Saiyan Primal awakening!

Two Months Later

POV: Gine

The sun had started to rise when we reached Fasha's district, the sky painted in streaks of orange and pink. The capital always looked quieter from this side, with fewer patrols in the air, and fewer warriors clashing in the open. Peaceful, by Saiyan standards. My boots crunched against the dusty path as Bardock walked beside me, his tail lazily curling around mine. 

I slowed a little as we reached Fasha's house. It was smaller than ours. Raditz trailed behind us, boots dragging a bit. When Bardock couldn't train him, I stepped in. I didn't have the same thirst for violence, never did, but I could still fight with him a bit, even if I hated it.

He reached for my hand once we were out of sight, fingers small wrapping around my fingers. "You sure you'll be okay taking care of both of them?" Bardock asked.

I smirked, stepped close, and kissed him on the cheek. "Of course. It's not like I've never juggled two wild kids before." Raditz made a sound somewhere between gagging and protest. Bardock cracked a rare grin. Inside, the lights were already on, and the smell of fried meat lingered in the air. Fasha was getting on her chest plate. 

"Oi, Fasha!" Bardock called. "Gine's here for Celera."

"Finally," Fasha muttered without looking up. "She's in the kitchen. Try not to let her eat the counter."

I rolled my eyes fondly. "With the way that girl goes through meat, I wouldn't be surprised." Celera was intelligent, painfully observant, and oddly composed for a 4-year-old. Well, she was 5 now, I believe. I'd never seen a kid with that kind of stillness in her eyes. Fasha didn't say much about it, but I could tell the girl unsettled her sometimes. 

I followed the smell of sizzling food to the kitchen and found her exactly where I expected, elbows on the table, mouth full, eyes locked on a plate stacked with thin cuts of smoked lizard tail meat. She looked up and smiled wide, teeth still shiny with grease.

"Gine!" she chirped, wiping her mouth on the back of her wrist before launching herself into my arms. I caught her with a small grunt.

 "You ready for some training today?" I asked, ruffling her hair. It was longer than most girls' on Vegeta, wild and untamed, but it suited her. Her eyes sparkled. "Raditz better not slow us down."

I laughed. "Raditz is right behind me. You can insult him in person." From the hall, Raditz groaned and crossed his arms, doing his best impression of sulking while still trying to look tough. It didn't fool anyone. 

Fasha came over, her steps unusually slow. She crouched beside Celera and pulled the girl into a quick hug. "Be good," she said, voice softer than usual. "We'll be back in a few days."

Celera didn't squirm. She just nodded. "Don't die." That made Bardock chuckle. "She's got your sense of humor." "Unfortunately," Fasha muttered, pulling away. Raditz was already heading for the door, tail swishing impatiently. Celera chased after him, calling something snarky that made him growl in return.

Fasha sighed. "They're going to kill each other one day." I smiled. "Oh, I wouldn't worry about that too much."

Then we parted ways, she and Bardock into the sky, toward whatever blood-soaked job they'd been assigned, and me and the kids toward the arena. I couldn't help the warmth that bloomed in my chest. Today would be important. 

The walk to the training grounds wasn't long, but it felt longer with Raditz and Celera constantly sniping at each other.

"Try not to embarrass yourself today, Raditz."

"Hah! I should be saying that to you! Last time you missed that roundhouse by a whole head!"

"Yeah, and then I kicked you in the stomach while you were laughing about it."

I didn't say anything. Just let them talk. Saiyans didn't need gentle encouragement to compete; it was in their blood. But these two? They were something else. They pushed each other in a way I hadn't seen since Bardock and Toma used to spar in the old barracks.

And even with all the bickering, they still walked close. Raditz would grumble but match Celera's pace. Celera would toss barbs, but never too cruel. "You know the teams are being assigned today, right?" I said finally, glancing at them. "This tournament is how they pick who gets real assignments. Patrol work. Low-tier planet surveys. Early missions."

"I know," Celera said, cracking her knuckles. "Means I've got to make sure I'm not stuck with dead weight."

Raditz's head whipped toward her. "You saying I'm dead weight?"

"No," she said, all wide-eyed innocence. "I'm saying you'd be fine as ballast in a cargo ship."

I had to bite back a laugh.

