a second, the grin faded. Johnny remembered how close he came to not standing here at all.
He stepped forward and held out his fist.
Goku hesitated, then gently bumped it.
Johnny's eyes softened.
"Thank you, man."
Goku blinked.
"For what?"
Johnny shrugged.
"For saving my life in the forest. You helped me, so I'm still here."
He leaned in
Goku's throat tightened.
Johnny pointed a finger at him like it was a threat.
"And when you're some world-famous freak of nature who can punch mountains, you better remember me."
"I will," Goku said, and this time he actually smiled.
A couple of the other fighters lingered nearby—Moro sitting on a low step with his arms wrapped in bandages, scowling. Gyro is leaning against a wall, playing with his yo-yos. Udon standing farther back, quiet as ever, eyes calm.
Goku bowed—not perfect, not formal, but sincere.
"Thanks," he said. "All of you."
Moro scoffed.
"Tch. Don't get sentimental."
Udon gave the slightest nod.
Gyro didn't speak—but his eyes followed Goku.
Then,
Zuki stepped out.
Limping.
Swelling puffed up one side of her face, bruises purpled her cheek, and she wore her right arm in a sling.
She spotted Goku and paused.
He just looked at her.
"You're alive," he said.
Zuki's lip twitched.
"Unfortunately."
Johnny muttered, "She's definitely alive."
Zuki ignored him, eyes staying on Goku.
"You gonna say sorry too?"
Goku shook his head.
"For what? I didn't fight you."
Zuki's gaze narrowed, then her smirk returned, small and crooked.
She took a step, winced, and caught herself against the doorframe. Her smirk faltered as a tremor shook her grip on the frame, but she quickly pulled her expression back.
"Go home," she said, voice flat. "Before you ruin the mood."
Goku nodded once.
"Take care, Zuki."
Zuki scoffed like she hated the words, then turned away before anyone could see her expression.
King Kai's voice called from somewhere behind the pillars.
"GOKU."
Goku exhaled and looked at Johnny one more time.
Johnny lifted two fingers.
"Don't die."
Goku gave a slight nod.
Then he turned and started walking.
Toward the docks.
The ocean wind hit him the moment he reached the path.
Goku stood at the edge, staring out at the gray horizon.
He didn't know if Kaiden would come.
He didn't know if Kaiden could even come.
Then he heard it.
Wheels.
Goku turned.
Kaiden appeared from the shadow of the temple staircase, sitting in a wheelchair pushed by a monk.
His hair hung wet against his forehead. His face looked pale.
But his eyes,
Those eyes were awake.
The monk stopped a few feet away and bowed.
Kaiden didn't look at him.
The monk quietly stepped back, leaving them alone.
The wind filled the space between them.
Goku didn't step forward. Didn't try to close the distance.
He just stood there.
Kaiden's hands rested on the wheelchair arms.
"Don't talk."
Goku froze.
"Okay."
Kaiden stared at the ocean.
The silence stretched so long it started to hurt.
Then Kaiden spoke again—still not looking at him.
"I hate you, Goku."
Goku swallowed.
Kaiden's fingers tightened on the chair.
"But when I saw you win and everyone cheering," his voice sharpened, then cracked back down, quieter, uglier. "I didn't feel satisfied."
He breathed in.
And for the first time, Goku heard how shaky it was.
Kaiden's voice lowered even more.
"I felt… sick."
Goku didn't say sorry.
He didn't try to explain.
He just listened.
Kaiden's throat bobbed like he was swallowing something too big.
"I wanted to kill you," he said, finally turning his head just enough that Goku could see his eyes. "I still want to."
Goku's stomach twisted. He nodded once.
Kaiden looked away again, back to the ocean.
"But if I do… I don't know what I am after."
The wind slapped the dock ropes.
Kaiden's voice came like a confession he hated.
"My family raised me to be a weapon."
Goku's eyes flicked to him.
Kaiden's jaw tightened.
"We weren't innocent."
He stared at the water, expression hard.
"We killed people. We took contracts. We did evil. That was our 'tradition.'"
His fingers trembled slightly.
"So when my home burned… maybe it was karma," he muttered. "Maybe the world finally paid us back."
He turned to Goku, eyes sharp now.
"But I still loved them."
Goku's chest tightened.
Kaiden's voice dropped again, almost hollow.
"And hate kept them alive in my chest."
Then, as if it hurt to say,
"I'm tired."
Goku's breath fogged faintly in the cold.
"I'm tired of hating you."
Kaiden stared at him.
"I forgive you."
Goku's eyes widened.
Kaiden lifted a hand slightly, more to stop Goku from speaking than to reach for him.
"Not because you deserve it," Kaiden said. "Because I don't want to be chained to you anymore."
Rain rolled off the dock edge in thin streams.
Goku shifted his bag higher on his shoulder.
"So, uh… where are you going now?"
Kaiden shrugged, looking out over the water.
"Wherever the boat drops me." His mouth twitched. "There's always another town. I'll figure it out."
Goku hesitated.
"You could… come train with Master Roshi. Or King Kai. We could—"
Kaiden shook his head before he could finish.
"That's your path," he said. "Not mine."
"I have to figure out who I am without chasing your shadow," Kaiden added. "Without chasing revenge."
Goku's chest tightened, but he nodded slowly.
"Yeah. I get that."
He stared at Goku for a long moment, eyes flicking briefly to the tail looped at his waist, then back to his face.
"You're still an idiot," Kaiden said quietly.
Goku smiled.
"I know."
A breath that might have been a laugh left Kaiden's chest.
He turned his head toward the open sea, jaw working like he was chewing on words he wasn't used to saying aloud.
Finally, he looked back at Goku.
"Goku."
His voice softened.
"Take care of yourself."
The words landed heavier than any goodbye.
Goku blinked, surprised. Of all the things he expected — that wasn't it.
His throat tightened.
"I will."
"We're not done, Goku. One day, we'll fight again. This time, just us."
Goku's grin came back, brighter now.
"Yeah. I'm looking forward to it."
Kaiden snorted.
"Then don't die before then."
"I won't," Goku said. "I still have people I need to protect."
Their eyes met one last time.
Just two boys who had changed each other.
A monk called from behind Kaiden.
"Sir, your boat!"
Kaiden glanced back, then stepped toward the far end of the dock. He didn't look over his shoulder when he spoke.
"Don't make me regret letting you live, Goku."
"I won't," Goku answered, steady.
Kaiden climbed into his boat.
Goku watched as the boat pulled away, the distance between them growing. Kaiden sat with his back to him, cloak pulled tight against the wind, silver hair catching the light.
Goku turned toward his own boat.
He stepped in carefully, clutching the edge as the wood rocked beneath him.
As they pushed off from the dock, the island began to shrink behind him: the ruined arena, the temple roofs, the flags snapping in the breeze.
Goku sat on the worn bench.
Kaiden's words echoed in his mind.
Take care of yourself.
Goku looked down at his wrapped hands, flexing his fingers slowly.
"Let's meet again," he whispered to no one in particular.
The boat cut across the water, carrying him toward home, toward Grandpa Gohan, toward Master Roshi, and toward the promise he'd just made to Kaiden and to himself.
To live.
To change.
To take care of himself, so he could take care of everyone he loved.