Disclaimer: I don't own Dragonball Z or any of its characters.
This story just popped into my head one night, so I thought I would share. Enjoy!
A/N: Italics denote thoughts.
Schemer
"And the Champion of the World Martial Arts Junior Division is our reigning junior champ Trunks Briefs!"
The crowd burst into a roar of applause following the spectacular fight.
Trunks didn't pay the crowd any attention. He just walked over to the edge of the ring and looked over to where Goten was pulling himself out of a small crater.
"That wasn't fair, Trunks." Goten said. "You weren't supposed to go super saiyan."
Trunks jumped off the ring and walked over to his friend. "Well I only did it for a second, so it doesn't count." He explained knowingly.
Goten looked skeptical, but there was no point in arguing with his friend.
"Besides, we should be allowed to go super. It's boring fighting with all these kids."
"I think a lot of them are older than us." Goten said. He was certain that pretty much all of the boys had at least been taller than the two demi saiyans.
Ignoring his younger friend's comment, Trunks leaned closer and whispered. "Do you want to try to sneak into the adult division again?"
Goten clearly didn't like the idea. "I don't know. My mom would have been really mad about the last time we did that…y'know, if she hadn't forgotten because of Majin Buu and my dad coming back."
"It's worth a try at least." Trunks said. "Besides, I'm sure your mom won't be mad."
Goten frowned. "Umm ok. But how?"
Trunks thought for a minute. "I dunno." He admitted.
"And now it's time for our junior champ to face the World Champion and Savior of the Earth, Mr. Satan!"
The crowd burst into a frenzy at the mention of the savior. Soon the entire stadium was chanting his name.
Trunks rolled his eyes. "Well I've got to go fight the champ now." He said sarcastically.
Goten's stomach growled loudly. "Hurry up Trunks." Goten said. "I'm really hungry."
"Yeah, yeah. Just hold up, will ya? This will only take a minute."
As Trunks went back to the middle of the ring and stared as Hercule pranced onto the stage. The announcer spent what felt like an eternity detailing the amazing feats of the world champion before he finally allowed the match to begin.
Finally. Trunk thought. He looked back over to where Goten had been sitting. The younger boy was gone. He probably wandered off after a hot dog cart or something. Typical. Geez, couldn't he wait? He scowled. Well I'll show him.
Suddenly, he had an idea. With a smirk, he lunged at the champ, so fast that Hercule would never have been able to see it coming. By the time Hercule became aware enough of the attack to let out a shout, Trunks' fist was planted in the side of his face. To Hercule's surprise, however, he didn't go careening off somewhere.
Wow, maybe I've gotten stronger. Was the man's first thought. But then, he heard the young boy speak.
"Act like you're fighting me."
"Uhh…" Hercule glanced over to see narrowed blue eyes staring at him intently.
A punch to the stomach slightly harder than the one Trunks had sent to his face snapped Hercule out of his stupor.
He gasped, but then sent a punch to the young fighter. To his surprise, his punch hit and sent the boy rolling backwards.
Hercule quickly sent a glance up to the top of the bleachers where he knew that Goku, Vegeta and the others were standing. His eyes locked with Vegeta's momentarily, but instead of the cold fury that he'd expected to see, he only saw a look of surprised curiosity.
He tore his eyes away and looked back to the purple haired boy who was making a show of being dizzy. Hercule grinned and flashed a peace sign. "Yeah!"
The crowd roared again.
Trunks stopped stumbling around and locked his eyes on him. Then, he disappeared. A moment Hercule found himself in a strangle hold. Hercule tensed in surprise and then started struggling to get out of it.
It was clear, though, even from the start that he was going nowhere fast. That was when he heard the boy speak quietly in his ear. "If I let you win, can you make it so that I can fight in the adult division?"
"Uhh…"
Another sharp hit to the kidney. "Well?"
"I uhh…you'd really let me win?" Hercule asked.
"Yes." Came the quick reply. The boy's eyes narrowed viciously causing Hercule to sweat. "And if you don't agree, I'll make it so that everyone knows you're a phony."
Hercule's sweating increased. "No! You wouldn't!"
"I would." He said simply. "Can you do it?"
"Uhh…heh heh." He really had no idea, but he wasn't going to tell the boy that. "Yes, yes I can do it."
"Good."
"But…you'll need parental permission."
