A Subtle Difference of Opinion

[Tanken]

Another rock face shattered.  Tanken soared through the air on the back of the leap that had carried him out of the way of the strike, grinning fiercely as the over sized foe would have to spend a few precious seconds extricating himself from the rocks.  That left only two to worry about for the duration and he already had his eyes on the female.  She came from beneath with a hard kick that Tanken deflected with his hands, allowing it to fling him away on a course change and flinging a ki blast at her chest while still at close range.  She blocked but the impact knocked her into another rock face though she deflected off of.  That left the other male, more Tanken's size but still larger.  Where did he go?

His scouter blinked just about the time the guy's fist landed, spinning Tanken through the air to hit the ground.  He managed to get his hands under him just before impact but it hurt all the same as flung himself into a sideways spin away from the impact point just in time to avoid a crushing two-foot stomp that had been aimed at his head.  All the same his feet weren't even solid on the ground before he was fending off chained punches and kicks with his forearms.  Smaller male was really pressing their contact and drawing a lot of focus... there she was!  Tanken wasn't quite fast enough to take on both the female and smaller male at the same time without taking some punishment so he did the only thing he could, select which punishment he intended to take.  He let a left hook through, spinning away from the contact and opening space.  He anticipated the follow through as the female was quickly closing for a combo strike.

The smaller male dashed forward, closing quickly, and threw a straight left.  Tanken caught the wrist with a rolling movement and threw himself into a lateral spin that allowed him to land a flying knee across the guy's temple.  The knee had been thrown with enough force that Tanken continued through his roll and fired off another ki blast as the female went to make her final dash.  This time she didn't block and took it straight to the chest plate, throwing her through a nearby boulder and plowing a rather impressive furrow in the ground, if Tanken did say so himself.  He felt a trickle on his face and a backhand swipe brought up blood coming from the corner of his mouth.  Yeah, it wasn't his first mark of the battle.  He'd been playing tag with all three since they'd come upon him training.  He could only assume they were after his food, his armor, and anything else they thought they could trade for resources.

The pile of rubble the big guy had been buried under exploded outward and Tanken reacted instantly. "Rapid Shot!" He let loose with the full version, all targeted right where his scouter said the big guy was.  Tanken saw the whites of the guy's eyes as the first blast hit him.  The rest of the rock face collapsed on whatever was left of the biggest foe.  It wasn't likely that he was dead, which was fine because that sort of thing was being frowned on at the moment, but he'd not be crawling out of there for a while if at all.  The strike landed suddenly and Tanken skittered across the ground in a tangled heap before skidding to a halt where he started to push himself up slowly.  That one had already closed his right eye.  He could see the female nearby, still laying on her back and clutching the burn on her armor where the last ki blast had caught her flush.  She wasn't the one who had hit him, so that left smaller male.  Tanken really needed to start learning names before he got into brawls.

"Alright, alright.  I surrender.  You can have my food, my boots, whatever..."

"Too late for thaaaAAAAA!"

Tanken threw a powerful shoulder block just as the guy walked up, lifted him off the ground and gripped his ankles, and then proceeded to thrash his opponent into the ground over and over.  Tanken lost count around about the ninth time, slammed him a few more times, and then slung him at the female who was desperately trying to stand.  The impact knocked the guy out, if he wasn't already unconscious, and flattened the female.  When she opened her eyes Tanken was standing over her with a 'not amused' face in place amidst his cuts, scrapes, and bloody mouth. "Next time you want something from me, -you- should ask nicely." He gave her a wink before walking away to let her slip back into that twilight place called 'beaten.'

[Tanken]

Rather than leave empty handed, Tanken stripped down the ring leader of all of his valuables. Not long ago that would have consisted of a few baubles on his person but now the entirety of the smaller male's possessions had a value. Boots, armor, body glove, gloves, and scouter (after Tanken checked to make sure it was an older model than his own). Even the aforementioned baubles went into the body of the body suit before Tanken tied it into a bundle and strapped it to his back. He then lifted off and headed back toward civilization, pausing only to pick up his things from where he'd secreted them long before he'd been put upon by the three bandits.

It wasn't a terribly long flight so Tanken didn't push it, merely cruising along and watching his scouter through his one good eye. He'd spend a day or three resting up in his tiny room and feel like a new, only slightly bruised, man. He'd taken a few lumps but he had to admit to himself it was probably the best workout he could have hoped for since most of his workouts tended to end due to boredom rather than exhaustion. He had a stop to make before he went to his room, though. Old man Bordo would have a fit when he saw the full set of gear Tanken had to trade him, would probably feed him there on the spot too. That was worth its weight in precious gems right there, especially since the incomplete destruction of Planet Vegeta. Just for safety's sake he checked his six.

Nothing. Tanken gave himself the luxury of a breathy sigh in relief. The female would ditch the other two, especially once smaller male decided he wanted her gear but likely as soon as she took stock of the situation. She'd been the more cunning of the trio, hanging back while the other two charged and picking her shots throughout the fight for when she felt she had the best chance to hit without taking any damage back. Strength was a limited resource on the Saiyan home world, wasting it simply wasn't an option for those who had large enough brains to see that fact. It was why Tanken scavenged rather than going down to the pits to fight over the scraps of their civilization. Even then, he preferred joining the raiding parties where the reward was getting to consume or use anything they couldn't realistically bring back. His moon shot technique had made him a bit popular with the raiding parties as well, which suited him just fine.

In the distances his eye caught the first glint that indicated that he was almost back to the city, almost to where the badlands gave way what little life remained on what remained of the world of his birth. It was a sad reality but one he'd gladly give up if he could find an alternative...