21 General Taopaipai

Water trailed after Krillin and Yamcha as they returned to the pirate cove, empty-handed but not at all dissatisfied with their exploration. There were indeed many unique things to be found in the underwater cave and they had their fun swimming around as well. When they return they are met with a dirtied Durian fetching some odd contraption from the sub, jumping from the deck onto the ground to approach the pile of dismembered robot parts she had gathered. Nearby, Kakarot is eating the last of his meal, the Saiyan more than content with the food he had been offered and ready to go fight some more. Bulma sits near the pile of parts Durian had gathered, smaller parts surrounding her as she worked on something the boys couldn't understand. Seems the others got up to their own fun while they left. Durian will need a clean wash after everything as she is quite dirty. Not that she seems to mind in the slightest, but Bulma warns her about coming near her while she's covered in old oil and rust from her search in the submarine.

"That can't be healthy," Says Bulma with a scrunched-up nose. "This thing smells poisonous"

Durian doesn't seem to share her concern as she goes through each of her capsules carefully. She finds what she's looking for and tosses it in the most open area. A container of proportional size appears in the space and Durian begins placing her gatherings within, the chest of treasure having also been stored in her container as well. She's happy to have brought it and pats herself on the back for considering the need to carry big and heavy things on their adventure. With everything within, the container is reverted to its capsulated state and Durian is content.

Bulma isn't, as she reminds Durian of her need for a wash and directs her to the water to start scrubbing all the oil off her body. Luckily she had not worn her clothes yet, a smart move since most of her clothes are white or lightly colored. She would have surely ruined some good clothes had she been wearing any.

"Any idea where the next ball is?" Having eaten and also taken a swim, Kakarot is ready to return to his mission of finding the magic balls.

"It looks like it's in the direction of that tower you guys climbed" a more in-depth check confirms Bulma's words and she's almost certain it must be in the village that resides near the tower. "Must be in the village"

"I guess I'll be seeing Upa and Bora again," Says Kakarot. "I wonder how they're doing"

"Upa and Bora?" Durian surfaces from the water, hair soaked and covering her eyes. "They have the dragon ball?"

"Maybe, all I know is that it's near the tower"

That prospect does not sound too good to Durian, who rushes to get herself clean and clothed to the other's confusion.

"Why the rush?"

"The Red Ribbon" Is all she says, almost falling when she tries to pull her pants on. "So far they have been near every dragon ball, what's to say they aren't in the land of Korin? We have no idea if there are stronger members out there, so Upa and Bora could be in some serious trouble"

Realization dawns on the group just as Durian manages to pull on some combat boots and make a dash for the exit. Kakarot scrambles after her and the rest follows.

