Lost Origin: A Saiyan's Quest

"This is from your parents to you, so listen: you have potential, much more than we or any other Saiyan in this planet does. A year was not enough for us to teach you the ways of a proud warrior, so it's up to you to become who you want to be. But… as one of the few, if not the only, Saiyan who will survive the destruction of our planet, make sure you accomplish one thing: make us proud… Litua."

And so, the girl was cast into space inside her ship, still a baby, without any specific destination. Now, far away from Planet Vegeta as it was obliterated by a mysterious figure, the ship entered into a frozen state. The girl would lay completely frozen for the next 60 years until a small rock hit the ship, turning the device on and with it, setting a destination. The goal for the ship was now clear: Planet Earth.

Chapter 1: Young Warrior Sakura

A peaceful day in Waterleaf Village! Children playing, birds singing and a beautiful clear sky! It was Saturday, which means it was time for young Ninomiya Ikeda to climb Waterleaf Mountain and fill enough buckets of water and fruits for the family's weekly supply. After all, he was destined to become the 134th guardian of the Ikeda family. However, young Ninomiya knew little that his future would come out slightly different than he expected.

Ninomiya: "Alright! I'll show my dad and all of my family that I'm worthy of becoming the guardian of the Ikedas! At only age 6 I'm already taking my dad's training when he was 10, and I sure won't disappoint him!"

While gathering fruits from a tree, Ninomiya looked at the sky.

Ninomiya: "Oh man, it's a fantastic day! Great time to train my stren—huh…? What's that? A giant bird? One of those airplanes I've heard of or OH MY GOD, IT'S COMING THIS WAY! AAAAAAHHHHHH!"

He ran away as fast as he could. Then, the object came crashing to the ground, creating a huge crater. After Ninomiya saw nothing come from the crater, he approached it to examine it. At the bottom of the crater was a white sphere with a peculiar design. Ninomiya went sliding down the crater to look at the apparatus. It had a window. He could see that inside the sphere was a baby.

Ninomiya: "Whoa! What's a baby doing in that thing? Is it still alive? Come on, thing, open, opeee—waaah!"

The sphere opened, allowing Ninomiya to pick the baby up.

Ninomiya: "It doesn't look dead, just asleep. Let me take it to the village. Wait… is that… is that a tail? Looks like a monkey's tail too. Well, whatever the case, I have to get to the village now!"

Indeed, the baby did have a tail, as long as its body and it was not fake. Neither Ninomiya nor anyone in Waterleaf Village had ever seen a human with a real tail or even heard of such thing.

Soon after the event, Ninomiya arrived to the village with the baby on his hands.

Ninomiya: "Mother! Father! Everyone, come quick, I've found a baby!"

Ninomiya then explained what had happened. The people went to the mountain to examine the mysterious sphere.

Mr. Ikeda: "It looks like a miniature ship. But what odd design it has! And this technology… I've never seen anything like it! Everyone, let's take it to the village! That baby might want to look at it once it awakes."

Back at Waterleaf Village, Ninomiya's father examined the baby, now awake.

Mr. Ikeda: "It appears it is a girl. And what peculiar tail she has. She can move it at her will. I also don't sense any negative aura coming from her body."

Mrs. Ikeda: "Poor creature, she mustn't have any parents! We can't just let her go back to the mountains; it's too dangerous for her. I suggest we adopt her."

Mr. Ikeda: "Well, there is always space for one more in the Ikeda family. But what is her name? She might not have any, so we will name her… ummm…"

Hitomi Ikeda: "Hey, brother, you said she landed near the Cherry Blossom Trees, right?"

Ninomiya: "Oh, yes, that's where she landed when she fell from the sky."

Hitomi Ikeda: "Right… Sakura. Let's name her Sakura."

Mr. Ikeda: "Sakura… yes! That's a beautiful name! Welcome to the family, Sakura!"

The baby, now named Sakura, laughed with joy at her new name, and her new family.

And so, Sakura was raised as a great villager from Waterleaf Village. The Ikedas taught her about morals, basic mathematics, science, history of their people, etc. But also, as a tradition from the Ikedas, Mr. Ikeda trained Sakura to gain martial art skills. To his surprise, Sakura had incredible power - far superior strength, speed, and cleverness at combat than any other student he had ever taught. Not to mention, Sakura's tail came quite handy in doing basic tasks. She could write with it, stand on it, fight with it, almost as if she had three arms. But it did not change the fact that it was still very odd for a person to have a natural tail. Much too odd for her to not cogitate about it as she grew older.