He scowled but didn't rise to it. Not really. That was new. A few weeks ago, he might've thrown a punch at that. Guess the training was doing more than just raising his power level. "Hey," Celera added, softer, a half-smirk tugging at her lips. "Seriously, don't slack off today. You're at 670 now. That's not bad."

Raditz blinked, surprised by the compliment. "Yeah, well," he muttered, scratching the back of his neck. "Guess all that stupid running around town worked."

"It wasn't stupid. You just kept trying to fight trees instead of doing the laps."

"I thought that tree looked suspicious."

"Sure you did, space cop."

They kept going like that, trading quips and jabs. But I noticed Raditz stealing glances at her, maybe trying to guess how much stronger she'd gotten. Celera spent weeks dragging Raditz through what she called drills, he never would've done on his own, dodging practice, feint work, and weird breathing exercises she claimed were about "not getting tunnel vision."

The arena finally came into view, Above it, metal scaffolding and half-ruined buildings gave the adults a place to watch. Some of the older warriors were already up there sipping nutrient drinks.

I spotted a few instructors waiting at the edge of the field. One of them, Zorn, a musclehead with a scar on his jaw, stepped forward and barked at the nearest group of kids. "Form up! You're not fighting today if your name's not on the board! Teams are locked in! Win or get the hell off my field!"

"Friendly guy," Celera said under her breath. I crouched beside them, fixing Celera's collar and brushing dust off Raditz's shoulder. "You both give it your all," I told them.

"Of course," Raditz said, bouncing a little on his heels. His hair swayed with the motion. Celera just gave me a thumbs-up. And with that, they jogged off together, their footsteps echoing against the hard ground. I stayed behind, heading up to the platform where a few other parents had gathered. Most looked bored. Some looked vaguely annoyed that they had to be here.

POV: Celera

 Most other Saiyan kids hovered around 400 to 600. A couple cracked 700, barely. None of them were hiding it either, all trying to show off. Raditz walked beside me, arms crossed like he was already annoyed at everyone. We walked through the crowd, and I caught a few glares from other kids. Some recognized me. A couple whispered. I even heard one kid boasting about how he'd beaten up a nurse when she tried to take his scouter away.

"Cool," I muttered, brushing past him. "Beat up a woman with no power level. You must be terrifying." He blinked, confused. I kept walking. Raditz stood beside me and cracked his knuckles. "What if they put us on the same team?"

"Then I carry us," I said.

He snorted, "Like I need you to carry me, I'm plenty strong on my own." He grinned. It was a nervous grin, though. He wanted to do well. He just didn't want to lose to me again.

Raditz glanced around at the other kids. "Think any of them are decent?"

"Some of them are better than decent," I said. "They would actually give you a proper fight." The crowd of kids shifted as a tall, broad-shouldered Saiyan stepped onto the raised rock at the far end of the arena. The murmuring died down.

"Alright, brats," he barked, voice loud enough to silence the whole field. "My name's Zorn. You'll remember it, because if you screw around, I'll be the one dropping you headfirst into a crater."

Some of the kids straightened. Others tried to look unimpressed. "Today's simple," he continued. "You're getting sorted into teams of three. Those teams will stay together until they either win the tournament… or get eliminated."

He paused, letting that sink in. "The first three teams to lose are out permanently. You'll be reassigned to the good department. That means warehouse work, janitorial backup, food prep, or medical grunt labor until your next evaluation in six months."

Several kids went pale. Zorn continued, "Winners, your team goes on missions. Real ones. Off-world work. Patrols, scouting, maybe even small-scale purges if you're lucky."

That got everyone's attention. I felt the atmosphere change. The casual smirking stopped. No more pushing or jokes. For most of these kids, this was it. Their first and only shot to make a name for themselves.

"Power levels are taken into account," Zorn added, almost like an afterthought. "So if your numbers are trash, don't waste our time. Get strong or get gone." He tapped the scouter on his temple. "Now shut up and listen for your name."

The group tightened. Kids elbowed their way closer. 

"Team One: Rycelo, Turles, Raditz."

Raditz's head snapped toward me. I shrugged, gave him a lazy wave. "Don't screw it up." Turles was quiet, with darker skin. Rycelo followed. I didn't envy Raditz. That team would clash hard unless someone held the reins. 

