The journey was still long, Bulma had spent several days traveling to find the dragon balls and now she had to go back. Of course, this time she didn't need to follow an irregular path, going from one dragon ball to another, but just follow the most direct path towards her home.
Akira continued to sleep on the floor, using only a simple futon, but that didn't bother him that much, he had already gotten used to it.
He was more bothered by the situation between the two girls, which despite having improved in recent days, there was still constant teasing.
The two of them sleeping in the same bed was both a problem and a solution, as they couldn't avoid it and could only accept it, which was slowly making them become better acquainted with each other.
The three followed a very simple routine, Akira made breakfast very early, they ate peacefully watching TV or talking, then they set off on the road, with Bulma always driving, so they traveled until noon, when they stopped for lunch, who prepared this lunch varied as the days went by.
After that they continued their journey, stopping only an hour or two before dusk, which was the time reserved for training. Chi-Chi wanted to use a sword, so she spent a few minutes practicing some simple moves, which Akira had taught her with his tiny knowledge.
Akira encouraged her to train her muscles, as this was a very common way to increase her strength, which would be very useful for Chi-Chi, who had already learned the basics of Ki.
Akira was constantly training his transformation, which he kept active throughout the afternoon, only stopping at bedtime. It was already becoming difficult to find a wild animal that could be absorbed by his ability, so he only attacked the dinosaurs now, which were basically disappearing the closer he got to the Western Capital.
Even so, his strength had increased greatly in the meantime, even without his transformation, he felt that he was quite close to Master Roshi's level.
Back to their routine, after training which Bulma only watches from a distance, they prepare dinner, which is usually made by one of the girls with Akira's help.
It's a simple routine that has worked very well, but Akira knows that will soon change. Once they arrive at Bulma's house, half the day will be free, after all they won't need to travel anymore.
This will give him more time to train and more privacy with Bulma.
...
As they were nearing the end of their journey, Goku had already begun his heavy training, along with his newest friend, Krillin.
The two of them knew that they could participate in the next major martial arts tournament as long as they trained hard, so they were giving it their all.
Meanwhile, Master Roshi was enjoying the company of the young Launch, who was brought by the two boys and agreed to live with them for a while.
The young girl had a peculiarity, that when she sneezed, her personality changed completely, alternating between a kind and naive girl, and a wicked girl who was not at all innocent and aggressive.
They were also having their own interesting routine, which ended up being a bit unpredictable with Launch's sneezing.
...
Far from Akira's group and Goku's group, in a desert, Yamcha was inside his base, collecting some things.
"Yamcha, are you really going to leave?" Beside him Puar asked with a sad tone and expression.
Without stopping to gather his things he said "Yes, I can't keep hiding in this hole in the middle of the desert any longer" His voice was full of determination.
"I thought I was a strong person, but it's become quite clear that I'm still weak and I can't keep this up!" He clenched his fist tightly "Next year there will be a martial arts tournament, I need to train as hard as I can until that day!"
A frog in a well, was the description he gave himself after seeing people much stronger than him.
"Yamcha..." Puar didn't know what to say, he just watched his friend, knowing he wouldn't be able to make him stop.
Turning his gaze to his little friend, Yamcha gave him a gentle expression "I'm just going to go into seclusion to train, I'll come back when I'm done"
He was determined to become stronger, so he wouldn't stay in that desert stealing, he would focus completely on his training.
...
In the middle of a sunny afternoon, the trio stopped on a green plain. Bulma had an excited smile on her face "Just one more day and we'll be home!" Her voice rang in the ears of the other two.
Completely ignoring her excitement, Chi-Chi pulled Akira by the arm away from Bulma "Let's train! This time I'll be able to fly for longer!"
Seeing what was happening, Bulma quickly reached out her hand, grabbing Akira's other arm, holding him back. The two girls looked at each other with irritated expressions and the blue-haired girl said "Since we're going to be home tomorrow, it would be best if we got a good rest today, so we might as well skip today's training"
Akira kept a neutral expression, letting the two pull him along 'Don't these two get tired of this?...' He gave a light sigh.
"What nonsense! If we're going to get there tomorrow, then we might as well rest there, so it's fine if we train for a few more hours today!" Chi-Chi said, before tugging on Akira's arm.
Bulma pulled him back, pressing his arm against her breasts "We'll have to spend the whole day traveling tomorrow, so it'll be tiring! Akira should rest with me, if you want to train go alone"
Akira sighed loudly, catching the attention of the two, then he said "Let's just do as we have been doing, there is no reason to change"
Bulma made a defeated expression, slowly letting go of Akira's arm, but seeing the smile Chi-Chi was making she soon made an irritated expression 'Brat!'
She who was about to let Akira go, held him once more, but this time to give him a kiss on the mouth, then gave an evil smile "Good training to you guys!" She said looking at Chi-Chi.
Anyone could tell that she did it to provoke Chi-Chi, but what could the girl do other than get angry? Bulma was dating Akira and there shouldn't be any problem with that.
