Chapter 1 - Rebirth

In a dark alleyway only barely illuminated by the neon signage of the bar he had just stumbled out of in Tribeca, James Ford, limped his way forward through the rain. He had no clue where he was going his eyesight was nigh nonexistent due to the influence of the alcohol he had almost drowned himself with until the security escorted him outside after he started arguing with the bartender after being refused another glass of scotch. It was his 22nd birthday and so far he had lived his life in solitude and self-pity.

After losing his father and mother due to a car crash at the tender age of 4 he was raised by his uncle Jeremiah, an alcoholic much worse than the one he was becoming. He died doing what he loved with the help of his untreated liver cancer when James was 19. He didn't shed a single tear being the only one at his funeral except for a couple men that would work with his uncle on construction sites. James was grateful for his uncle. He had never been beaten by him only yelled at and he was still fed although Jeremiah was rarely around. James had said a short prayer for him hoping his uncle's soul would be at peace.

James crashed into a puddle incapable of lifting himself off the ground due to the fatigue tethering his body to the cold wet concrete. He began to think, 'How did I let myself get here'. James didn't allow himself to have friends only acquaintances that he could use to get where he wanted and now with no family or friends he had no one he could even call if his phone wasn't already dead. Instead of actually trying to join social circles he forced himself to work with his only refuge being manga and stories written by fans of them. With all his regrets overtaking him he vowed to himself to never make the same mistake and to live on as a part of something, knowing what it truly means to belong.

James used all his strength to will his hand off the floor as the rain continued to pour down on him keeping him soaked and cold. He moved his hand down to his pocket slowly as it kept shaking as it got closer. Once his hand met his pocket his heart felt relieved he slowly retrieved the phone out of his pocket and brought it to his face. He turned on the phone, the light was so bright to him he flinched. Immediately he noticed the time "2:36am" he needed to get home. It took 4 swipes to get pass his Home Screen he didn't need a password luckily since the face recognition went through but his screen was stuck on a dbz fan survey of how a fan would have preferred to integrate in the verse.

Still attempting to swipe out of the page to call the police to get him out of this the rain droplets on his phone hindered him and even accidentally submitted his answers. A pop up suddenly redirected him to a screen that said "Congratulations You're prayers have been answered". James hadn't realized it before but the puddle that his upper half was submerged in was a dip in the sidewalk almost like a driveway. In a short distance away from him he could see the taillights of what appeared to be an suv turn on and it began to reverse.

"Hey!!! Wait! please stop!!", James pleaded as the distance between them shortened. He tried to use every fiber of his being to move out of the way but his body wouldn't listen to him.

"Please!!!!", James screamed. Then the right back tire crushed his head silencing his pleas. James felt a sensation of his entire body being wrapped in cold. Then shortly after he began to feel comforted by a warm light.

James' feet met a cool flat floor. He jolted out of shock from the new sensation. He lowered his body to it then touched the cool, flat, polished floor. James opened his eyes only to be shocked that he was no longer was. His skin once pale and white was replaced by a green aura. He was no longer alive. He couldn't even open his mouth to speak because he no longer had the privilege of vocal cords. His soul only took this humanoid shape due to his familiarity with it. James peered at what had been supporting his feet and it was a myriad of large glass shards that portrayed a black haired wasian kid at different ages with a mysterious flying cat. James felt the urge to walk and he followed it up until he saw the boy with mysterious cat get much taller and more strapping appearing to be a young adult but what called his attention was his outfit which was painstakingly similar to the outfit the character, Yamcha, originally wore.

"This can't be", he thought. He began to recall his answers in the survey. He chose to be reincarnated as Yamcha with unlimited potential, martial arts genius, a gamer's mind and an affinity with nature. It all seemed too outlandish but he was currently a soul kneeling atop a glass that conveyed the story of a character's life in a dimension foreign to him.

The glass that James was kneeling on and peering into began to devour him. Memories of Yamcha's upbringing and his journey leading up to his meeting with Goku flooded his mind. He was no longer the person he once was. James soul had seemed to overwhelm Yamcha's but there was an assimilation, a fusion of both. He opened his eyes and they held a green glow. He was kneeling on the ground, facing the warm dry dirt of the desert with his hands keeping him up. His death was brief but he had missed the feeling of his skin. He could still feel in the form of a spectre but it all felt dull. He picked up a handful of dirt and then spread his fingers to let it sift through his hand.

"Yamcha are you okay", asked a cyan-haired beauty around 5'4 with striking blue eyes and clear porcelain skin. Yamcha raised his eyes to meet her.

"Bulma", he muttered still in disbelief that what once was fiction had become his reality. Suddenly he regained his composure and remembered that this was the day after goku had turned into a giant ape and they had to cut his tail of and now he was splitting with the gang to pursue training.