13 years later…

Now aged 14, Sakura had grown quite fond of her family and her people. But at the same time, she knew she was not part of them. Not just her tail, but her abilities as well, all was different from everyone else in Waterleaf Village. So, one night outside the Ikeda residence…

Ninomiya: "Ummm… Sakura? It's almost midnight, why aren't you asleep? Is something bothering you?"

Sakura: "Oh! Hi, Ninomiya. I'm not sleepy; some stuff has been bothering my mind."

Ninomiya: "Is there anything you'd like to talk about?"

Sakura: *sigh* "… I'm adopted, aren't I?"

Ninomiya: "W-W-WHAT? N-N-N-NO, OF COURSE YOU'RE NOT! WHY WOULD YOU SAY SOMETHING LIKE TH-"

Sakura: "Look at me! Black hair, black eyes, medium height, very spiky downward hair, a tail, and I can break a tree with it. Then look at the entire Ikeda family: orange or blue hair, green or blue eyes, either tall or short, all as strong as a normal martial artist, no tails included. I know I'm not one of you… or even part of this village."

Ninomiya: "B-B-B-B-BUT, SAKURA!"

Suddenly, the door slided open, and Mr. Ikeda came out.

Ninomiya: "DAD! DAD, PLEASE TELL SAKURA SHE'S NOT ADOP-"

Mr. Ikeda: "No, Ninomiya. Sakura is not a little girl anymore. She can think for herself, and hopefully, she can bear with the truth."

Sakura: "Fath—… Mr. Ikeda, please tell me what you know."

Mr. Ikeda: *sigh* "… listen, Sakura. You are right, you are not and Ikeda by blood, or even a born villager of Waterleaf Village. 13 years ago, Ninomiya here was training to become the guardian of the Ikeda. When suddenly, an exotic-looking ship came crashing from the sky. Inside that ship, there was a baby girl with a tail. That tailed baby was you. Since we could not figure out where your ship came from, we took you in and raised you as one of us… but I knew this day would come."

Sakura: "A… ship? So that means… I could even not be from this WORLD!"

Mr. Ikeda: "…yes. That is a possibility."

There was a long, uninterrupted silence, as Sakura began crying softly.

Sakura: "So… who… am I…? No… WHAT am I? … Wait, where is that ship I was in?"

Mr. Ikeda: "We stored the ship in a secret altar under this residence. Originally, we tried to see if you could make sense of it after your landing, but you were just a baby, so you didn't even try to examine it. But now, with your intelligence, surely you might understand at least a part of such machine."

After their conversation, Sakura, Ninomiya, and Mr. Ikeda all went down to the secret altar, where Sakura's ship was kept safe from any harm.

Sakura: "What the… I was stuck in this ship? I don't get any of it, but… it definitely must contain some sort of information I can use! Now, Ninomiya, Mr. Ikeda, can I… I'd like to be alone with this thing, if that's OK for you."

Mr. Ikeda: "Certainly, Sakura, take as long as you want. Come, Ninomiya."

Ninomiya: "…Sakura…"

For that entire week, Sakura went down to the altar every day and explored the ship's contents for the whole day. At first, she could only find text files, written in an incomprehensible language. But eventually, she found maps of the universe, several pictures of a planet much different from Earth, and finally, an audio recording. The audio recording said:

"This is from your parents to you, so listen: you have potential, much more than we or any other Saiyan in this planet does. A year was not enough for us to teach you the ways of a proud warrior, so it's up to you to become who you want to be. But… as one of the few, if not the only, Saiyan who will survive the destruction of our planet, make sure you accomplish one thing: make us proud… Litua."

That audio recording was the last thing Sakura could find.

Sakura: "Litua? The destruction of our planet? These must be my real parents' last words…"

Upon realizing her real parents had died, Sakura could not sustain her tears. But despite it being a tragedy, the audio file also told Sakura a lot about her origins.

Sakura: "Litua… that must be the name given to me by my real parents. Guess I can go by two names now. Although I'll probably stick to Sakura, sounds more comfortable for people to say. And about those… Saiyans… is that what I am? Well, sitting here isn't going to answer that question."

Sakura then made the decision of her life: she would find out who she is.