"What?" Trunks growled. His mom would never agree to that. His dad might. He glanced up to the top of the stands to where he knew his father would be standing. The spiky-haired man was staring at him suspiciously. He clearly knew that something was up. No. Better save his dad as a last resort. The man was pretty unpredictable at times. Plus he'd made some "secret" promise to his mom to behave. Trunks didn't even want to know what that was all about.
Hmmm… I'll need someone irresponsible. He reflected. Who isn't terrified of my parents. The second criterion would definitely narrow down the list a bit. He scanned the crowd for his acquaintances.
Maybe Goku. No, how would I get him away from my dad without looking suspicious. Chichi..ehh no. Gohan? Too young to be my dad. Krillin? Nah. He's scared of my mom. Piccolo…is green. 18…is still mad about me sneaking into the last tournament. The Ox king…ummm…hmmm…he let his gaze continue around the stadium where he knew his family and friends to be sitting. Yamcha…also scared of my parents. Finally his gaze fixed on the perfect person. Hmmm…
"Alright, it's a deal. If I can get my grandpa's permission, you'll pull some strings to let me fight."
"Uhh…Right. And you let me win."
"Naturally." He paused. "Is it a deal?"
"Deal."
Trunks let go of Hercule and moved in front of him. Trunks threw a punch that missed by several inches. Hercule surprisingly—at least to Trunks—took advantage of the slip. The next punch that Hercule sent had Trunks flying out of the ring.
Trunks allowed himself to hit the grass and roll a bit. He landed sprawled on his back and lay still for a moment before stumbling to his feet. Rubbing his head as if it hurt, he looked back to the ring to where Hercule was waving to his adoring fans.
Alright. He thought. That's done. Now to get old granddad to give his permission to fight.
"Uhh…What just happened?" Krillin asked staring down at the stadium.
"I don't know." Goku said, looking to Vegeta. The smaller saiyan was blinking in what resembled shock to where his son was stumbling around in the grass outside the ring. "That was weird."
Piccolo's ears twitched but he didn't say anything.
"Did you tell him to throw the match?" Goku asked Vegeta.
"Of course not!" He snapped. His eye twitched a bit.
"Hmm…" Goku leaned down and rested his elbows on the railing. "How bizarre." His stomach growled loudly. The mystery was immediately forgotten. "Oh well! Let's go get a snack before we have to draw lots."
"Trunks, what happened?" His mother asked as soon as he appeared in the stands with them.
"Hm?" He looked at his mom innocently. "I thought we were supposed to let him win." He lied smoothly.
His mother surprisingly accepted that, but not without a slightly suspicious look.
"It's a real shame that all the boys have to pretend that they're weaker than that man." Chichi commented. "He's just a bag of hot air. And to think, his daughter's such a nice, respectable young lady."
As his mother turned to engage in a conversation with Chichi, Trunks looked around at the group of friends around her.
Goten wasn't there.
Where is that kid?
Across the stadium, Goten suddenly sneezed.
He wiped his nose and then continued running around awkwardly with his hand over his crotch.
Toilet, toilet, toilet!
He paused, squeezing his knees together and dancing around a bit.
There was no toilet anywhere!
Luckily, there were also no people anywhere. Spotting a conveniently located bush, Goten hurried behind it.
Alright, now for phase two. Trunks looked over at his mom. "Mom, can I have money for a snack?"
"Of course, hon. Just don't load up on sweets." She said, handing him a credit card before turning back to ChiChi.
"Mom?" Trunks pulled on her sleeve.
She paused her conversation again and looked back at him. "Hm?"
"Where is the food exactly? Is it where we saw all those women dancing around in their bathing suits?"
Master Roshi and Oolong suddenly urgently needed to go to the toilet. Clambering clumsily over everyone else, they disappeared up the stadium stairs, trailing a dust cloud behind them.
Bulma scowled at the two perverts. "I don't remember who you're talking about. But, Trunks, you were here last year. The food is in the same place as last time."
"Ohh…Oh yeah. Ok." He hopped down and hurried off.
He found Master Roshi and Oolong right where he'd expected. Master Roshi had somehow, despite his age, climbed to the top of a lamppost and was using an Oolong-turned-binoculars to look for the women that Trunks had mentioned.
Trunks cleared his throat loudly gaining their attention immediately.
They both looked down and then Master Roshi awkwardly slid down the post. He slipped halfway and landed with a thud on his face. The Oolong binoculars were hanging by the strap from Roshi's foot. Roshi pulled himself up and suavely dusted himself off. Trunks cocked an eyebrow at the large bandage that was suddenly covering the old man's forehead.