'Bulma can be more childish than Chi-Chi in these moments...' Akira thought, but didn't interfere in that.
...
An hour passed, the sky was gaining a light orange hue, signaling the afternoon slowly coming to an end. Akira was looking at Chi-Chi, who was doing push-ups with her short arms.
Her arms were shaking a little and there was sweat running down her forehead "197... 198... 199... 200!" She counted out loud, before her body gave out, falling to the ground.
"You did very well, you can rest now" Akira said in a calm voice. His left eye had a purple color, which meant that his transformation was active.
Chi-Chi sat on the floor with a tired look, staring at Akira with a weak smile "How long are you going to stay like this?" She asked through her heavy breathing.
Beside her, Akira was upside down, supporting himself on his right index finger, if his shirt wasn't so tight when he transforms, he would have his abdomen exposed.
With a smooth movement, his body jumped and he stood up "It's an interesting way to improve your energy control, but standing still for too long is boring"
Even though he was talking to Chi-Chi, those words were for himself. Standing on one finger was something very easy for him, what was productive was the fact that he was doing it while keeping the expense to a minimum.
Keeping your spending to a minimum while doing nothing is one thing, but when you add in something like a simple exercise, it becomes more difficult.
It worked like a water tap, while he was only doing everyday things, the tap would be closed, but when he was going to do something more, he needed to open the tap a little, but it was very difficult to open only what was necessary. Such a simple activity would only need a drop of his power, but how could someone be so precise in opening a tap, so that a single drop would come out?
It was quite complicated, but with practice he was getting better at it, it was just very boring to just do it standing still.
Chi-Chi stood up excitedly "Now will you help me train?" In just an instant she already had her sword in her hand.
Akira smiled "Well, do your best" He waved his hand, signaling that she could attack him.
As if forgetting her fatigue, the girl quickly advanced, her gaze showing great ferocity. The sword made a clean vertical movement, from bottom to top, aimed at Akira's right armpit.
Despite the fierce look, there was a smile on Chi-Chi's lips. They had been training in combat together for the past few days, and it was becoming somewhat common. The first time, even though the girl knew his strength, she hesitated to actually attack him, afraid of hurting him, Akira almost laughed when he noticed that.
But that very day she noticed, Akira wouldn't be hit if he didn't want to and even if he was, nothing would happen to his body, not even a scratch.
Akira moved just enough to dodge the attack, while smiling at the girl. But she already knew that, so quickly changing her grip on the sword hilt, she jumped and made a diagonal cut, aiming for his neck.
For someone normal, this speed would be difficult to react to, but in Akira's eyes, it was as slow as a slug. He could dodge again, but it would be of little use to Chi-Chi if he simply dodged every blow.
Using one finger, he stopped the sword blade "Good attack" His voice rang out, as he looked at the girl, who had passed over him with a somersault.
When her feet touched the ground, she was on Akira's back, so without losing her attention because of his praise, she launched another powerful attack, this time aiming at the center of his body, with a horizontal attack. The force of this attack was enough to cut through bones like paper.
Looking over his shoulder, he saw the attack coming. For this to be a training session and not just him dodging attacks, Akira did his best to maintain a speed close to the girl's, despite his senses still giving him an absurd advantage.
With the same speed, it would be difficult to dodge that attack, but not impossible. Following the direction of the attack, Akira quickly moved diagonally to the left, making the blade almost touch him.
He turned and faced her with a smile "If you had taken a step with the attack, you would have caught me, still very good"
Chi-Chi took one of her hands off the sword and tucked her hair behind her ear "Thank you" She gave a cute smile, then stepped forward again.
She carried out another sequence of powerful and precise attacks, but Akira always dodged or defended with a finger.
Chi-Chi had already tired herself out from exercising and now she was approaching the limit of her energy. Akira on the other hand seemed to be getting more energy, as he was doing something that he felt more excitement about.
It was kind of frustrating not to attack, but it was fun enough to dodge and defend. He could even attack, but he preferred not to, it was a bit uncomfortable to attack without the intention of destroying something.
Of course, his biggest reason for never attacking was because she was a cute little girl who he didn't want to hurt, but if it were Goku in her place, Akira wouldn't feel so uncomfortable.
Even though Chi-Chi was already tired, he attacked him for about half an hour, until he finally felt exhaustion setting in "I can't take it anymore!" She let herself fall to the floor, her arms open wide.
{ Author's Note: Unfortunately, this may be my last update. This past week I've been sorting out some things for my first job, which will take up most of my days in the future... I can't say if I'll be able to keep this story going, so maybe this is goodbye. I apologize to those who liked my story, but at least for now, I'm going to stop writing and I may never write again, so don't expect any more chapters.
This chapter that you just read, I had already written before I left for a week. I tried to write another one during the week, but my anxiety didn't allow it... Realistically, I won't have time to write, so consider this my goodbye and also my apology }