9 9 - Setting Out

Three days had passed since their battle, in that time Jesse and Orzo both recovered. When he woke up after the battle, he could tell he was decently stronger, his ki had boosted his strength. Feelings of excitement and pride washed over him, having finally awakened his ki, but he had other things to focus on at the moment, so he didn't let it cloud his mind. He had pretty much entirely finished his initial plans, training to a decent level and accessing his ki, so now he had to focus on what to do next.

He had a few options in mind. Of course his main goals right now were to continue his training, and finding the dragon balls. What he would exactly wish for, he was unsure, though he had some ideas. He could wish to become a Saiyan, which could be almost necessary. Zenkai and general Saiyan physiognomy were enough of an improvement over being a human, but the transformations were the real bonus. He wasn't totally sure if thats what he wanted to do, he had some pride in being human after all, but it was definitely an option. He could also just wish for eternal youth, so that he wouldn't fall behind the slow aging saiyans.

The number of things he could wish for was astoundingly high, and he really wasnt sure exactly what he wanted to do. Loading a large world map into his backpack, he got out of his room, having finally decided to just explore and train for now, he had plenty of time before any real threats appeared, at least he hoped.

Finishing his preparations, he left his room. For a while, he looked around the building for Truffel, yet was unable to find her. He felt a bit downtrodden, he very much wanted to say goodbye to her before he went off on his journey. Giving up and hoping he could find her later, he knocked on Orzo's door.

"Come in."

The old man's voice almost immediately rung out. Opening the door revealed a slightly odd site. The old man, still in his pajamas was searching through a mess he had created in his room. Clothes strung all over the place, every single drawer open, miscellaneous pieces of paper lining the floors, and much more.

"Uh… Grandpa, I was gonna set out now, but what exactly are you doing?"

Jesse asked curiously, tilting his head slightly as he did. Immediately Orzo yelled back.

"Don't leave yet! Just give me one more second, I want to give you something."

Over the next 5 minutes, Jesse just stood there awkwardly as the old man continued to rummage through his belongings, until he reached his underwear drawer and found what he was looking for, shouting out.

"Aha! There it is."

Standing proudly in his pajamas, he held up a small white ring in his hands.

"Here, this is for you."

He said as he handed the ring to Jesse. On closer inspection Jesse could see that the ring had two symbols on it. On one side was the Japanese symbol for beetle, the same symbol used for the Beetle School logo. On the other side was the Japanese symbol for body. Taking the ring, Jesse could also see that it seemed to be made of some durable porcelain-like material.

"That ring there is hundreds, if not thousands of years old! It's been passed down from master to student for as long as the Beetle School has existed, and now, I give it to you!"

Orzo spoke in a proud voice, it certainly did seem that old. Jesse however didn't seem very impressed, instead wearing a blank, almost disappointed expression.

"Yet… you left it in your underwear drawer?"

Orzo's proud expression immediately disappeared as he fired back.

"Hey! I didn't know where to put it! The damn things too tiny for fingers anyway!"

It was true, he had meaty fingers. Jesse smiled and let out a small chuckle, then slid the ring on his right hand. The gift was nice, plus, it was pretty captivating, not only cause of its nice design, but it also seemed to emanate a certain aura, it seemed to have more to it than meets the eye.

"I'm just messing with you gramps! Don't worry, I'll take good care of it."

Orzo sighed, slightly downtrodden.

"Troublemaker."

He said, shaking his head a bit.

"Well, anyways, you all packed up? Everything ready to go?"

"Yep! I'm gonna head out right now actually, see ya gramps!"

Jesse yelled enthusiastically, giving Orzo a thumbs up before running off. He had quickly made his way out of the building, and out to the edge of the city. As he stared off into the forest, he felt a bit of sadness wash over him. He wished he could've said goodbye to Truffel, but no matter where he looked, she was nowhere to be found. That was until he heard the sudden and distinct sound of running and panting.

Turning his back he saw Truffel, sprinting towards him while holding a large bag.

"Jesseee!!! Don't go without meee!!!"

She shouted from the distance. Jesse smiled as she reached him, guess he'd have some company on his journey, it wasn't his initial plan, but, really why not, he didn't really wanna say goodbye to her yet anyway.

"Alright, let's go."

Both of them smiled at each other as they made their way into the forest, setting out to adventure.

Before they knew it, seven hours had passed. Yet they were still in the forest, and Jesse could be seen staring at his map frustrated.

"Maybe its… No damnit! We've already seen that rock like six times!"

He face palmed in anger. This was a real strike to his pride, not even being able to find his way out of a forest.

"How about we just take a break for now, my feet are getting tired and it's getting late."

Truffel interjected.

"Yeah fine, whatever, lets take a break I guess."

Jesse sat down on the dirt while crossing his arms, feeling pretty annoyed at himself.

"Can't even find my way out of a damn forest…"

He mumbled to himself, the last thing he thought would be his first real opponent was directions. Truffel just giggled a bit at him while pulling out a poi-poi capsule.

"We'll have plenty of time to walk aimlessly around tomorrow, for now lets get some rest."

Truffel said, playfully mocking him a bit, yet her face wore an incredibly innocent smile, a strange yet funny juxtaposition.

Throwing out the poi-poi capsule, a small building appeared from a cloud of smoke.

"Okay, ill make us something to eat!"

She said as she clapped her hands together. As Jesse sighed and got up to accept her offer, he suddenly heard a noise in the distance.

"Wait, do you hear that?"

Focusing, he could the distinct sound of crying.

"Someone's crying! Maybe its civilization!!!"

He said passionately, as if he'd been stuck here for years instead of just a few hours. Without a second thought he rushed towards the sound, pushing branches away from him as Truffel just sighed and followed him.

What he found however, was nothing like what he expected. Instead, he saw a young girl with pale blue skin, literal blue, not a sickly normal blue, sitting on the ground. She seemed about 10 years old, and tears ran down her face as her hands shakily held a knife, pointed at her heart.

Jesse's eyes widened as he immediately realized what was about to happen, the young girl was about to stab herself.