Where'd that come from?
"We were just looking for the toilets." Roshi explained as Oolong turned back into his normal self with a loud "poof." Both of their cheeks were red. Clearly they'd been daydreaming about the women they'd been searching for.
Trunks pointed a thumb over his shoulder to the large white sign only ten feet behind them. "You mean those toilets."
They both laughed nervously.
Trunks rolled his eyes. "Anyway, I wanted to talk to you, Master Roshi."
The old man's eyebrows rose curiously.
Trunks dropped his eyes to Oolong. "Do you mind?" He asked a little harshly in a clear indication that he was supposed to leave.
"Look, kid, we were doing something very important before you showed up. I don't care how strong you are—"
Trunks rolled his eyes and cut him off. Looking intensely at Master Roshi, he said. "I propose a bargain."
Oolong shut up and looked up at the old master to see his reaction.
Trunks didn't wait long enough for either of the men (or pig) to respond. He just plowed on. "I need an adult's permission to fight in the adult division of the tournament." He said. "If you tell them that you're my grandfather and give them that permission, I'll…" He hesitated, wondering if it was actually within his power to do as he'd planned. "I'll get you a date with any woman you want."
Oolong burst into mocking laughter. "You think that you can get us a date, kid?" He said dubiously.
"Of course…although I didn't say I'd get you anything."
Oolong laughed even harder.
"You drive a hard bargain." Master Roshi said causing Oolong to become silent. "But just how do you plan on doing that?"
"Easy. You'll be my grandfather. I'm a lost child who can't find you. You pick the girl, I get her to help me find you. You pay her back for helping me by buying her dinner." Trunks held up his mom's credit card and waved it before them.
Master Roshi considered it.
"That's just crazy enough to work." "That will never work." Roshi and Oolong said simultaneously.
Trunks stuck his hands on his hips. "It will work." He said with more confidence than he felt. He raised an eyebrow at Master Roshi clearly awaiting his answer.
"You're forgetting about me." Oolong said.
Trunks looked down at him.
"What about you?"
"I want a date too."
"I can't have two grandfathers." Trunks said, starting to feel really frustrated. He supposed that he technically could, but that was beside the point.
"Look! If you don't cut me in, I'm telling your mom."
Trunks frowned. He hadn't thought at all about Oolong when he came up with his plan.
"Well…fine…you're a shape-shifter right?" Of course he was. The pig had been a pair of binoculars only five minutes ago.
"Yeah. And?"
"Well, turn into my mom." He said. "That will be even better."
Oolong and Master Roshi shared a look before turning back to Trunks. "If they don't let you in, you still owe us." Oolong said.
"Fine." Trunks agreed.
Fifteen minutes later, one Mr. Briefs and one Bulma Briefs walked—or awkwardly swaggered in Oolong's case—into Hercule's private viewing room. Trunks was tagging along a few steps behind them.
"Here's my grandpa and my mom." Trunks said to Hercule and the tournament coordinators who were there. "They're here to give permission for me to fight."
"Yeah…about that…" Hercule began. Trunks glared at him threateningly. Hercule swallowed. "It's a good idea. I'm glad I thought of it."
Hercule looked over at the two adults, wondering when Bulma Briefs had let herself go so much…and how had she managed to get shorter?
She looks much better on tv.
He shook his head quickly and nodded to the tournament coordinators. "Just sign the release forms."
As the one hour break between the junior division tournament and the time allotted for the adults to draw lots came to a close, an announcement was heard.
"Attention everyone! This year, we will have a slight change from the way things were done in the past." The announcer said. "Since we have seen such prowess, such skill, such amazing talent in the junior division, it has been decided that our junior champ will be allowed to fight in the adult division. This is a great honor for our young Trunks." As the announcer went on to talk about the old days when people of all ages fought together, the older Z fighters looked around at each other in confusion.
"Did you know about that?" Goku asked Vegeta. The older saiyan just smirked and shrugged his shoulders. He'd known nothing about this, but was certainly proud of his son for earning such an honor—despite how silly Earth's honors may be in general.
"Will the semifinalists in the adult division tournament please make their way to the center ring to draw lots!" The announcer called.
As the Z fighters walked along, they chatted. "I wonder why it changed." Gohan mused. "They didn't do that last year."
