Dragon Ball: Enlisted

…Maybe Irelia had a point.

I thought the system would be able to assist me, but it hadn't helped at all. There was no new skill, quest, or anything like that to help me with combat class. 

And Calia herself was quite… useless.

Not that she wasn't a great fighter herself, and likely knew a lot, but it quickly became obvious that her class had too many subjects under its banner.

She was the 'technique' instructor, and that meant everything from how to start and pilot a spaceship all the way to shooting a gun.

So when it came time to actually teach us how to fight? Well…

It was over in five measly minutes.

That was all the time Calia dedicated to showing us how to stand, how to throw a punch, and how to guard.

Five. Minutes.

I thought, you know, considering she said she didn't want to teach bad habits that she would instill something more than that, but nope. That was all the time she felt was necessary before throwing us straight into sparring.

'I think I hate it here.'

Edith's fist connected with my jaw for the third time, snapping my head to the side.

I barely caught myself before falling, but the ringing in my ears made it hard to focus.

I scrambled to regain my footing, throwing a punch at her as I straightened up, but she easily dodged it, her body moving like water slipping around a rock.

Her next punch drilled into my ribs like a sledgehammer, forcing the air from my lungs. I scrambled to backpedal, but she kept on me, driving me toward the edge of the sparring circle.

Her movements were fluid, precise, and relentless. 

Mine were... not.

I swung, but it felt more like flailing than fighting. Edith ducked under it with ease, pivoting to slam her palm into my chest, knocking me flat onto my back.

'Yep, definitely hatred.'

"You're not taking me seriously, are you?" she asked, her voice light, but there was a definite edge to it now.

I gritted my teeth. "Give me a break," I muttered, trying to blink away the stars in my eyes.

Edith didn't wait for me to get up. Her foot pressed lightly against my chest, keeping me pinned as she stared down at me with narrowed eyes.

"This isn't a joke, Jyn. What the hell are you doing?"

I grabbed at her ankle, but she twisted it free, stepping back and giving me space to stand—if I could.

I rolled to my side, coughing as I pushed up to my knees. "I am taking it seriously."

"Oh really?" Edith crossed her arms, tilting her head. "Because it sure looks like you're just winging it."

"…No shit," I grunted, wiping the blood from my lip. "I learned how to throw a punch five minutes ago."

Edith blinked, stunned into silence for half a second. "You're kidding."

I just gave her a flat look.

Her face twisted like she couldn't decide if she should laugh or strangle me. "You're telling me you've never fought anyone before?"

"Not unless you count getting roughed up when I was a kid," I muttered under my breath.

"That doesn't count." She crossed her arms, incredulous. "How did you even get into the Patrol without basic combat experience?"

"I figured that's what this was for," I replied, gesturing to the sparring ring.

Edith opened her mouth, paused, then slowly shook her head.

"That's insane," she said bluntly. "I thought everyone had to at least pass basic hand-to-hand before getting accepted."

I shrugged. "I guess not."

I would rather not dwell on my nonexistent past. Otherwise, someone would probably find a discrepancy, and then what would I say?

'Oh, yeah I was just transported to this universe randomly without any explanation while in a situation that conveniently no one questioned despite being highly suspicious.'

Yeah, right.

Edith's face suddenly scrunched into what I only call bewildered outrage.

"Then… what's wrong with you?"

I frowned. "What?"

"What's wrong with you?" she repeated, stepping closer. "Why the hell would you jump in after me if you've never been in a fight before?"

I almost rolled my eyes. 'This again?'

"You needed that top-three spot more than anyone else," she continued, clearly agitated. "And you threw it away. For what? To play hero?"

I clenched my fists as I pushed myself to my feet. My patience was running thin. "Sure. Next time I'll just let you die. Thanks for the heads up, dumbass."

"No, you idiot." Edith took a breath, trying to calm herself. "I didn't need saving. I don't even need to breathe. Even if the instructors ignored me, I wouldn't have died for a while."

I stared at her for a long moment. "And I was supposed to know that, how?" I said flatly.

That seemed to take the wind out of her sails. Her eyes shifted away, guilt flashing across her face.

"…Oh. Right."

Neither of us said anything for a moment.

"Yeah," I muttered, brushing the dust off my uniform.

"Look… I'm sorry, okay?" She shifted, rubbing her arm awkwardly. "I guess I owe you one. I just—I don't really know how to say thanks to something like that."

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A/N: Very short, I know. I don't have much time today though, so I'll just release the 2k words I wrote as two separate chapters since most of my chapters are between 1-1.5k words