A few more teams were called. I kept half an ear open, but most of the names didn't matter. Then— "Team Five: Celera, Tato, Hanasia." I stepped forward calmly, eyes sweeping the gathered kids. Tato was the one bouncing on the balls of his feet, energy flickering at 600. Hanasia stood just behind him, quiet and at 550.

They saw me approaching and stopped whatever conversation they were having. "You're Celera, right?" Tato asked, grinning. "I hear you're way stronger than us."

"Yup," I said simply. "But you're welcome to check on your own."

Hanasia tilted her head and scanned. "I guess that makes you the leader then."

I shrugged. That got a small smile from her. Tato looked like he'd just been told he was getting extra rations tonight. " I hope we get to spare after this, you might be stronger now but that doesn't mean you always will be."

I couldn't help but smile. "I like your style, Tato. Yeah, we should totally spare after, but the loser does whatever the winner says, deal?"

"Deal!" he said with a smile.

We didn't fight right away. That was the first surprise.

Instead, we stood off to the side with the rest of the teams, watching match after match roll out like some kind of trial-by-stupidity montage. Kids were rushing each other, screaming like they were in a battlefield.

Tato leaned against a boulder beside me, arms crossed. "Are we supposed to be learning something from this?"

"Yeah," I said, "how not to fight."

He snorted.

Hanasia sat a few feet away, legs folded, hands resting in her lap. She didn't talk much. Watching closely. Quiet types always made the best learners.

The first team out was exactly who I expected—three kids with power levels in the 400s. They got floored in under a minute. One caught a punch to the face so hard it knocked his scouter off. The other two got flipped out of the ring back-to-back. The arena judges didn't even wait. Zorn waved them off, barked their names, and declared them reassigned to the food department.

You could feel the shift in the air after that. A few kids got real quiet. Others started glancing at each other like maybe this was more serious than they'd thought. Second team down lasted longer, but not by much. One girl had decent energy control, 620, but her teammates were so much weaker than her that I actually felt bad. She tried to carry the whole match by herself and burned out. She still fought like she thought she could win, but her enemy team was only 40 - 60 points less powerful than hers, and besides, after fighting two people, she was beaten and kicked out of the ring.

"Third match," Zorn barked. "Let's go."

Another team crumbled. This one just didn't belong here. Their power levels were low 200s at best, and one of them looked like he hadn't even figured out how to throw a proper punch. They went down fast.

Zorn didn't even try to hide his disgust. "Third elimination. That's it for the rejects." The three kids were escorted off the field by an assistant with a clipboard and zero sympathy. You'd think someone would cry or argue, but they didn't. That part stuck with me. Maybe even they knew they never had a shot. 

"Think we're up next?" Tato asked.

"Maybe," I said. He sighed in relief. "Im glad three teams already lost. I didn't want to be stuck cleaning cafeteria trays for the rest of my life."

"Not like I was gonna lose anyway," I added, stretching my arms. Watching the others stumble around had me itching for a real fight. "But yeah. Less stress now."

He grinned. "Confidence. I like that."

I smiled back, but didn't say what I was thinking. I could feel every single fighter on this field. Their power levels pulsed around me like drumbeats. I scanned the ring again. My team was still the only one with a real gap between members. Me at 2,700. Tato at 600. Hanasia at 550. But they had potential. And more importantly, they listened. That alone put us above half the pack.

I crouched down next to Hanasia. "You feeling alright?"

She nodded once. "Not nervous."

"Good," I said. "When it's your turn, just stay calm. Im sure you got this."

She looked at me, quiet and serious. "You're strong. Are you going to leave us after this?" I blinked, caught off guard by the question.

"No," I said after a beat. "Im use to being in a group besides since your part of my team id be a shit leader for going off on my own."

That seemed to sit well with her. She gave a tiny smile, then returned her gaze to the ring. Tato came over a second later, chewing on a protein ration like it was jerky. "Think Raditz is strong? I saw you with him earlier."

"Of course he is," I said. "He wants to see if he can still beat me."

Tato laughed. "Can he?"

"Not in this lifetime."

A few more matches rolled by. Some better than others. I took mental notes. One kid had weird footwork. Another was all offense, no guard. Zorn stepped into the ring again, scouter blinking. "Next match—Team Five. Celera, Tato, Hanasia. You're up."

I cracked my knuckles and stood. "Let's go," I said. "Time to show them what a real team looks like."