"Too bad they didn't take the top two." Krillin added. "Goten will sure be bummed."
"Yeah." Goku agreed. "Poor little guy."
Piccolo walked behind them silently. He was significantly less confused than the rest, but he wouldn't say anything for now.
Goten was sitting beside his mother, his chubby face resting on both fists, and looking miserable. "Ohh, don't worry so much, Goten. You can fight your dad and Gohan any time you want. It's kind of silly that we all keep coming to these tournaments just for the fun of it when everyone knows that all of our boys are going to be the ones in the finals anyway." Chichi tried to cheer her son up.
His lower lip trembled. "It's not fair." He said, sniffling. "I wanna fight in the adult division too!"
Bulma looked sympathetically at the younger boy as Oolong and Master Roshi came loudly giggling back to their seats. "So you found the toilets ok?" Bulma asked, knowing very well that they had done no such thing.
Both men laughed, blushing, and celebrating about something. Bulma and Chichi shared a disgusted look, rolled their eyes, and turned back around to watch the lots.
"Dad!" Trunks ran up the steps and across the white tiles until he reached his father. He couldn't believe that his plan worked. And so flawlessly too! He wouldn't even get in trouble with this one. "Did you hear?"
"Yes, son." Vegeta answered, with a small smirk. "They announced it on the loud speaker."
"Congratulations, Trunks!" Goku said patting the boy on the shoulder.
"Yea, nice one, kiddo." Krillin said.
Gohan and Videl came over as well. "Congrats!" Gohan said cheerfully. "But, what happened with Hercule?"
Trunks tensed, thinking immediately that he'd been caught. Then he decided to play it cool. He quickly pulled on his innocent look—the same one he'd given his mother an hour ago—and turned to Gohan. "We were supposed to let him win right? So that no one knew that it was you guys that fought Cell and Majin Buu."
He turned to his father for confirmation.
Goku and Vegeta shared an odd look before looking back down at Trunks. It was then that Trunks realized that Goku's hand was still on his shoulder. And his father would never have missed the way he'd frozen just now.
"Yes, that's right." Vegeta said. There was a certain something in his voice that Trunks didn't know if he liked. He felt himself start to sweat.
But Vegeta didn't say anything. The man just sent that same odd look to Goku, crossed his arms and looked over to where the contestants were beginning to draw their numbers.
Trunks let out a sigh of relief.
Trunks would compete in the third match against some human fighter named Tora. The man was a pansy in Trunks' opinion. He played with him a bit, and then smashed him against the stadium wall while sporting a huge grin of exhilaration.
What a thrill it was to fight in the adult division! Even though his opponent hadn't been a competition at all, just the fact that he'd worked so hard to be there excited him.
To a roar of applause, Trunks strutted off of the ring to where his father and friends were waiting. Vegeta gave him a light cuff on the head—his version of a proud pat on the back—as Trunks came to stand next to him. Trunks' grin became even more pronounced.
The matches went on, with all of the Z fighters proceeding to the next round—except for Android 18 who'd fought Buu in the first round.
Finally, it came time for Trunks' next match. Against Piccolo.
As Trunks headed out to the ring, Vegeta stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. "No super saiyan." He said and then let him go.
Trunks nodded and followed Piccolo out into the ring. He could hear his mother yelling even from where he stood. He waved a bit to her, though quickly he dropped his hand in embarrassment.
The two opponents stopped in the middle of the ring, and sized each other up as they waited for the announcer to start the match.
Piccolo simply crossed his arms in front of his chest as he stared down at his young opponent.
Trunks rarely fought Piccolo, and he had no desire to get beaten in the first five minutes, so deciding to be on the safe side, he crouched into a fighting stance.
The match started.
When it was clear that Piccolo wasn't going to make the first move, Trunks did. He flew at the older fighter throwing punch after punch. Piccolo blocked them all.
The two rose in to the air, higher and higher. The crowd was going wild.
As Trunks and Piccolo traded blows, Piccolo suddenly spoke. "I'm fighting your father in the next round."
"Huh?" Trunks asked, blocking a particularly hard right hook and coming back with a knee—which was also blocked. Before he could say anything about Piccolo's overconfidence in winning, the Namek continued.
"I know about your little thing with Hercule."
"Uhh?" Trunks grew pale. "What…thing?" He tried.
"Don't play dumb." Piccolo said. "My ears aren't merely for decoration. I heard every word."