Sakura: "If I want answers I must seek them! There has to be a place where I can find out about Saiyans and such… It's settled. I'm leaving home to find answers, and I will not stop until I succeed!"

And so, sad about her loss but more greatly excited to go in a journey, Sakura went and told the Ikedas about her decision. All of them agreed that she was determined, so they would help her leave the next morning by packing supplies and clothing for her.

The next morning came, and Sakura was all set to leave to West City, where Mrs. Ikeda had talked her about. West City was a marvelous and gigantic city, sure to have an answer for Sakura, despite Waterleaf Village being all the way to the east. But before she could leave…

Sakura: "Thank you, everyone, for letting me be part of your family! I promise I'll never forget you! Take car—huh?"

Screams could be heard from another part of the village. It was the children, and they were being surrounded by a group of men in battle armor!

Man in Battle Armor: "Everyone, please surrender yourselves and give in all of your possessions, for this village has been claimed by King Avarez. Follow the instructions and no one will be hurt. I repeat, follow the instructions and no one will be—whoa!"

Without any hesitation, Sakura threw an apple at the man, alarming the group of her presence.

Sakura: "You shouldn't mess with someone smaller than you, jerks! Get out of this village or I will make you!"

Man in Battle Armor: "You brat! How dare you try to harm an official of King Avarez! Everyone, ready your guns!"

The men aimed their guns at Sakura, but she seemed fearless despite there being a dozen of them.

Man in Battle Armor: "Not scared? Then get ready! FIRE!"

Ninomiya: "SAKURA!"

With incredible swiftness and agility, Sakura dodged every last bullet. She then ran quickly to a different position while being shot at. The trick was that the armored men would not realize they were turning their guns to the sides, and since they were in line, the bullets landed on each other's bodies, almost killing them. However, their armor was enough to save them from death, but not from severe injuries.

Man in Battle Armor: "Who…? Who are you?"

Sakura: "My name is Sakura. Tell your king to never come back to this village or his men might not be so lucky next time!"

The armored men had just enough strength to leave. After that ruckus, Sakura could come back to saying good bye to her family.

Mr. Ikeda: "Sakura, you have proven yourself stronger than any of us, something that will surely help you on your journey. But beware; these men might be a symbol of ongoing war, so watch out for every corner you go through, understand?"

Sakura: "I will, Mr. Ikeda. Thank you for your advice."

Ninomiya: "Wait, Sakura! I'm coming with you!"

Everyone else: "WHAT?"

Ninomiya: "I saw how incredible you were there, Sakura! I bet if I stick with you, I'll become a lot stronger and will surely be worthy of protecting the Ikeda family! Oh, please, Sakura, please, father, allow me to go in the journey too!"

Mr. Ikeda: "Well, your reasoning is not far from logical, Ninomiya. You're 19 now, a grown man that can take care of himself. I approve of your request and encourage you on your journey with Sakura… if your company doesn't bother her, that is."

Sakura: "I… guess I can use a back-up hand. And we've been friends since the very first day you met me. Sure, Ninomiya, you can come along!"

Ninomiya: "YYYYESSSS! Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, oh thank you, Sakura! I promise I won't be an annoyance!"

So, Sakura and Ninomiya headed to the west, both with different goals but the same enthusiasm. What adventure awaits the two young fighters in the future? Will they encounter more subordinates of King Avarez? The answer lies in the next chapter of Lost Origin: A Saiyan's Quest!

To be continued…

Bonus Skit

Sakura, aged 5, is being taught the art of writing by Mrs. Ikeda.

Mrs. Ikeda: "OK, Sakura, you see this board? Use this charcoal to write "S-A-K-U-R-A," your name! Hold it with your right hand and make the letters."

Sakura wrote it, but it was horrendous.

Mrs. Ikeda: "Oh my… it's… OK, no, that's bad. They told me not to lie. Then… try your left hand?"

Sakura wrote it again, and it looked decent.

Mrs. Ikeda: "That's better. Looks like you're left-handed. OK, now write it again"

Sakura wrote it once more, but this time, she used her tail. It came out looking even better than with her left hand.

Mrs. Ikeda: "Wait, what? Does that mean… does that mean you're rear-handed? And if you can use your left hand and your tail (which kind of counts as a hand)… ARE YOU AMBIDEXTROUS?"

Sakura: "Uh~?"

Mrs. Ikeda: "Never mind… as long as you can write somehow, that's all that matters… (now I want a tail…)"