Hopefully, Bora can handle whatever soldiers may be there.

~~~~~~~~

To their relief Bora and Upa were perfectly fine when they arrived, Bora having just taken care of some random soldier and Kakarot took it upon himself to handle the one that tried to go after poor Upa. Though neither of them were harmed and things seem to be clear at the moment, Durian did not allow herself to relax as she has a feeling the army would find them sooner rather than later. Her first thoughts are to leave the second they get the dragon ball as to not involve the village in their conflict, however, she's unsure if the army will simply leave the village even without them or the dragon ball present. They have been shown to be needlessly cruel so she wouldn't put it past them.

"Finally, I've been looking for you" The four-star ball has been handed over to them without qualms and Kakarot is happy to have the ball back. He doubt's he'll be able to keep it, but just the fact that he got his grandfather's treasure back is enough to satisfy him. Funny that the four-star is the fourth ball they find.

"What are you going to do with it?" Asks the little Upa, the boy so small he's short next to Krillin. Durian has to wonder how old the boy is. His short stature is quite adorable and she enjoys watching him climb onto Kakarot. She's glad nothing happened to him, despite not knowing him at all. He's simply a boy Kakarot had befriended when they first arrived at the tower and he's cute, so Durian likes him.

While they converse, Durian stares up the tower, looking high up until she can't even see it anymore. It is incredibly tall, so much so it's hard to believe she had climbed it without much issue. Heh, she could climb it within hours if she truly wanted to. Good thing as she's sure she's going to have to do just that in a few days maybe.

"Man, this thing is massive" Yamcha smacks it as he speaks, gazing up at it in wonder. "Did we actually climb this thing?"

"Never again" Krillin is done with it, especially after he almost fell to his demise when he fell asleep. He's lucky he had been caught but he had not slept for the rest of the climb as he had been truly terrified.

Bulma admires the tower with everyone else, but out of the corner of her eye, she sees something in the sky. At first, she's not sure what it is, she still isn't sure what it is but she's fairly certain it's coming right at them very quickly.

"Uh, guys..."

It's easy enough to notice with how quickly it's coming into their view and they soon realize it's a person on some sort of pillar and he's heading straight for Yamcha and the rest. They're quick to get out of the way, diving away just as the pillar hits the ground, sticking itself deep into the soil as it lands.

Trouble again.

Durian isn't amused

There's a man standing on the pillar, dressed in pink and purple and Durian doesn't like him, simply because she recognizes him.

"Aloha!" He greets, all smiles and grins as his eyes scan the group gathered before him, coming to a stop at Durian who's watching him like he's something to be loathed. "Oh, it truly is you"

Imagine his joy when he was informed that this child is one of his targets.

She would not get away this time.

"So good to see you again" He talks as if he's regarding a friend, hopping off his pillar to approach Durian, who has not moved since he landed. "You've grown"

"You two know each other?" Yamcha asks awkwardly, glancing between the new arrival and Durian, who's glaring daggers into this man. She's mad, it would seem, and they've never seen an angered Durian before.

"Old friends"

"Nothing of the sort" the sheer venom in Durian's voice surprises her friends and they're suddenly not so sure what to do here.

"That's not very nice" the man scolds, his smile unsettling to the others.

There comes no reply from Durian, instead, she finally moves, lowering her position into one that the rest don't get to see often. She doesn't fight very seriously, and the only times they've seen her adopt her learned stance is when she's facing someone potentially strong, as seen with Master Roshi.

Things have escalated rather quickly and the group is left with no actual knowledge as to who this man may be. Durian sees him as the enemy and that is all they need to determine which side he's on.

"This is bringing back some good memories" The man chuckles, arms behind his back as he stands proud. He regards Durian like she's nothing of interest to him and from what he had been sensing from the child, she really could not be a match for him. She's not even stronger than that old bastard of a master she studied under. So he turns his attention to the group left unaware as to who he is. "I am Taopaipai the greatest assassin in the world. I have been hired to kill the group of children getting in the army's way"

Durian lets him reveal this bit of information, but when the last words leave his mouth she is done with waiting. In a flash, she's in front of him, gaze cold as their eyes meet. Tao smirks when she attacks, coming for him with a kick, just as her master had done all those years ago, and just like then he's going to block it.

Or so he thought.

In an instant the power he had felt and disregarded spiked considerably, soaring past his own faster than he could react, and when the kick connects, the pain is unexpected as he's sent flying. Shocked, Tao attempts to regain his composure but is not allowed the time to as Durian follows him, appearing above his head and sending him into the ground with both fists to his head, hitting him with near all her strength, fully intent on ending his life right here and now. All those years ago she was weak and could not stand up to him. But now her strength cannot be compared to his own and she will make sure he understands this.

Kakarot and friends are beyond surprised by Durian's sudden aggression, even more so when her fists glow a familiar light, signs of her infusing her fists with ki to make every strike that much more powerful.

She is going to kill him, there's no doubt about it.

Tao has taken a significant amount of damage in only two attacks and the fact that he's this injured is infuriating as well as terrifying. He had not expected such a thing from Durian of all people. She was nothing but a weak child when he last saw her and even now he had not felt anything impressive from her.

"Leave" the single word is directed at her group of friends.

They did not want to leave, they couldn't leave now of all times, but Durian doesn't want them there, it's clear enough to all of them.