"O…oh." Trunks deflated, and failed to block a punch. He flew backwards a few feet but Piccolo caught his shirt and pulled him back.
"Has Vegeta got any new tricks?" He asked twisting Trunks' arm behind his back. It was bad enough that Vegeta was far more powerful than him. The man's insufferable tendency to keep his techniques a secret and surprise his opponents with them was a major advantage.
"Wha…?" Trunks broke the hold and backpedaled away.
Piccolo lunged at him again. "Well?"
"I…uhh…" He thought about how he should answer. His dad would kill him if he let out all of his fighting secrets. Now he found himself in a predicament…face his mother's wrath if Piccolo ratted him out. Or face his father's wrath if Trunks told Piccolo what he wanted to know. Trunks swallowed convulsively. "No." He said definitively.
Piccolo smirked in amusement. The boy was clearly lying, but that was all he needed really. Now that he knew that Vegeta had something that he was keeping secret, he would be prepared. And he supposed that he could let Trunks go. There wasn't much harm in what he'd done. He couldn't be expected to betray his father anyway.
"Alright." He said.
Trunks' eyebrows raised in surprise at Piccolo's easy acceptance of his lie. He didn't have much time to dwell on it, though, because Piccolo suddenly lunged at him.
Trunks only had enough time to dodge.
"Let's get started." Piccolo yelled.
Trunks' eyes widened, and suddenly he felt himself hurtling back toward the ring. He righted himself just before he crashed, managing to land hard on his feet and creating a rather sizable crater in the ring. He quickly dodged Piccolo's kick, sending one of his own in return. Piccolo blocked and made a grab for Trunks' foot. Trunks danced gracefully away.
The two continued to exchange blows. Piccolo had a clear advantage. He was larger, more powerful, and far more experienced than the young fighter.
But considering that Trunks wasn't allowed to power up to super saiyan, he was holding his own pretty well.
Minutes ticked by. Despite the length of the match, the crowd stayed enthralled as the two fighters shot into the air, flipped around, and created craters all over the ring.
As the fight wore on, however, it became apparent to Trunks that Piccolo was holding back a bit.
He frowned. "Quit pulling punches, Piccolo. It's insulting."
Piccolo actually laughed. He was enjoying the match, much to his surprise. He hadn't thought that anyone but Goku and Gohan could make him enjoy fighting so much.
"It wouldn't be fair. You can't use your full strength." He answered.
Trunks just frowned more.
"Fine. You want me to fight full form?" Piccolo asked.
"Yes."
"Then you've got it."
Piccolo's movements suddenly became difficult to follow. Trunks was having even more trouble than before to block them. He suddenly wished that he trained more with his dad instead of playing video games.
Getting desperate now, he jumped, aiming a kick for the Namek's head.
Piccolo dodged, throwing a punch. Although he'd moved as fast as he could, Trunks couldn't dodge it. He used the momentum of Piccolo's punch to land a kick before flipping over and landing on his feet. Before he could catch his balance, however, Piccolo's fist was in his face. Trunks flew backwards. With a burst of Ki, he flipped over before he hit the ground and landed on his feet…only to realize a moment later that he was standing in…grass.
"It's a ring-out. Piccolo is the winner!" The announcer shouted to a roar of applause.
Trunks blinked, and deflated. Suddenly Piccolo was before him. The tall man patted his shoulder. "It was a good fight." He said with the ghost of a smile. Trunks nodded somewhat sadly. "We'll go again, when you can turn super saiyan."
That made Trunks's sadness at losing ease a bit. He felt his lip twitch up slightly. He raised his head to the tall Namek. "Alright."
The two made their way back to the other fighters.
Both were greeted with cheers and excited compliments from the other fighters.
"Nice, job, Trunks!" Krillin said with a grin.
"You really kept Piccolo on his toes." Goku added. "I haven't seen him so sweaty in years!"
Trunks' spirits lifted.
He glanced hesitantly in his father's direction, expecting to see a disappointed look. To his surprise, his father was sporting a look of pride. With a proud glint in his eyes, he nodded to his son, his lip twitching upward a bit.
Trunks beamed back at him.
The announcer was suddenly speaking again, calling for the next match. As Gohan reluctantly made his way into the ring for his match against Buu, Trunks quietly made an excuse and slipped out of the room. He quickly changed back into his regular clothes and headed up to the stadium to where he knew Master Roshi and Oolong were sitting.
