The citizens of Orange City go about their lives in polite, scared silence, a rarity in the Universe. Even in the most orderly, utopian societies, there will always be troublemakers, those who don't give a damn about those around them, and will do what they want without any regard for their fellow citizens. Orange City was no different... until recently. You see, although Raditz's frequent flights have scared the citizens of Orange City, some people still decided to curb their fear and take advantage of the meekness of the city. From something as simple as too aggressive driving, to robberies, and even to go so far as to commit murder, these foolish few have caused chaos every single time he's flown over the city. Thankfully, they've been unusually silent for the past few weeks, and that's all because of a special group of people...

A large, bulky tiger-man dashes into a nearby alleyway with a fearful expression on his face. Despite it being the middle of the day, no passerby dares to spare him a second glance, instead walking by as if he wasn't there. He runs far faster than most people of his size, and looks around madly, as if possessed. Unfortunately for him, he soon runs into a wall, not realizing that the alleyway is a dead end before it's too late...

A short, wizened old man slowly walks to the alley's entrance, smiling pleasantly at any nearby passengers. In sync, as if practiced for years, every single passerby immediately turns their backs to the old man, before walking away, clearing the street in an instant.

The elderly man smiles to himself, before suddenly standing straight up, his look and bearing completely different. Gone are the normal, well-made clothes that he was previously clad in. Instead, a long, flowing robe conceals his body. He shrugs the hood of his robes over his head, hiding his face as well.

The tiger-man turns around, causing his eyes to widen in fear when he sees the hooded figure approaching him. He stumbles backwards, soon hitting the wall blocking his escape. His trembling, fear-stricken voice calls out.

"W-W-Wait! Please stop! I didn't mean it!" he begs.

"...You 'didn't mean it?'" the robed man asks in a stern voice.

"Y-Yeah! Of course I didn't mean it! I'd never do something to go against you and your followers!"

Suddenly, the tiger-man goes flying back, getting thrown through the wall itself. The robed figure radiates fury as he steps closer to the nearly-unconscious man.

"My followers?!?!" he questions in a cold tone. "MY FOLLOWERS?!?!"

The tiger-man screams in pain as the robed man stomps down on him, audibly breaking several ribs.

"Fool! You don't even know your place! You dare to cause trouble in our Lord's city! He chooses to relax in the sky! He chooses to allow us to see Him as He flies, and yet fools like you still choose to disrespect Him! Not only did you dare to make a ruckus, but you went further! You directly insulted Him by calling His followers my followers! This sin... it further proves that you haven't learnt your lesson! Although our Lord is all-forgiving, I am not so merciful! May you find redemption in your next life!"

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! PLEASE! NO-- WAIT--"

Screams of pain can be heard throughout the entire street. Unfortunately for the sinner, nobody is around to hear him, and if anyone was, they wouldn't dare to be foolish enough to intervene...

Almost an hour later, a short, wrinkled old man steps out of the alleyway, grinning brightly. He waves an arm, and two robed figures appear behind him.

"Would you be a dear and clean this up for me?" he politely asks. "I've got business to attend to, and I'm afraid I've wasted too much time here already."

"Yes sir."

"Right away sir."

"Thanks! May our Lord's light shine upon you!"

The duo repeat his words, before vanishing into the alleyway. With a large, friendly smile upon his face, the old man walks away, quickly making his way to the next ruffian causing a disturbance...

Raditz calmly floats above Orange City, sipping a glass of ice cold cola with a small smile upon his face. 30 feet away from him is a burly, hairy martial artist, who flaps his arms in a comical fashion as he attempts to stay in the air.

"W-Woah... I... I think I've almost got it mastered, Sensei!" Hercule says, before dropping like a rock.

Raditz waves his hand, sending an invisible string of Ki to stop his pupil from falling. After mentally tugging on the string, Hercule shoots upwards, soon coming to a stop a few feet from the one-armed Saiyan.

"I'll give you ten more minutes, then I'm letting you drop all the way again." he says with a bored tone. "It won't kill you, as you're already aware, but it will hurt. You have a similar issue as you did when you tried to fire a Ki blast, you aren't confident."

"But Sensei!" Hercule argues. "I am confident! I know that I can do this, it's just... very difficult. Being this high up is a bit terrifying! Humans are taught for all of their lives that large heights are to be feared! You can't expect me to just get past all of that in just a few hours!"

If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

"I can't?"

Upon hearing his teacher's question, Hercule immediately does a 180. "W-What I meant to say was that... um... I'm not as talented as you, Sensei! Yeah, that's it! I'm sure that you picked this up almost instantly, but for people like me, it may take a little bit, even with your awesome teaching skills! It's my fault, not yours, I'll try harder!"

"..."

The beefy fighter immediately gets back to work, fearing what would happen if he angers his teacher. Unfortunately for Hercule... ten minutes pass by quite quickly, and he still hasn't mastered the ability to fly.

Raditz sighs to himself as his pupil goes hurtling towards the ground yet again. A loud boom reaches his ears soon after.

The Saiyan drops his glass, disappearing for a fraction of a second, before reappearing back in his position with a bruised Hercule draped over his shoulders. He grabs his drink before gravity can take hold of it, then drops him.

Of course, this sends the Earthling towards the ground again, but a quick string of Ki is enough to pull Hercule back up to him.