Kakarot is the first to act, calling his nimbus and advising the rest to simply leave her as requested. They can return after things unfold or she'll find them. He's concerned, just as the rest are, but he realizes that she truly wants them gone. And Kakarot understands, because from the way Durian has treated this man as well as the way she's glowering at him, he's sure she'll kill him. And he's certain she doesn't want Bulma to bear witness

And so they leave with Bora and Upa.

Tao stands, wincing from the incredible throbbing in the back of his head. A touch reveals that he's bleeding, excessively to boot. It's a miracle she hadn't split his head open with that strike, as it damn well felt as if he had been pummeled with a warhammer.

No matter, Tao reassures himself as he faces her. She's watching him now, having given him the chance to at least attempt to fight back. A chance is all he would need as he begins to channel ki into his fingers for his signature attack. The one thing that always did the trick and Durian would be no different from the rest.

But she doesn't let him use it, because an attack of her own is aimed right for his arm, one he dodges only to be hit from the back with a palm strike that feels as if it had touched his soul. He can barely move after that single strike, but then she makes it worse by striking him once more, right on the spine.

The scream the assassin lets out would send shivers down the spine of any who heard it. Durian is not playing around as she brings the man to his knees, a ball of ki charging in one hand, the other holding him by the hair as she brings his face to her knee without mercy and does not stop until there's blood staining her pants and running down his face in a violent display.

Tragically, there's nothing Tao can actually do, even if he were to attempt it. He's incredibly skilled at fighting, perhaps having techniques that would far outclass Durian, but she did not give him time to even try anything. And now, he's too damaged to give much of a fight, with a bleeding skull and likely a broken back, he's essentially prey to a predator.

And he realizes that he's faced with death at this moment.

When humans are backed into a corner with no other options they will attempt anything to survive even if it went against everything they stood for.

And so he begs, and pleads to be spared, for mercy and forgiveness. He promises not to take a single life ever again, promises to change his ways, and that he wouldn't come after them ever again. He'd do anything she asked of him if it meant she would spare his life.

It's a tense moment, but through the blood and pain he sees the ball of power disappear from her hand and he's roughly made to meet her eyes. She simply scrutinizes him for a few incredibly long seconds.

"Tell me then" she speaks. "The death of my parents, were you the cause?"

Lie and she'll kill him instantly, he could see it in her eyes.

So he nods, admitting to it and the hand in his hair gets tighter.

"Tell me"

"I was hired to kill them by the Red Ribbon" He begins, his words rushed and painful as his jaw is either broken or dislodged. "I don't know why, I never asked, I was being paid and I wanted to try out a new method of killing so I took the job"

They were poisoned with a substance the general had acquired, one that was said to be the best in the department, something the man was incredibly skeptical of. So he tested it on his next targets, though he was not a fan of how slow it worked.

"The illness they contracted" Durian pieces it together. "It was poison, you poisoned them"

"I was only doing my job"

"And you enjoy your job," Durian says, repeating the words he had said so many times. "Isn't that what you said to my Master?"

Tao gulps and says nothing. He's an assassin for hire because he enjoys the act of killing; it was as simple as that.

"Red Ribbon hired you to kill my parents, and what of Master Lao?"

"He got in my way" He speaks quickly. "I was planning on doing the job myself after the poison hadn't taken effect, but he found me, somehow"

"And so, you killed him" Durian finishes for him. "And you used dirty tactics too"

Once more Tao is left with no words, as replying to such words would surely end with him losing his head.

"Are you sure you don't know why the Red Ribbon had my parents killed?"

Frantic nods are all she gets in reply, to her displeasure. Still, it's enough. If the army wanted her parents dead, it must mean they had been working for them at some point, or at least with them. Knowing of the army's ways she won't be surprised if her parents refused to continue working under - or with - them. And knowing them, they would indeed handle it in such a manner.

"Thank you for answering my questions" she releases his head and pets him in a very condescending manner. Infuriating to the man, but relieving no less. It worked, his begging and pleading worked. She would let him live, being the naive child she likely is. A smirk threatens to form on his lips as he already begins to think of all the ways he could get back at her.

Durian offers a hand and helps him to his feet, all wordlessly. She makes sure he regains his balance and stands without issue, even going so far as to smooth out his clothes, as if apologizing for the things she had done to him and all the pain she had brought him. His face is almost bruised beyond recognition and the collar of his clothes is soaked in his blood. He's light-headed, suddenly realizing how much blood he has lost, which is not a good sign, especially since most of it is leaving through the wound in his head.

"You alright?"

"I'll be fine" He nods.

"Good" Durian smiles. A smile that has him smirking internally.

She's such a fool; he thought.

Those thoughts are silenced and overpowered by pain in an instant, the pain beginning in his chest. Blood spills from his mouth, almost choking him with the amount and he stumbles, leaning into the shorter frame of Durian. He's in disbelief as his hands struggle to find purchase on the one in his chest, but to no avail.

Words try to form, but all that leaves is a bloody gurgle as his strength begins to fade and the pain only becomes worse.

Just as fast as it had happened, the hand in his chest is removed, taking with it a trophy of sort, and Tao falls to the floor, no longer supported by Durian who steps away.

The organ in her hand is placed neatly near his head, pumping in its last moments.

"You've killed many, you've killed my family" Durian crouches before the fallen assassin, not an ounce of remorse or sympathy to be found in her eyes. "And you expect me to let you live?"

How foolish.