It was best to get this over with now.
"Ooh Trunks!" His mother nearly jumped at him, pulling him into a hug. He wiggled in embarrassment as the others chuckled and congratulated him for his foray in the adult division.
After a nudge from his mother, Goten gave him a very polite compliment, but it was clear that he was still disappointed for not getting to fight with his friend.
Trunks didn't have time to think about that now, though.
"I'll be back later, mom." He said, sending a significant look to Master Roshi and Oolong as he headed back to the steps. "I'm going back down with dad." There. A perfect excuse. She would never miss him.
He ran back up the steps. A few minutes later, his two co-conspirators appeared as well, both laughing sleazily in anticipation.
Trunks still riding the adrenaline from his match motioned with a lazy hand-gesture to the people milling about the food court. "Alright, gentlemen, have your pick."
To the surprise of all, even himself, Trunks' plan worked…though there were a few road blocks with the date part.
Though Trunks had promised to find one women, Roshi and Oolong had apparently decided that it would be much fairer if there were two—one for each of them. Trunks tried to argue, but with the constant threat of his mother's wrath hanging over his head, he was forced to give in.
The two lechers had picked a pair of sisters, both brunettes, and both barely in their twenties. Trunks briefly wondered about the morality of his scheme, but then decided that there was no harm in a simple dinner.
So he'd put on a terrified face, faked a few tears, and sold the two unsuspecting women a sorrowful story of having just been beaten in his match, having terrible bruises, and really wanting to know where his grandfather was.
The two women, moved with sympathy with the dramatic display, had agreed to help him search for his grandfather…who they'd found along with his pig-friend conveniently just around the corner.
Due to a slight mishap, Trunks had to quickly convince the pair of girls who had been his "rescuers" that his old grandfather had very poor vision and relied on touching things to get around.
With the meeting taken care of, he then had to handle the difficult part. The two young women were glad to help, but were reluctant to be taken to dinner by an old drooling man and his pig-friend—both of whom suffered from chronic nosebleeds.
Trunks had ended up having to explain that his family came from a far away country where it was tradition to repay kind services with meals and that if the two women refused, his grandfather would waste away in guilt and sorrow.
That had finally gotten them to agree.
A few hours later, Master Roshi and Oolong were sitting at a candlelit table with their arms wrapped around each others' shoulders, swaying back and forth and singing off-key. Empty glasses littered the table.
The women were giggling at the two men's antics and asking Trunks how he managed to eat so much without becoming sick.
That was how Bulma found them.
"Trunks!" Trunks dropped his spoon into his bowl of half-eaten ice-cream and turned with a fear-filled expression at his mom. "We've been looking everywhere for you." She put her hands on her hips and looked sternly at him clearly expecting an explanation.
"We?" Was all he asked.
She motioned with her chin to the people standing behind her. To his surprise, the entire Z gang was standing behind his mother.
He blinked. "What time is it?" He asked.
"It's nearly 9 o'clock, young man. The tournament's over."
"It's over?" He looked back to the crowd of fighters. Sure enough, they were all sporting bruises and cuts. He locked eyes with Piccolo. The green man just cocked an eyebrow at him.
"Uhhh…" He looked back at his mom. "I got hungry."
She just sighed. "Well we're all going to a restaurant, now."
"Yay!" He jumped up in excitement, as if he hadn't just had a huge meal.
As his mom turned her attention to the two drunken men at the table, Trunks headed over to the rest of his friends. She would be pretty mad when she found out that she'd given Master Roshi and Oolong her credit card, so he wanted to get as far away from her as possible at the moment.
Goten looked much more cheerful now. Trunks went over to his friend.
Suddenly a hand landed on his shoulder. Trunks turned to see that it was his father's. Vegeta, Goku, and Piccolo were all sporting amused looks—well in his father's case, he was trying to hide it. Vegeta leaned close to Trunks' ear so that Bulma couldn't hear. "You know you could have just bribed them all." He said.
Trunks blinked, realizing suddenly that his father had known all along. He looked up at him expecting to see his legendary scowl, but instead found an expression of amused pride.
Trunks grinned in slight embarrassment back at him.
Well, he'd upset his friend, threatened the savior of the world, been blackmailed by a Namek, helped Master Roshi and Oolong hit on some poor young women, and probably royally pissed off his mom.
But…it had been worth it.
Fin