'This must be the effect of a gamer's mind', Yamcha thought to himself. Yamcha picked himself up and patted the dirt off of his clothes.

"I'm alright I just caught a little migraine Bulma", he said nervously scratching the back of his head and forcing out a laugh.

Yamcha directed his gaze to the short chubby boy with wasian features wearing overalls with no shirt. Goku was a little boy with weird spiky hair it was weird seeing him in real life along with Oolong. Oolong didn't look like a pig in the army uniform he looked exactly the same.

The transition took a mental strain on Yamcha but because of the gamer's mind ability it was nothing worth worrying about. "What happened to your eyes Yamcha", asked Goku.

"Nothing don't worry about it. Where's your Bo", said Yamcha trying to appear aloof. Yamcha saw it best to act normal in order to maintain his relationships.

"Grampa gave me that staff, I'm gonna go look for it", Goku said running after it with his arms out.

"Ow!", Goku fell face first. Yamcha winced as he fell.

"He doesn't let much worry him, does he?", asked Oolong, the one with the most striking resemblance to his drawing. Wearing a panty as a headwrap, trunks, a tank top and black cloth shoes drying the sweat off his face with a hand towel.

"Yeah I guess with the whole missing tail thing right. But when it comes to his Gramps and his legacy, the worry might kill him", Yamcha replied earning a snicker from Oolong.

"Well what should we do now? It'll be a year until the dragon balls are trackable again, we might as well go our separate ways", said Oolong looking up at Bulma and Yamcha.

"Pu'ar wake up!", said Yamcha snapping his fingers trying to wake up the cat with purple fur and a white underbelly similar to a Maine coon once he noticed who it was. It was his comrade in arms. Companionship was something foreign to James but not Yamcha with all the memories of the times they spent together even the mischief.

"Yaay!! Whoopee!! Found it!!!", Goku yelled at the top of his lungs running to them in excitement until he fell then he picked himself back up and kept running.

"I'm gonna go to the turtle guys! I wanna train a lot and get real strong", said Goku ecstatic.

"I guess I'll have to tag along then I can't have you getting stronger than me can I?", asked Yamcha laughing with Goku.

"I guess I'll go to the city with Bulma, there's bound to be a bunch of girls in the city", said Oolong with a mischievous grin.

"And next year let's hunt dragon balls again, Kay", said Goku

"Another year without the perfect boyfriend", Bulma sighed. The feelings of the old Yamcha coupled with James' urge to live life spontaneously couldn't let the new him leave without expressing his feelings for her.

"Yamcha what are yo-", before she could finish her sentence Yamcha grabbed her hand and kissed her. She slowly closed her eyes and began to kiss back. Yamcha stopped himself and brought his head back to take a good look at her. She took her time opening her eyes meeting his gaze nervously.

"I must train with Goku to prepare myself for the future but I won't forget you". Yamcha said to her with a firm resolve as Bulma stared at him while blushing still shocked by his newfound confidence.

"I- I'll visit you", said Bulma forcing out a reply. Elated that the wonderful boyfriend she had been moping about had chosen her.

"Yamcha get on! Let's go!", said Goku. Yamcha was hesitant because he didn't see himself as a pure heart kind of guy but when he got on it he didn't fall through maybe it was the Jason part of him that made his heart pure. Goku flew to his house to get his clothes and appliances. As Goku stopped Yamcha took a minute to observe the place.

Goku lived in the wilderness full of lions, pterodactyl's and other scary animals and the house he had to protect him was so small. This made Yamcha really admire Goku since he had survived as a toddler in an environment with beasts that had no business being in the same ecosystem. As soon as they continued their travels Yamcha asked to stop at the city. The two entered a mall. "What are we buying Yamcha", asked Goku. Yamcha replied "Something for gramps and a little something for me".

Yamcha took up two porn magazines and bought some clothes. The middle-aged clerk woman looked at him with a grin and said "I thought a good looking young man like you would be more interested in physical pursuits". "It's for a friend", Yamcha scoffed. As soon as Yamcha left the store he put one of the porn magazines in his garment. Yamaha was dumbfounded by the technology and infrastructure in the city as well as the clothing everyone wore being so colorful and eccentric. It was as if he was in an 80s sci-fi movie.

The two got back on the cotton-like cloud and went to the kame house. Goku screamed out Master Roshi's name over and over but he didn't reply so we had to climb through the window. We caught the old man watching a yoga class. " Oh, Powerful Master Roshi please teach us I brought a gift for you", said Yamcha as he bowed in dogeza and reached the bag out as Goku followed him.

"My training is hard you know but I will consider it because of the gift it seems like I'm really finding good students but I also need you to find me... a hotty", said Roshi. "Goku you're faster than me so you should go", said Yamcha. Goku naively agreed "Let him go with you", said Roshi. Roshi introduced the bald-headed monk as Krillin.