"We're going to keep doing this until you get it down." he says coolly. "I know falling from this height may hurt you, but focusing on the pain will only distract you, causing you to fail again."

Hercule grits his teeth as he tries his best to ignore his aching bones. A half second later, he falls from the sky yet again, causing Raditz to bring him back up with a small sigh.

"Nine minutes left until I let you drop all the way again."

"S-Sensei! Wouldn't it be better to do this lower!" the burly martial artist practically cries. "I'd be more confident if I knew that the fall wouldn't hurt so much, and you also wouldn't have to keep bringing me all the way back up here when I do fall!"

Raditz twirls lazily in midair, taking his time to answer his student. After almost an entire minute, he drains the glass in his hand, and then says a single word.

"No."

"No?! But why not?!"

The Saiyan glances at Hercule, before throwing his glass into the sky. He points his hand at it, then releases a small beam of light that completely obliterates the glass. Hercule shrinks back in fear, finally remembering who he's talking to.

"N-N-No offense, Sensei! I'm just... I'm just curious as to why we're up so high!"

'Fuck, I'm so badass. No wonder he's scared!' Raditz inwardly cheers. 'That must've looked awesome! I should've gotten a student a lot sooner."

"I come from a race of people called the 'Saiyans.'" he begins with a calm expression. "We were raised from birth to be warriors, to be conquerors. We believe that pain is the best teacher, and it is only through struggling, suffering, and recovering from said suffering that we can grow stronger. Due to this, we became one of the fiercest races in the Universe... until my people met their match."

"..." Hercule stares at the one-armed warrior with barely-concealed excitement and curiosity. His teacher had never been this talkative! His teacher had never even spoken about where he came from! He squashes the lingering pain from his many falls and does his best to appear as an attentive student, eager to learn from his mentor.

"Although my people were fierce and powerful, our numbers were few, and the ones with the most potential were feared and killed before they could threaten those in power. Even the strongest of us, King Vegeta, was just a big fish in a small pond. One day, we were visited by an alien warlord named 'King Cold' who, with his minions, forced my people into submission. Eventually, King Cold would transfer control of his forces to his youngest son, Frieza."

"We worked for Frieza for many years, conquering countless planets for him to sell to races that had lost their home. Eventually... we had grown too numerous, and rumors of our greatest legend, the 'Super Saiyan', reached his ears. Some Saiyans began to say that the legendary Super Saiyan would be able to kill Frieza and his family, freeing us to take over the Universe. Frieza, of course, didn't like this, so he called all of the Saiyans back to our home, Planet Vegeta."

"He then destroyed Planet Vegeta, along with almost every living Saiyan, with one attack."

"!" Hercule's eyes widen in fear, unable to believe what he's hearing. Raditz ignores the shocked look upon his face and continues to speak.

"Very few of us survived, and almost all of those who did were still forced to work with him. I was still a child when this happened, and yet even I could understand that we were powerless against him. After many years, I learnt that my younger brother, Kakarot, had also survived our planet's destruction, and made my way to his location... Earth..."

"To make a long story short, we fought, I was heavily injured, and was soon forced to flee. While I rested and licked my wounds, I began to wonder... what exactly was it that made him so strong? Our people believe that suffering and recovering from injuries is the best way to grow, but even that wouldn't explain how he, who had far less potential than me, could grow so much. Soon after, I discovered a barren, almost-destroyed planet, and lived with the locals. While there, I finally understood why Kakarot could grow so strong... it's because the Saiyans were wrong. The best way to learn isn't with pain, it's by practicing. It's by training."

"The point of this story isn't to awe you or increase your already massive fear of me... it's to tell you that I have my reasons for forcing you to train at such a great height. You have potential, but you're also fearful. You don't want to leave your daughter alone. I have to force you to train above your level if I want to get results."

"Above my level...?" the hairy man asks in confusion.

"Flying this high isn't something you're supposed to be able to do. It takes a lot more effort and a lot more Ki to be so far up with no side-effects. Training at this height pushes you to your limits. It pushes you to conserve and control your Ki to your best ability. If you can survive the fall and have someone to bring you high up, it's probably one of the best types of flight training you can do."

"But it isn't working! I just keep falling and falling! How is that supposed to train me to fly better?!"

"Look down." the Saiyan says with a smirk.

"Look down...?"

The confused Earthling looks at his feet, before his eyes widen comically as he suddenly remembers that he's in the air. He panics for half a second, before he suddenly realizes... he's floating effortlessly. He doesn't struggle to fly anymore.

"I-- what...? How...?"

"I told you... you just needed to be confident. When you aren't worrying about what can happen if you fail, you're much more likely to succeed."

Raditz floats over to his pupil with a small smile on his face, before a loud, panicked voice suddenly appears in his head.

"DODGE! NOW!" King Kai says.

The one-armed Saiyan immediately shifts in place, trying to dodge...

...only to find that he can't move from his place. He looks down in confusion, instantly spotting the reason for his sudden inability to move away... a bright yellow sword of Ki, which is thrust cleanly through his chest.

As he stares at the sudden wound he's been dealt, he hears a calm, slightly pleased voice in his ear.

"I've been waiting to do this for a long time, trash." Vegeta whispers.